What was the condition of Britain in 1812?

Question 1

What was the state of Britain in 1812?

Answer 1

• a crisis
• had been at war for almost 20 years and there was no sign of resolution
• it was reeling from economic collapse
• poverty and starvation amongst working class; grew resentful towards those they saw benefitting from the wars with France

Question 2

What had the problems in 1812 led to?

Answer 2

• social unrest and violent outbreaks
• assassination of Perceval meant that a new PM had to be appointed

Question 3

Who became PM in 1812? Why was he a good choice? What did he do with Addington

Answer 3

• Lord Liverpool, a Tory
• very experienced; foreign secretary, secretary of war and colonies etc.
• appointed Addington as his Home Secretary, who become known for his ruthless crackdown on dissent

Question 4

What were the positive aspects of Britain’s condition in 1812?

Answer 4

• Britain’s sea power, military efforts and economic blockade weakened Napoleon significantly
• victory was on the horizon

Question 5

What did the United States do in 1812? What was the impact of this?

Answer 5

• declared war on Britain as a result of the ‘Orders in Council’
• increased national debt

Question 6

How was Britain’s demographic changing in 1812?

Answer 6

• agriculture becoming a more capitalist system
• this caused rural depopulation
• population increased from 10.5 million 1801 to 12 million in 1811
• this caused overcrowding in industrial towns

Question 7

What was Parliament and elections like in 1812?

Answer 7

• still unrepresentative of the population
• elections held at intervals but there was no strong movement for parliamentary reform

Question 8

What was radicalism like in 1812?

Answer 8

-its nature was changing, influenced by Bentham
- there were a handful of radicals in parliament but they were focused on individual rights rather than extending the franchise

Question 9

What was the Hampden club? Who founded it?

Answer 9

• established in 1812
• formed by a group of leading radicals but had little impact on political change
• founded by Cartwright

Question 10

What was the exercise of political power like in 1812?

Answer 10

• same as in the 1780s
• aristocracy still dominated parliament
• but there was a growing awareness of manufacturing concerns
• parliament began listening to lower classes but they were not willing to share their power
• opinions of the labouring class still counted for nothing

Question 11

Why did Britain seem to be on the verge of a political, economic and social revolution in 1812?

Answer 11

• despite Britain’s industrial success and increasing naval supremacy, the war had made the hardships caused by industrialisation worse for the labouring population
• there was unrest. and protests which was responded to with government brutality
• politicisation of the working classes (became politically aware)