The Corn Laws and other legislation

Question 1

Define corn

Answer 1

In this context, a generic word for the wheat, barley oats, rye and bean crops

Question 2

Which two household commodities were wheat and barley principally used for in 19th century Britain?

Answer 2

Bread and beer

Question 3

What is the term ‘grain’ typically used to describe?

Answer 3

Wheat, barley, oats and rye

Question 4

When was the corn law passed?

Answer 4

1815

Question 5

What did the corn law do?

Answer 5

Stipulated that no foreign corn could be imported until foreign corn reached 80 shillings a quarter

Question 6

What have the corn laws often been considered to be?

Answer 6

The dominant landowning class in parliament looking to protect their own interests

Question 7

Describe how the price of corn had changed in the lead up this act

Answer 7

• Landowners and farmers had done well during the war, as demand was high
• They would then suffer as a result of the bumper harvest in 1813, which caused a dramatic fall in prices.
• Bad harvests led to the import of foreign corn to make up for the domestic shortfall

Question 8

What was the problem with foreign corn?

Answer 8

It was incredibly cheap and therefore undercut the price sought by domestic producers

Question 9

What allowed foreign corn to flood the market?

Answer 9

After the trading blockade was lifted following the end of the French wars

Question 10

What does Boyd Hilton say about the corn laws?

Answer 10

Although he does acknowledge the pressure that came from the landed interest, he suggests that ministers were also concerned about ensuring a sufficient food supply for a rapidly growing population and wanted to allay concerns about subsistence

Question 11

What does Boyd Hilton think the corn laws were intended to be?

Answer 11

He suggests that they were never intended to be a permanent solution, but was introduced to avoid the worst effects of a post-war slump in prices

Question 12

Why was the government comfortable with ignoring popular protests against the corn laws?

Answer 12

They were convinced that they were acting in the longer term interests of the population

Question 13

What did the corn laws do to the price of bread and why was this important?

Answer 13

It pushed up the price of bread, a staple in the diet of the working class

Question 14

How did the government respond to the consequences of the corn laws?

Answer 14

They ignored the adverse effect of the policy on the majority of the population

Question 15

Describe the huge public outcry against the corn law

Answer 15

Petitions were presented to parliament and serious rioting broke out. This led to an unparalleled period of civil unrest that the government responded to with harsh repressive measures

Question 16

Why did powerful commercial and industrial interests dislike the corn laws?

Answer 16

They complained that they would have to raise wages and curtail further investment and expansion into new markets

Question 17

Why did many farmers struggle in spite of the corn law?

Answer 17

Corn prices stayed high but never reached the levels obtained in the war, while poor profits continued to interfere with profits

Question 18

What happened to the price of wheat in spite of the corn law?

Answer 18

The price of wheat fell from 71 shillings and 6 pence in March 1815 to 52 shillings and 10 pence in January 1816