Lord Liverpool and the Tories1

1. Lord Liverpool and the Tories1

2. Introduction • Between 1792 and 1815,with brief intervals, Britain had been at war with Napoleonic France. • Before 1792 Britain had been undergoing traumatic social and economic changes which we call the Industrial and Agricultural Revolutions. • These changes had led to:- • the rapid growth of the population from about 5/7 million in 1750 to about 17 million in 1817. • the growth of factories and towns • the growth of a capitalist economic system • the modernisation of agriculture • all the social problems that these entailed.

3. Another factor which influenced Britain in 1815 was the growth of Radical demands for a more equal political system. We see the growth of demands for democracy. • This had come about because:- • Britain had been fighting France which had executed her King on the grounds of Liberty, Equality and Democracy. • The terrible living conditions of working people led to demands for a better standard of living. • The political system had worked when the population was small but as the population increased it became increasingly obvious to many that it was very unequal and needed changing. Slowly Britain was to become a democratic country in the 19th century.

4. The period from 1815-1822 was marked by social and economic unrest, caused in part by the policies of the Tory Government. The fear that this unrest could develop into a repeat of the French Revolution led the government to adopt a number of repressive measures.

5. Reasons for unrest in Britain • Economic problems - these had started before the war with the emergence of Luddism from 1812 but reached a peak after the end of the French wars: • The ending of government contracts for arms and uniforms, causing high unemployment in manufacturing areas • The introduction of new machinery as part of the ongoing industrial revolution. This also led to unemployment in manufacturing areas. • The sudden demobilisation of thousands of soldiers, who flooded the labour market.

6. Government Economic Policies • Once the war was over the government wanted to return to laissez-faire style of government. This resulted in: • 1815 - Income tax was scrapped and replaced by taxes on goods. While many of the poor had been exempt from paying income tax they now had to bear the burden of taxes on spending. • 1815 - During the war, when imports of corn from Europe had stopped, the price of corn rose, allowing landowners to charge high rents. They wanted to keep these ‘war rents’. The Corn Laws were introduced, stopping the import of corn until it reached a very high price.

7. The Radicals • The social and economic distress led to calls for changes to be made. Radical groups emerged, calling for parliamentary reform in the belief that a more representative parliament would bring in other reforms. The Radicals were not a united group. They differed in their demands and opinions as to what action to take. They ranged from the ‘socialist’ Spenceans to the moderate William Cobbett. They were also spread across the country. This lack of unity weakened them. They were easily infiltrated by Sidmouth’s (Home Secretary) spies and agents provocateurs. This was in marked contrast to the strength and unity of purpose of the Tory Government, which was determined to clamp down on unrest

8. Incidents of unrest • 1811-1812 -Luddism - machine breaking • 1816 Spa Fields - London • 1817 March of Blanketeers. • 1817 Derbyshire Rising • 1819 Peterloo Massacre - Manchester • 1820 Cato Street Conspiracy

9. Government Reaction • The government was determined not to allow the discontent to escalate into a revolution, so it passed a number of repressive measures in reaction to the incidents. • Machine breaking was punishable by transportation. • Habeas Corpus temporarily suspended in 1817. Allowed arrest without trial • Seditious Meetings Acts. Outlawed meetings of over 50 people. • The Six Acts. Gave magistrates power to seize arms, outlawed public meetings, faster prosecution and trial, stamp duty on papers, seizure of seditious literature, banned military training.

10. Discussion Points • Why was there so much discontent in Britain in 1815? • Why were the radicals unlikely to succeed in their aims? • How many of the radical incidents really posed a threat to the government? • What effect did the repressive measures have on the radicals?

11. Possible Exam Questions • Explain why Liverpool’s government used repressive measures between 1815-1822.