Impact of the Napoleonic Wars on Post War Britain

The French Revolution started in 1789 when the people of France rose up against the French monarchy. During
this time the French citizens radically altered their political systems, destroying the old institutions such as the
monarchy and the feudal system. The revolution ended in the late 1790s with the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.

After the revolution the French warred with the rest of Europe, initially as an attempt by France to stop the old
monarchies of Europe suppressing their revolution, but soon Napoleon started a war of conquest invading all
over Europe.

From 1792 to 1814, the French and other European powers were involved in nearly continuous warfare. 

The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1805), were very costly for the British. The British state spent close to 35 million
pounds on defence and lost nearly 100 000 British men.

Post Napoleonic War Britain

After the war, Britain (as well as the rest of Europe) entered an economic depression. In Britain, people were
left in poverty and the country held huge war debts of over £800 million. The interest on these debts was a huge
burden on the British people. Plus, between 1816 and 1819 there were bad harvests which affected agriculture,
industry, prices, wages and markets. 

During the wars, Britain's exports had drastically increased around the world, plus it had captured the French
colonies, which increased its trade. However after 1815, this monopoly ended, and trade declined between 1815
and 1820 because European markets were drastically reduced from the effects of war and also manufacturers on
the continent  were re-establishing themselves. 

To make matters worse, the bad harvests after the wars led the Tories to pass the Corn Laws of 1815.  These
laws placed tariffs on grain imported from other countries to favour domestic agriculture. “The price of grain
had to reach 80 shillings a quarter, or near famine inducing levels, before foreign imports would be allowed.”

The effect of the Corn Laws was to limit the disposable income of the most British people and to limit economic
growth. The working class was unable to afford anything other than their food, forcing them to stop buying
manufactured goods which also reduced manufacturing profits and led to further unemployment.

The unemployment was made even worse by the industrial revolution which meant that peoples jobs were being
taken over by machines and at the same time the population was increasing at a rapid rate. Unemployment was
so bad that people were willing to do any type of work which is why body snatching was a common job in the
1800s.

The Post Napoleonic Depression caused much tension between the people and  parliament.  People all over the
country fought to reduce the taxes and signed petitions demanding the government repeal the Corn Laws. In
places they even attacked the homes of pro corn law ministers. 

People were fed up with their circumstances and protests and riots increased, particularly in the North. In 1819
nearly 60,000 people gathered together in Manchester in order to demand reform of parliamentary
representation so more men could vote for to improve their circumstances (at the time only about 11% of men
had voting rights). The local cavalry charged into the crowd killing 10 -20 people and injuring around 600. This
is known as the Peterloo Massacre.

The British government sided with the cavalry and passed the Six Acts of 1819 which were designed to reduce
disturbances and to check the extension of radical propaganda and organization.  These acts just further
alienated the people and increased tensions.