Britain at War 1793-1815

Question 1

When did Britain go to war with France (start of revolutionary wars) ?

Answer 1

1793

Question 2

When did the French government offer assistance to revolutionaries everywhere?

Answer 2

November 1792

Question 3

What did Pitt describe France offering assistance to revolutionaries in other countries in 1792 as?

Answer 3

‘An act of hostility to all neutral nations’

Question 4

When was Louis XVI executed?

Answer 4

January 1793

Question 5

What did Pitt describe the execution of Louis XVI as?

Answer 5

‘Foulest and most atrocious dead’

Question 6

When did France defeat the Netherlands?

Answer 6

November 1792

Question 7

Why was French occupation of the Netherlands a problem?

Answer 7

1) threat to British commerce due to decision to open the estuary of the River Scheldt to all navigation
2) threat to the United Provinces in the North

Question 8

How many men were in the Navy by 1801?

Answer 8

133,000

Question 9

How much did Britain provide in subsidies over the course of the two wars 1793-1815?

Answer 9

Over £46m

Question 10

What were subsidies to German states and Sardinia in

a) 1793?
b) 1795?

Answer 10

a) £833,000

b) £5.7m

Question 11

How much money had been dispersed in subsidises by 1801?

Answer 11

Over £9m

Question 12

When was the first coalition formed?

Answer 12

1793

Question 13

Which countries were in the first coalition?

Answer 13

Holland, Spain, Austria, Prussia, Piedmont and Britain

Question 14

Who was Britain’s only ally left by 1796?

Answer 14

Austria

Question 15

When did the Austrians sign a peace treaty with France that gave France most of Italy?

Answer 15

1797

Question 16

What was the peace treaty Austria signed with France in 1797 called?

Answer 16

The Treaty of Campo Formio

Question 17

In 1793 how many ships were in the

a) British Navy?
b) French Navy?

Answer 17

a) 661

b) 291

Question 18

When did Pitt pass the Quotas Act?

Answer 18

1795

Question 19

What did the Quotas act dictate?

Answer 19

Required counties and London to provide recruits

Question 20

When was the Glorious First of June?

Answer 20

1794

Question 21

What happened on the Glorious First of June?

Answer 21

Admiral Lord Howe destroyed 22 French ships

Question 22

When did Nelson destroy the Danish fleet in Copenhagen?

Answer 22

1801

Question 23

Why did Nelson destroy the Danish fleet?

Answer 23

To prevent France overcoming its own naval weakness by using ships from another nation

Question 24

When was the battle of Trafalgar?

Answer 24

October 1805

Question 25

What did Evans say about Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in 1805?

Answer 25

‘Nelson had, in a little under two hours, done more to save the country than any other individual during the French wars’

Question 26

What was the effect of Trafalgar?

Answer 26

It unquestionably established British naval supremacy, rendering a French invasion impossible

Question 27

How much did Britain lend to Austria in 1795 and why was it wasted?

Answer 27

£4.6m and Austria signed a peace treaty with France in 1797

Question 28

When did Pitt abandon the Gold Standard?

Answer 28

1797

Question 29

When did Pitt introduce the income tax?

Answer 29

1799

Question 30

What did Nelson do at Trafalgar?

Answer 30

Destroyed 19 ships in a Franco-Spanish fleet with no English ships lost

Question 31

What does Evans say about why gov was willing to go to war by mid-November 1792?

Answer 31

‘To protect both British commerce and the Dutch’

Question 32

When did the second coalition form?

Answer 32

1798

Question 33

When was the financial crisis?

Answer 33

1797

Question 34

What does Foster say about the invincibility do the French ?

Answer 34

‘France could no more be defeated on land as Britain could at sea’

Question 35

How many men were in the navy when war broke out ?

Answer 35

15,000

Question 36

How much did the income tax bring in?

Answer 36

£6m (though expected to raise £10 m)

Question 37

How much was income tax expected to bring in?

Answer 37

£10m

Question 38

What did Evans say about income tax?

Answer 38

‘The ability if an increasingly prosperous middle class to pay its taxes proceeded to be a critical factor in Britain’s ability to outlast France in what would turn into a war of attrition’

Question 39

How many French troops were tied down in Spain in 1811?

Answer 39

300,000

Question 40

When did Britain set up a naval blockade on all French-controlled ports?

Answer 40

May 1806

Question 41

When did Napoleon introduce the continental system?

Answer 41

November 1806

Question 42

What did Napoleon blame his final defeat on ?

Answer 42

His ‘Spanish ulcer’

Question 43

How many French losses were there in the Russia campaign?

Answer 43

Half a million

Question 44

When was the Battle of Leipzig?

Answer 44

1813

Question 45

How many casualties were there in the Battle of Leipzig?

Answer 45

110,000

Question 46

How many troops did Britain have in Spain?

Answer 46

never more than 60,000

Question 47

What percentage of Britain’s war time expenditure did subsidies account for ?

Answer 47

8%

Question 48

When did Napoleon invade Russia?

Answer 48

June 1812

Question 49

What does Evans describe Napoleons invasion of Russia as?

Answer 49

‘The most spectacular mistake of an extraordinary career’

Question 50

What does Evans say France was ultimately defeated by?

Answer 50

‘Sheer weight of numbers’

Question 51

How did Britain help to keep the fourth coalition together?

Answer 51

Castlereagh negociated the Treaty of Chaumont with Russia, Prussia and Austria in 1814

Question 52

How many French troops invaded Russia in 1812?

Answer 52

650,000

Question 53

What did the Duke of Wellington call the Battle of Waterloo?

Answer 53

‘The nearest run thing you ever say in your life’

Question 54

What did the Duke of Wellington say to a fellow officer at the Battle of Waterloo?

Answer 54

‘Hard pounding this, gentlemen; let’s see who will pound longest’

Question 55

When did Britain gain Sierrra Leone?

Answer 55

1808

Question 56

When did Britain gain Mauritius ?

Answer 56

1810

Question 57

When did Britain gain Trinidad?

Answer 57

1797

Question 58

When did Britain gain St Lucia?

Answer 58

1803

Question 59

Which PMs followed Pitt after his resignation in 1801?

Answer 59

1. Addington 2. Pitt 3. Grenville 4. Portland 5. Perceval 6. Liverpool

Question 60

When was Addington PM for?

Answer 60

1801 - 1804

Question 61

When was Pitt PM for the second time ?

Answer 61

May 1804 - Jan 1806

Question 62

When was Grenville PM for?

Answer 62

1806 - 1807

Question 63

When was Portland PM for?

Answer 63

1807 - 1809

Question 64

When was Perceval PM for ?

Answer 64

1809 - 1812

Question 65

When was Liverpool PM for ?

Answer 65

1812 - 1827

Question 66

On what condition did Grenville become PM?

Answer 66

On condition that Fox be part of May gov he lead

Question 67

How many MPs were united in opposition to Portland?

Answer 67

200 in Foxite-Grenville opposition

Question 68

Why did Perceval stop being PM?

Answer 68

He was assassinated by a commercial agent

Question 69

When did George IV start serving as Prince Regent?

Answer 69

1811

Question 70

what was the date of the French Revolutionary War?

Answer 70

1793-1801

Question 71

What was the date of the Napoleonic War?

Answer 71

1803-1815

Question 72

what did the contrasting strengths of the British and French do?

Answer 72

dictate a long and debilitating conflict

Question 73

when did France declare itself a republic?

Answer 73

1792

Question 74

what did Evans say about the reason for Britain going to war?

Answer 74

'Britain, unlike France, was not launching an ideological war'

Question 75

what did Wells say of Britain's reasoning for going to war?

Answer 75

'a war against dangerous and radical revolution turned into a war against French domination in Europe’

Question 76

what did the British government agree by mid-November 1792?

Answer 76

it was prepared to go to war to protect both British commerce and the Dutch

Question 77

what was the peace treaty after the French Revolutionary war called?

Answer 77

the Treaty of Amiens (1802)

Question 78

How long did peace last after the French Revolutionary wars?

Answer 78

less than 14 months

Question 79

why did the Napoleonic wars break out?

Answer 79

1) French troops continued to occupy Holland and dominate Northern Italy 2) France reoccupied Switzerland and Hanover 3) Napoleon invested in naval reconstruction

Question 80

when did Addington declare war on France?

Answer 80

May 1803

Question 81

what was government bottowing in 1793?

Answer 81

£4.5 million

Question 82

what was government borrowing in 1797?

Answer 82

£44 million

Question 83

what was government debt in 1816?

Answer 83

£902 million

Question 84

how much bigger was government debt in 1816 than in 1793?

Answer 84

almost 4 times bigger

Question 85

what was total expenditure over the course of the two wars?

Answer 85

£672 million

Question 86

when did the Bank of England suspend cash payments?

Answer 86

February 1797

Question 87

what did the suspension of cash payments by the Bank of England do?

Answer 87

made it impossible for the government to raise new loans

Question 88

how did Pitt respond to the suspension of cash payments in 1797?

Answer 88

increases assessed taxes (Triple Assessment Bill) and then introduced income tax

Question 89

what were wheat prices in 1812?

Answer 89

126 shillings a quarter

Question 90

what did the Continental system necessitate?

Answer 90

Napoleon's control over the entire coastline of Western Europe (needed to invade Spain and Portugal as British goods still entering through there)

Question 91

how many troops did Napoleon withdraw from Spain when he invaded Russia?

Answer 91

27,000

Question 92

what did Evans say on the consequence of Napoleon invading Russia?

Answer 92

‘It took purblindness of a high order to create common purpose in a coalition largely comprising autocratic states with separate ambitions and conflicting agendas, but Napoleon managed it after 1812. In doing so, he handed ultimate victory in 1815 to the armies, and the rulers, of the ancien regime’

Question 93

when was the battle of Waterloo?

Answer 93

June 1815

Question 94

how much on average did Britain spend on subsidies per year between 1807 and 1811?

Answer 94

£2.65 million

Question 95

what did Britain's naval supremacy make possible?

Answer 95

meant that the disruption of European markets could be compensated elsewhere as Britain could sustain transatlantic trade routes (particularly with India)

Question 96

why did Britain capture French colonies?

Answer 96

1) to eliminate France as an effective commercial or imperial operator 2) to use as bargaining chips in later negotiations

Question 97

what did a fleet under Sir Charles Grey capture and when?

Answer 97

Martinique, Guadeloupe and St Lucia in 1794 (BUT all were back in French hands by 1795)

Question 98

what did Foster say of the Duke of York's expedition in 1793-4?

Answer 98

'the most lasting outcome of the Duke of York's expedition to Flanders in 1793-4 was a nursery rhyme!'

Question 99

what does Foster say to praise Pitt?

Answer 99

'At least Pitt resisted the dreamers who argued that Britain could plough its resources into maintaining a direct military assault on Paris'