There are two main revolutions to remember that happened between the 18th and 19th century. The first one is the French Revolution that was seen as a turning point in the European politics. And the second one is the Industrial Revolution as this transformed Britain and the world.
There were also 2 Empires- Act of Union 1707 with Scotland who was the first British Empire and created the United Kingdom as Scotland could have been an Empire. In 1698 Scotland tried to set up colony in Central America however it turned out to be a disaster. New Caledonia cost Scotland a fifth of its wealth as it was all full of malaria and the citizens became starved and fell ill which caused them to all flee. Scotland never recovered financially from this disaster and surrendered sovereignty in 1707 which lead to the Act of Union with England.
The Jacobite Rebellion. Dead Cat Bounce (which nobody seemed to understand but was something to do with dropping a cat from a height and it bouncing back?) Well anyway basically Scotland had one last chance at getting back at the English in battle however were yet again defeated at Culloden 1746 which established the UK.
Never waste a good crisis:
England did well out of the French Revolution but the Napoleonic war was expensive. Income tax was created in 1799 to pay for the war effort and was supposed to be abolished once the French has been beaten, (even though this happened a long time ago!)
The British Naval power was absolute (1805) as blockades of French ports were destroyed as well as the French trade. This created a boom for British exports to such an extent that British manufacturers were clothing the French Army. As the armies were occupied Britain started to build its Empire.
The Transatlantic Triangular Trade which was the slave trade made Britain a lot of profit. In the 16th century one million slaves were transported from Africa to America. In the 17th century this number rose to 3 million and then again to 7 million in the 18th century.
The end of the war signalled an end to the boom and it lead to a widespread unemployment and a steep fall in wages. The government brought in the Corn Laws (1815-1846) which put a tariff on imported grains.
Industrial Revolution (1760) was when England become the 'workshop of the world'. Manchester went from 17,0000 to 180,000 people from 1760 to 1830 as the city was seen as revolutionary. In 1850 it was the most important place on earth as it had large factories, Science and produce that was unheard of so people wanted to see it. However to live in Manchester was not pleasant as it was polluted and dirty with many of the people suffering from chest infections and illness. Bleak House is a text that refers to this with Joe the street sweeper who had to try and sweep all sorts of stuff off the streets for people to be able to get by. Cotton was key to Manchester and its revolution as it was a raw material that came from slaves in South America.
Politics - Pressure builds for reform:
Policy of brutal repression on any sort of dissent and strict penal penalties and exportation was effective in the short term. The Peterloo Massacre which lead to the development of The Guardian in 1819 Manchester was where cavalry charged a crowd of 60,000 demanding parliamentary reform where 11 people died.
Protesters demanded that the growing industrial towns of Britain should have the right to elect MPs. Less than 2% of the population had the vote as the system was corrupt. 11 voters even managed to vote in 2 MPs between them and Manchester and Leeds didn't even have an MP. This lead to the Reform Act 1832 as the elite realised there was a problem with the system.
Farming- Corn laws were decided by the Government to protect the farmers. Farming became more efficient as it had people off the land and using machinery in the factories instead. This meant that farmers were forced to leave to the city as poor workers due to much of their land being overtaken in mass for the machines to farm instead (Enclosures Act). Many farmers ended up in the army as they were poor and couldn't get a job. Hampshire was one of the worst hit areas and even today still hasn't recovered as most of its men are still part of the army.
William Cobbett was the son of a farmer/innkeeper and was in the army between 1784-1791. He was forced to flee to America due to military corruption where he began his career as a journalist. He published 14 volumes of attacks on American democracy and became known as Peter Porcupine. He returned to England in 1800 and published a weekly newsletter known as the 'political register' in 1802. He was deeply conservative and supported labourers riots in 1830 which lead to him being tried for sedition but this was acquitted. He was elected to parliament in 1832, but died in 1835.
The poor- New Poor Law Act was established in 1834. The workhouse was the only place that the poor could receive money or help. They had to work hard and were only given enough food to survive however would die slowly. Bentham Utilitarianism was where happiness was a pleasure with the absence of pain. We judge actions by their consequences favouring those that promote happiness and reduce pain. It was argued that the people did what was pleasant and would not do what was unpleasant. If people didn't claim relief then it had to be unpleasant. Consequence was the idea of utilitarianism not weather something was morally right or wrong. The act criminalised the poor and was best explained by the train example. This talks about someone being unconscious on a train track with a train heading towards them should it stop and cause hundreds of deaths or should it carry on its path and just kill one person.
There were also 2 Empires- Act of Union 1707 with Scotland who was the first British Empire and created the United Kingdom as Scotland could have been an Empire. In 1698 Scotland tried to set up colony in Central America however it turned out to be a disaster. New Caledonia cost Scotland a fifth of its wealth as it was all full of malaria and the citizens became starved and fell ill which caused them to all flee. Scotland never recovered financially from this disaster and surrendered sovereignty in 1707 which lead to the Act of Union with England.
The Jacobite Rebellion. Dead Cat Bounce (which nobody seemed to understand but was something to do with dropping a cat from a height and it bouncing back?) Well anyway basically Scotland had one last chance at getting back at the English in battle however were yet again defeated at Culloden 1746 which established the UK.
Never waste a good crisis:
England did well out of the French Revolution but the Napoleonic war was expensive. Income tax was created in 1799 to pay for the war effort and was supposed to be abolished once the French has been beaten, (even though this happened a long time ago!)
The British Naval power was absolute (1805) as blockades of French ports were destroyed as well as the French trade. This created a boom for British exports to such an extent that British manufacturers were clothing the French Army. As the armies were occupied Britain started to build its Empire.
The Transatlantic Triangular Trade which was the slave trade made Britain a lot of profit. In the 16th century one million slaves were transported from Africa to America. In the 17th century this number rose to 3 million and then again to 7 million in the 18th century.
The end of the war signalled an end to the boom and it lead to a widespread unemployment and a steep fall in wages. The government brought in the Corn Laws (1815-1846) which put a tariff on imported grains.
Industrial Revolution (1760) was when England become the 'workshop of the world'. Manchester went from 17,0000 to 180,000 people from 1760 to 1830 as the city was seen as revolutionary. In 1850 it was the most important place on earth as it had large factories, Science and produce that was unheard of so people wanted to see it. However to live in Manchester was not pleasant as it was polluted and dirty with many of the people suffering from chest infections and illness. Bleak House is a text that refers to this with Joe the street sweeper who had to try and sweep all sorts of stuff off the streets for people to be able to get by. Cotton was key to Manchester and its revolution as it was a raw material that came from slaves in South America.
Politics - Pressure builds for reform:
Policy of brutal repression on any sort of dissent and strict penal penalties and exportation was effective in the short term. The Peterloo Massacre which lead to the development of The Guardian in 1819 Manchester was where cavalry charged a crowd of 60,000 demanding parliamentary reform where 11 people died.
Protesters demanded that the growing industrial towns of Britain should have the right to elect MPs. Less than 2% of the population had the vote as the system was corrupt. 11 voters even managed to vote in 2 MPs between them and Manchester and Leeds didn't even have an MP. This lead to the Reform Act 1832 as the elite realised there was a problem with the system.
Farming- Corn laws were decided by the Government to protect the farmers. Farming became more efficient as it had people off the land and using machinery in the factories instead. This meant that farmers were forced to leave to the city as poor workers due to much of their land being overtaken in mass for the machines to farm instead (Enclosures Act). Many farmers ended up in the army as they were poor and couldn't get a job. Hampshire was one of the worst hit areas and even today still hasn't recovered as most of its men are still part of the army.
William Cobbett was the son of a farmer/innkeeper and was in the army between 1784-1791. He was forced to flee to America due to military corruption where he began his career as a journalist. He published 14 volumes of attacks on American democracy and became known as Peter Porcupine. He returned to England in 1800 and published a weekly newsletter known as the 'political register' in 1802. He was deeply conservative and supported labourers riots in 1830 which lead to him being tried for sedition but this was acquitted. He was elected to parliament in 1832, but died in 1835.
The poor- New Poor Law Act was established in 1834. The workhouse was the only place that the poor could receive money or help. They had to work hard and were only given enough food to survive however would die slowly. Bentham Utilitarianism was where happiness was a pleasure with the absence of pain. We judge actions by their consequences favouring those that promote happiness and reduce pain. It was argued that the people did what was pleasant and would not do what was unpleasant. If people didn't claim relief then it had to be unpleasant. Consequence was the idea of utilitarianism not weather something was morally right or wrong. The act criminalised the poor and was best explained by the train example. This talks about someone being unconscious on a train track with a train heading towards them should it stop and cause hundreds of deaths or should it carry on its path and just kill one person.
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