Warfare- Home Front Flashcards
When did William Pitt the Younger come to power?
1783
When was income tax introduced?
1799
Who invented the water powered spinning wheel?
Richard Arkwright
Who invented the steam powered loom?
Edward Cartwright
When was the Slave Trade Act?
1807, under Grenville
When was the French Revolution?
What were British reactions to it?
Started in 1789
Wordsworth welcomed it, William Blake dreaded it, the monarchy dreaded it-
The Rev was seen to destroy the Church, judiciary, and the monarchy: 3 fundamentals of English law and liberty!
What was the Treaty of Amiens?
1802 break from the French wars
Happened under PM Henry Addington
Basically a 14-month truce
Why and when was there a bank run at the start of the war?
1793
Everyone wanted to get savings out because the banks were going bust
When did the UK leave the Gold Standard?
What did this mean?
1797
Started to print money that wasn’t matched by gold bullion in the British treasuries!
When was the first invasion scare?
What was it like?
1797-8 More real fear of the French Extreme tales Propaganda targeted a potential fifth column e.g. Jacobins within Britain Hanging of the Hartlepool Monkey Ended by Nile Battle...
Why were the poor affected by income tax?
Higher class gentry and landowners would pay them less and support them less 1799-1800 poor harvests meant rise in food prices
When was the second invasion scare?
What was it like?
1803-05
More ridiculing/ scornful of the French
Ended by Battle at Trafalgar
Propaganda aimed more to taunt the French
When does William Pitt die?
1806 (followed by Grenville)
When were the Berlin Decrees issued and what were they?
1806
Initiated the Continental System- neutrals and allies of the French shouldn’t trade with Britain
Milan Decree reinforced this in 1807
Hurt Britain a lot at the start, but over time it hurt the allies and France more than it did Britain, so France’s allies resented it
When was Luddism at its height?
1811-12
What was the Defence of the Realm Act?
1798 govt wanted men to volunteer to fight
- these were mostly men from urban areas where there was more poverty than the countryside
- from April-July 116 thousand volunteers came forward
Profiteers did well out of the invasion scares!
Beacons built to communicate along the coast
Tax as well as ‘voluntary contributions’
Clergy used to spread news, broadside ballads, newspapers
Radicals became ostracised- on the side of the French?
What were Martello towers?
Small defensive coastal fortifications
1803
What was British national debt in 1815 after the wars?
200% of GDP (highest ever!)
When did Napoleon crown himself emperor?
1804
What were the Corresponding Societies?
Give two examples
Opposed the war due to food shortages and taxation.
Kind of sympathetic with the French?
- London CS had low membership fees so attracted more working class people. Proclaimed solidarity with the French Revolutionaries and wanted all men to have the vote.
- Sheffield CS had almost 10 thousand signatures on a national petition for manhood suffrage (all men voting)
What did the govt. do about loans?
Pitt raised loans from the City of London in 1793
Paid 3% to investors
Ministry of All the Talents raised loans through the Goldsmaids for over £20 million
- huge sums raised, but the war wasn’t as short as expected so the loans weren’t enough to cover war costs
What did the govt. do about taxes?
At least 21 goods and services were newly taxed like beer and Whig powder
The 1799 graduated income tax directly affected the rich, and indirectly affected the poor
Tory administrations subsidised allies to fight the land war for them and met Peninsular war costs- over the French/Nap wars, £66 million was raised in subsidies
How much did a tax on spirits raise over 22 years of war?
£51 million
How much had income tax raised by 1815?
£155 million
