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
How much did the govt. receive annually due to increased taxes?
Around £12 million
What was Pitt’s ‘sinking fund’?
From 1786
Pitt invested £1 million annually in the stock market
What was the City of London and how did it help with the wars?
The stock market
The war magnified the interdependence of politicians, merchants, and bankers- the govt. needed to borrow money from bans to buy commodities from the merchants, who needed warships to safely escort their convoys of goods.
Continental merchants came to London to escape the Continental System
Where did the govt get money from?
Nearly £27 million from taxes
£39.4 million from customs duties
£1.7 million from Post Office profits
What was govt expenditure in 1811?
£85 million
With a spending deficit of £16 million (loans used to meet this)
What was overall annual economic growth during the wars?
6%
How much did the iron and steel industry grow by?
400%
How much did cotton exports grow by?
600%
What were economic difficulties in 1810-12?
Decrease in exports
Increase in bankruptcies
Poor harvest
War with USA
Royal dockyards during the wars
Built largest (HMS) warships beyond the capacity of private yards
Repair
Storage/distribution of raw materials and equipment
Built 82 warships
Private shipyards during the wars
Were faster at building small ships for blockades but couldn’t build large ones
Built warships and merchant ships
Built 436 warships
What was the advantage of steam driven Portsmouth mills?
After 1807 they could mass produce blocks and pulleys- cheap and fast
Public sector munitions
Board of Ordenance oversaw manufacture of cannon, shot…
State mills of Faversham and Waltham Abbey produced and tested gunpowder on an industrial scale
Royal Laboratory at Woolwich made cartridges
Private sector munitions
Walker’s of Rotherham and Carron Company of Scotland produced cannon
Birmingham gunsmiths made small arms
What did Birmingham gunsmiths provide from 1808-10?
Over 1 million barrels and locks to be assembled into firearms
Between 1793-1802, how many troops were successfully transported?
135 thousand
What did the Victualling Board do?
Supplied provisions
Main distribution centre on the Thames at Deptford
Victualling convoys sent alongside ships
What were voluntary contributions during the first invasion scare?
People invited to pay the same amount as tax or higher into the war chest- felt better than giving taxes
The royal family did this
Why and by how much did wages of Lancashire cotton weavers fall from 1800 to 1830?
From 27 sh/wk to 5sh/wk
Berlin Decrees
Cotton demand falling during USA war
When was the war with the USA?
1812-15
Over British violations of US maritime right
What was the ‘non-spring’ of 1799?
May snow lay on fields, June frosts, July floods
No hay for livestock
Many small owners had been laying men off and were facing bankruptcy…
What were the Combination Acts?
Of 1799 and 1800
Made trade unions and organised protests illegal
What was an example of Luddism in Nottingham lace mills?
In 1811 wide frames were introduced, leading to lower wages and redundancies
By December, 1 thousand frames were destroyed
Shearing machines in Yorkshire
1812-16 Replaced 'croppers' Mill burning in retaliation Some protestors were shot or hung Inspired similar attacks in Cheshire and Lancashire
What were the Corn Laws?
March 1815
Tariffs placed on imported food and grain
Designed to keep grain prices high and favour the farmers
What was the Speedhamland system?
1795
Method of giving relief to the poor in response to bread riots
Supplemented rural wage payments from local taxes
- failed since farmers were able to get away with paying lower wages as ratepayers made up the difference.
How did the price of bread rise?
Due to inflation from removing gold standard
43s in 1792, 126s in 1812!
What was the Poor Law?
Gave relief
In 1802 only 10% of the population were receiving relief- it was seen as humiliating
Mutinies in the Armed Forces
April 1797 Spithead
June 1797 Nore
Middle class pacifists
1807-08 Yorkshire and Lancashire petitions denounced a ‘war faction’
Assassination attempts
1795 Despard planned to kill the king- he and 6 supporters were hanged
1812 luddites shot mill owner William Horsfall
1812 ruined businessman Bellingham shot and killed the PM Perceval in the House of Commons
The Peterloo Massacre
August 1819
Response to protest of 60-80 thousand at St Petersfield against poverty and hunger
100s of infantry, 400 cavalry met them
Killed 13 and wounded 100s
1794-5 Domestic Unrest
Due to high food prices
When was a major Irish rebellion against British rule?
May 1798
Troops sent to deal with it
In June they defeated the rebels at Vinegar Hill County
Around 560 rebels executed
Charles James Fox
Saw Pitt as ineffectual
Didn’t agree with Pitt’s use of force to take away people’s liberties and change their opinions
Pitt was defending Br freedoms by imprisoning anyone who exercised them!
