What problems did Liverpool face on coming to office in 1812? What was the main impact of the Corn Law? Flashcards
What had the successive governments before Liverpool fail to do?
- bring an end to the French Wars
- deal with the issue of Catholic Emancipation
What is a potential reason for why the successive governments before Liverpool failed to bring an end to the French wars?
- they had very short terms in office so they could not showcase the full extent of what they could do
What were the first three years of Liverpool’s time in office dominated by?
bringing an end to the Napoleonic wars
What three major problems did Liverpool face when became PM in 1812?
- the urgent need to reorganise government finances
- the revival of working class radicalism
- Catholic Emancipation
Who made up Liverpool’s cabinet when he came to office and what were their roles?
- Addington; Home Secretary
- Nicholas Vansittart; Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Castlereagh; Foreign Secretary and Leader of house of Commons
How has Liverpool’s cabinet been described? Why did he form such a cabinet?
- reactionary; harsh towards radicalism
- Liverpool himself hated radicalism after being present at the Storming of Bastille July 14th 1789
What was the state of Britain when Liverpool came to power in 1812?
- on verge of social, political and economic revolution due to distress and politicisation of lower class
- manufacturing prosperity in certain sectors and trade opportunities in the New World
How has Liverpool been described?
- uninspiring
- a safe pair of hands
What was a difficulty Liverpool faced with his ministers?
- they all had different views and personalities
Why did it prove difficult to hold a majority in the House of Commons?
- Liverpool’s government were outmatched in debating skills by their Whig opposition
- radicals were gaining more influence and being elected into Parliament
How did Liverpool describe his political orientation?
- individual
- pittite
(- Whig)
Why was the use of patronage declining? What effect did this have on party politics?
- to save money
- parties became less fluid and more disciplined as roles were becoming for important and specific
How many sinecure offices did Liverpool remove between 1815 and 1822?
1800
What was the Queen Caroline affair?
- describes the arduous build up to the divorce of George IV and Queen Caroline
- angered the public
What happened in 1795 between the Prince Regent and Caroline of Brunswick? What was the nature of their marriage?
- married
- lived separately for 18 years
What did Caroline do in 1814?
- move to Europe alone, without her husband the prince regent
What was the Milan Commission? When was this established?
- committee to look for grounds for divorce
- tried to find evidence of Caroline cheating
(- ordered by the George IV/prince regent) - 1814
Did Parliament know about the Milan Commission? When did they find out?
- no
- once Caroline tried to claim her position as Queen
What happened on the 29th January 1820? What was the impact of this?
- George III died
- the couple became King and Queen of England
What happened when Caroline tried to claim her position as Queen?
- Milan Commission provided evidence of her having an affair
- turned away from her husband’s coronation at Westminster Abbey
What Bill was announced in Parliament? Was it passed? (Caroline affair)
- Bill of Pain and Penalties
- for an Act to deprive Caroline of the rights and title Queen Consort
- to dissolve her marriage to George
- to avoid going through the ecclesiastical courts.
- it was passed 1820
What was the impact on government after the bill was passed?
- weakened
- humiliating; expected to be more independent from the monarch at this stage
When did Caroline die?
- 3 weeks after being denied access to George IV’s coronation
What was the impact of the Queen Caroline affair on the radical movement?
- radicals saw it as an example of the cruelty of government
- petitions were written to the Commons and Lords in defence of the Queen
- the Queen’s loss of rights became synonymous with the loss of the rights of the people
When was the Queen Caroline affair?
- 1820
When was the Corn Law passed?
- 1815
What was the Corn Law?
- prohibited the import of grain until domestic prices reached 80 shillings
- ensured that farmers could charge a high price for their grain without the fear of being undercut by cheaper imports
Why was the Corn law passed?
- good harvests of 1813, 1814, and 1815 = corn prices fell
- higher taxation bc of the war
- meant that farmers couldn’t repay bank loans and went bankrupt
How did the Corn Law impact the labouring population? When were the riots?
- couldn’t afford bread, a staple to their diet
- riots in London in March 1815, where the homes of politicians were attacked
Why did Liverpool defend the Corn law?
- saw it as protecting jobs and national security in the long run
- kept farmers and landowners happy, who dominated parliament
What was the impact of the Corn law on the prices of Corn? How did prices change?
- prices stayed high
- bad harvests continued to reduce profits
- prices fell from 71 to 56 shillings 1815 - 1816
When did Liverpool’s attitude towards farmers begin to change? How was it changing?
- 1822
- farmers could no longer expect to dictate government policy
When was the Corn law refined? How did it change?
- 1828 sliding scale
- as the price of British corn rose, the duty on imports would reduce
What is the Corn Law an example of? What is this the opposite of?
- protectionist measure; protecting domestic industries by tackling overseas competition by using duties on imports
- free trade (adam smith); something that Liverpool followed
What is protectionism?
government policies protect domestic industries by using duties on imports to tackle overseas competition
What happened between 1821 and 1823 in Liverpool’s government?
- his cabinet ‘reshuffled’
- a new mood emerged
- the government became stronger through self-reliance rather than dependency on the monarchy
How did this ‘new mood’ emerge?
- Liverpool’s administration began to win over many of its opposition, such as the Grenville Whigs
- Duke of Wellington, Robert Peel, Huskisson and Canning moved into office
How did Liverpool’s new government ‘reinvent’ itself?
- began to move towards a more liberal approach than a reactionary one
What did historians state about the success of Liverpool’s new government?
- not as successful as it intended to be
- no single move brought a break in earlier policies
How was there continuity within Liverpool’s government?
- division between his ministers remained
Who were the High/Ultra Tories? When did they emerge?
- emerged in the 1820s
- reactionary and anti-reform Tory MPS, particularly in regards to parliamentary reform and catholic emancipation
