Political and Economic factors of the Napoleonic Wars (2)

Question 1

By 1815 how much greater was Britains trade value compared to 1793?

Answer 1

• Value was 6 times greater

Question 2

How did the East India Company help the British war effort?

Answer 2

• Exported lots of British goods to India and China
• Ships brought back saltpetre, vital to gunpowder manufacture
• Swelled government coffers through payments of high duties on asian imports
• Ships were chartered to go abroad

Question 3

How did the Convoy System help Britain?

Answer 3

• Became compulsory after 1798
• Merchant ships were protected from privateers by the RN’s warships making sure less were lost

Question 4

Who was Samuel Bentham and how did he help with Shipbuilding?

Answer 4

• An inspector genera; of naval works
• He helped speed up the royal dockyards building and maintenance capacity

Question 5

What did the six Royal Dockyards do?

Answer 5

• Built the largest warships which couldnt be built at private yards
• Repaired, refitted ships and acted as storage and distribution depots for equipments and raw materials

Question 6

Due to the Gov being unable to manufacture ships themselves, they used private yards, how many more warships did private yards produce?

Answer 6

436 warships compared to the 82 of the royal dockyards

Question 7

What change was made in 1804 to frigates?

Answer 7

• They made the ships out of fir timber
• They were cheaper and easier to construct than hardwood ships

Question 8

How did Lord Melville improve repairs of ships?

Answer 8

• Reformed the traditional method of replacing rotten timber with new ones
• Instead he laid new timber down and put them in place with diagonal iron braces
• This worked and helped immensely during the Battle of Trafalgar

Question 9

Who was Marc Insambard Brunel and what did he do?

Answer 9

• He designed the block mills at Portsmouth allowing mass standardised production
• After 1807 the steam driven mill could produce blocks more cheaply and faster for ships

Question 10

Where were new Docks built?

Answer 10

• London, West India, East India

Question 11

What was the Board of Ordnance?

Answer 11

• A board that oversaw manufacturing of munitions, e.g cannon, shot and gunpowder
• Lots of gunpowder was produced in state mills of Faversham and Waltham Abbey and was constantly improved to ensure it was better than that of the French

Question 12

How did private contractors help expand war production?

Answer 12

• Cannons were provided by Walkers of Rotheram and then Carron Company of Scotland
• Birmingham was the chief areas for small arms manufacture and supplied over a million barrels and locks for assembly into firearms (1808-10)

Question 13

How many muskets did Britain send to Prussia and Russia in 1813?

Answer 13

100,000

Question 14

What was the Victualling Board?

Answer 14

• Responsible for provisioning men in the RN and BA abroad, with a variety of different professions present
• Main yard and distribution centre was in Deptford, south bank of River Thames
• The central yard provided provisions to smaller yard and naval bases at Portsmouth, Plymouth which supplied warships and army transport

Question 15

Who supplied the Victualling Board?

Answer 15

• Private contractors provided most of there food and services
• The competitive market meant Britain had better supplies and prices and France and Spain had inferior supply chains dependant on the state
• At Cadiz Nelson was heavily supplied by these, the French and Spanish rotted in disease

Question 16

What was the Transport Board?

Answer 16

• Responsible for chartering the merchant ships needed for overseas expeditions
• They often transported over 100,000 troops successfully and this rose after 1803
• Made sure the Gov could launch all their campaigns

Question 17

What was the domestic unrest in the years 1794-1795?

Answer 17

• Unrest due to high food prices, King George III was jeered in Parliament and had to be rescued from a crowd of threatening troops

Question 18

What 3 Acts did Pitt instate following the unrest in 1794-5?

Answer 18

• Treasonable Practices Act (76), expanded definition of treason to attempting to coerce parliament and attack the constitution
• Seditious Meetings Act (76), Banned lectured or meeting of more than 50 unless permitted by local magistrates
• Combinations Act, prevents strikes and illegal for workers to gather in large numbers

Question 19

When did rebellion break out in Ireland and how did the Gov respond to this?

Answer 19

• May 1798, major rebellion broke out
• 21st June troops beat the rebels and executed loads at Vinegar Hill

Question 20

Who were Luddites?

Answer 20

• Those who were skilled but unemployed due to the introduction of power looms in 1811-12

Question 21

What did Luddites do and how were they dealt with?

Answer 21

• Smashed new machines and threatened mill and factory owners
• Gov passed legislation that attacking machines was a capital offence and moved troops in
• Execution of Luddites led to the end of them in 1813