Why did Peel repeal the Corn Laws? Flashcards
What were the two long term reasons?
Shortage of food.
The threat of the ACLL.
Why did the shortage of food contribute?
Between 1815 and the 1840s, Britain’s population had risen by almost 50% and the food supply was unable to keep up. The opening of Britain’s ports to foreign wheat might stimulate further continental production and lead to the opening of new sources of supply.
Why did the threat of the ACLL contribute?
The league had the power to overthrow the government by the landed classes. The ‘Bread Tax’ as the ACLL called them, were a powerful symbol of the landed aristocracy. A repeal would remove what Peel feared most: a war of the middle classes, the hungry and the poor against the aristocracy as it would ruin them.
What were the other reasons for the repeal?
The famine was killing people in their thousands. Peel’s tree trade policies would be under way and it would reduce distress and disorder. The Corn Laws were an economic oddity that were becoming harder to justify.
