Chapter 1 - The British political system

Question 1

In what year was the Bill of Rights introduced?

Answer 1

1689

Question 2

What type of government was Britain during the late 18th century?

Answer 2

Constitutional monarchy

Question 3

What is patronage?

Answer 3

The ability to confer honours and rewards such as well-paid positions, pensions and knighthoods in order to get political support from the recipient

Question 4

What is the divine right?

Answer 4

The belief that the king was chosen by God to rule the country

Question 5

What is the civil list?

Answer 5

The annual sum agreed upon by parliament to be given to the royal family in order to support them

Question 6

What is a consitutional monarchy?

Answer 6

A form of government in which the head of state is a hereditary monarch, but they must rule in unison with an elected parliament

Question 7

What was the role of the cabinet during the late 18th century?

Answer 7

To offer advice to the king

Question 8

What was King George III forced by parliament to do in 1782?

Answer 8

Replace his favoured Prime Minister Lord North with Lord Rockingham, whom he disliked

Question 9

How many peers sat in the House of Lords in 1783?

Answer 9

Around 220

Question 10

How many MPs were there in 1783?

Answer 10

558

Question 11

What was an obstacle to lower-income people becoming MPs in the late 18th century?

Answer 11

The position had no salary

Question 12

What annual income did a county member need in 1783?

Answer 12

£600

Question 13

What annual income did a borough member need in 1783?

Answer 13

£300

Question 14

What was the population (excluding Ireland) in 1801?

Answer 14

~9.4 million

Question 15

How many people could vote in England and Wales in 1783?

Answer 15

250,000

Question 16

What were the requirements for a man in a county seat to be part of the electorate?

Answer 16

They had to have freehold land with a minimum rateable value of 40 shillings per year

Question 17

What was a potwalloper borough?

Answer 17

One in which ownership of a hearth large enough to boil a pot in gave you the right to vote

Question 18

What was a freeman?

Answer 18

Someone who had been given the freedom of a city/borough. In some boroughs, only freemen could vote

Question 19

What was a pocket borough?

Answer 19

One in which the landowner essentially chose the candidate for MP who would be elected, and forced or bribed the electorate to ensure that this would occur

Question 20

What was a rotten borough?

Answer 20

One with barely any electors or population, but who still elected MPs

Question 21

What are 2 examples of rotten boroughs

Answer 21

Old Sarum (7 voters, 2 MPs)
Dunwich (mostly collapsed into the sea, 32 voters elected 2 MPs)

Question 22

What was the population of Scotland?

Answer 22

1.6 million

Question 23

What was the Scottish electorate? (how many)

Answer 23

4500

Question 24

How many Scottish MPs were there?

Answer 24

45

Question 25

What determined the electorate in Preston?

Answer 25

Anyone who had stayed the night before could vote

Question 26

What was a corporation borough?

Answer 26

One in which only the mayor and members of the corporation could vote

Question 27

How was the British electoral system regarded by the rest of Europe?

Answer 27

As being very liberal and democratic (many countries in Europe at the time did not even have elections)

Question 28

What did the 1716 Septennial Act do?

Answer 28

Ensured that elections were held every 7 years instead of every 3 as had previously been the case

Question 29

What was ‘cooping’?

Answer 29

Keeping a voter drunk so he couldn’t vote for the opposition

Question 30

What was the voting format in the late 18th century and why was this a problem?

Answer 30

Open, non-secret ballots; made intimidating someone into voting for your candidate much easier

Question 31

Who were the main 2 political parties in the late 18th century?

Answer 31

The Whigs and Tories

Question 32

Which party were dominant throughout the 18th century and why?

Answer 32

The Whigs, because they supported the Protestant King William of Orange during the Exclusion Crisis, whilst the Tories supported the Catholic Stuarts without success. This meant Protestant Whig families monopolised political power

Question 33

What party did Pitt belong to?

Answer 33

He styled himself as an independent Whig, but was seen as the first Tory