power and the people - chapter 8

Question 1

when had britain been at war with france and what did they do during the war

Answer 1

1803-1815
they stopped trading with the french

Question 2

during the war what did british farmers have the monopoly on and what did this lead to

Answer 2

had the monopoly on wheat
this meant prices soared

Question 3

what happened when the war with france ended and why did the british politicians not agree

Answer 3

• when the war ended there were calls to start trading with france, which had cheaper wheat
• however, the politicians in government were wealthy landowners
  -> they had made money from the high wheat prices and didn’t want to see their profits fall

Question 4

what law did the gov pass to keep wheat prices high

Answer 4

the Corn Laws

Question 5

when were the Corn Laws passed

Answer 5

1815

Question 6

what did the corn laws mean

Answer 6

if the price fell to low, imports of wheat would be stopped

Question 7

why were many people unhappy with the corn laws

Answer 7

they increased the price of bread

Question 8

what happened as a result of the corn laws

Answer 8

there were riots up and down the country, from Westminster to Dundee

Question 9

what was the Anti-Corn Law league mostly made of

Answer 9

middle class men who felt the restrictions were unfair to the poor and the manufacturing middle class

Question 10

who were the prominent ‘leaguers’ of the anti-corn law league

Answer 10

Richard Cobden
John Bright

Question 11

what did Richard Cobden and John Bright do for the anti-corn law league and how did the anti-corn law league spread their ideas

Answer 11

• both men were excelled orators and toured the country, giving speeches and spreading support for the league
• they created pamphlets and published articles in sympathetic newspapers
• they were quick to take advantage of new technology by using the railway to travel faster
• they spread their pamphlets through the penny post: this was a cheap post that most people could afford

Question 12

what was the penny post

Answer 12

a cheap post that most people could afford

Question 13

how did the anti-corn law league use the penny post

Answer 13

they used to to send a pamphlet to every eligible votes in the country, and easily obtained nationwide support

Question 14

what were the main arguments of the anti-corn law league

Answer 14

• the laws were unfair to the poor because they increased the price of basic food - bread
• cheap wheat could help to lower living costs
• people could spend more money on other foods, such as meat, which would help farmers
• people could also spend more money on industrial goods, thus benefiting the manufacturers
• countries that could export their wheat to britain would have the money to invest in the industry
• the relationship built through trade with these countries could ensure peace in europe in the coming years

Question 15

when did the support for the anti-corn law league increase

Answer 15

when both Cobden and Bright were elected as MPs, in 1841 and 1843

Question 16

in parliament, who did cobden and bright find the support of

Answer 16

the new Prime Minister, Robert Peel

Question 17

what was Peel a supporter of

Answer 17

free trade and he saw the benefits of repealing the corn laws

Question 18

what party was Peel part of and why would this mean he couldn’t find support for the repeal of the corn laws

Answer 18

the leader of the Conservative party
-> the members were mostly wealthy landowners; they would not support changes to a law which protected their wealth

Question 19

when had there been a previous attempt at reforming the poor law

Answer 19

in the 1820s
but none had done enough for the poor and starving of britain

Question 20

in the 1840s what happened, and why did it look like england might have a crisis

Answer 20

• in the early 1840s, there was a potato crop failure in ireland
• this was caused by the crop disease blight, which had spread across europe
• this was a problem for the poor in ireland as they relied heavily on potatoes and bread for their diet
• by 1846, ireland was experiencing a terrible famine and millions of people were starving
• the Corn Laws meant that there was no spare wheat to send to ireland
• simultaneously, there were crop failures in england and scotland and reports of suffering started to reach london
• the bad harvest, the lack of work for tenant farmers, and the high price of bread was about to cause a similar crisis to the one in ireland

Question 21

when did robert peel repeal the corn laws

Answer 21

1846

Question 22

what happened to Peel after he repealed the corn laws

Answer 22

he faced much backlash from his own political party
he resigned and would never hold office again

Question 23

what was the impact of the repeal of the corn laws

Answer 23

• did not have the devastating effect on wheat prices as anticipated
• what british farmers hadn’t realised was that the low price of wheat after the end of the war with france wasn’t because of foreign imports, but becuase of over-production in britain during the war years
• the increase in population and the return to normal prices meant that farmers and landowners did not suffer
• the poor were finally able to afford wheat and the price of barley, oats and meat actually increased, which helped those farmers who had been affected

Question 24

when had britain been involved in slavery

Answer 24

since the 15th century

Question 25

what was the slave trade

Answer 25

- for hundreds of years, british traders had made money by selling people to work in the carribean and then america - some enslaved people were brought to britain to work too - the british, along with other european nations, had set up plantations growing mainly cotton and sugar; they needed people to pick the crops - they got their enslaved people from the west coast of africa -> there, many tribal leaders were happy to sell people to the slave traders and investors return they were given goods such as cloth, guns, glass and iron

Question 26

what is the evidence of britain making lots of money from slavery

Answer 26

evidence can be seen in cities such as Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow, where houses and buildings were built using money made through the slave trade

Question 27

what were conditions like on the ships that took enslaved africans across the atlantic

Answer 27

- conditions were dreadful - men, women, children were crammed on top of each other

Question 28

on average, how many passengers on the ships that took enslaved africans across the atlantic died on crossing

Answer 28

1/3

Question 29

what was life as an enslaved person like

Answer 29

- when the ships arrived at their destinations, the enslaved people were treated like animals during the auctions, where people bid for them - life on the plantations was extremely difficult - enslaved people were expected to work all their lives; if they didn’t work hard enough they would be severely punished - they had no legal rights - average life expectancy was 27

Question 30

what was the average life expectancy of an enslaved person

Answer 30

27

Question 31

what were the main motivations for the view that slavery was wrong

Answer 31

- one of the main motivations was the comparison to the working conditions in the factories -> the workers had been referred to as ‘white slaves’ -> it became clear that if they opposed the horrible conditions of the british factories, they should also oppose slavery - others were led by their religious convictions that slavery was not Christian -> one group that believed this was led by William Wilberforce -> he, and likeminded others, created the Anti-Slavery Society

Question 32

who created the anti-slavery society

Answer 32

William Wilberforce

Question 33

what did the anti-slavery society do

Answer 33

- held public meetings to educate people - produced pamphlets and posters - society members wore a badge to display their membership - these actions were designed to raise awareness and show support for the abolition of the slave trade

Question 34

what class of people supported the anti-slavery movement

Answer 34

the working class

Question 35

what did the working class people do to show their support for the anti-slavery movement

Answer 35

workers in Manchester signed a petition to parliament by 1792, 1/4 of the population of manchester had signed it

Question 36

William Wilberforce:

Answer 36

- MP for Hull - motivated by his christian faith - spoke in parliament and pushed several bills through to abolish slavery - held meetings to convince other prominent members of the society to end slavery, and in 1797, presented a petition to parliament - it had more signatures than the chartists petition - secured the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807, which made it illegal to buy and sell enslaved people in the British Empire (but people were allowed to keep the enslaved people they already owned)

Question 37

Olaudah Equiano:

Answer 37

- had been enslaved to a ship master and had travelled the world, during which time he was educated and converted to Christianity - bought his freedom and travelled more before settling in england - was a prominent abolitionist; wrote a book, ‘The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustav Vassa, the African’ (1789) - his autobiography was used by the abolition movement to win people’s support: it made people aware of the horrors of slavery

Question 38

Thomas Clarkson:

Answer 38

- collected information about slavery and the conditions on board slave ships - considered slavery evil and saw it as his job to do something about it - produced drawings of the conditions on slave ships and pamphlets to show how horrible the conditions were for enslaved people

Question 39

Granville Sharp:

Answer 39

- in the late 1700s, supported cases of black enslaved people in Britain who wanted to be free - motivated by his studies and his interest in politics and law - the the famous case of Jonathan Strong, who was recaptured by his former slave master and sent back to the Caribbean, Sharp won his case for freedom - his work showed how unclear the law was in britain about owning enslaved people - brought to public attention the case of the slave ship Zong, where 133 enslaved people had been reportedly thrown overboard

Question 40

when was slavery abolished

Answer 40

1807

Question 41

what was the problem with the 1807 slavery abolishment law

Answer 41

it made it illegal to buy and sell enslaved people - those who were already owned did not have to ben freed

Question 42

when did parliament ban slave ownership through the empire and what did the gov do to former slave owners

Answer 42

1833 the gov agreed to pay former slave owners £20 million for their ‘loss of property’ -> for example, the Bishop of Exeter received over £12,000 for the loss of 665 enslaved people

Question 43

why was the abolition movement not fully supported within the government

Answer 43

- many of the MPs and lords had made their money form slavery, or a link to it - if slavery ended, plantation owners would have to pay their workers and this would mean they could lose money

Question 44

what propaganda did slave trade supporters make

Answer 44

created propaganda supporting the view that black people were inferior, and that britain had a responsibility to keep enslaved black people locked up - this was called the ‘white mans burden’

Question 45

example of a woman who got involved in the abolition movement

Answer 45

Hannah More, who wrote poems for the movement she met Wilberforce in 1787 and they formed a firm friendship, based around their faith and commitment to social reform

Question 46

did women get involved in the abolition movement

Answer 46

yes, despite not having the vote, many women got involved

Question 47

by the time slavery got abolished, how many anti-slavery societies were run my women and where were they located

Answer 47

73 they were located across the whole of britain, demonstrating that women nationwide were concerned about the issue do slavery and we’re willing to take action