Liverpool and Repession

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History Exam Question

Explain why Lord Liverpool’s government used repressive measures in the period 1815 – 1820.

Combined with the Napoleonic Wars following the French revolution and the unrest caused by the Industrial Revolution in Britain, Lord Liverpool had to find a way to deal with the many protests performed by his own people. Even though Pitt’s government passed laws which were already deemed as repressive, much stricter policies were to be seen under Liverpool’s rule; the leaders of the country still felt that there was a pressing threat of a revolution at home and sought harsh ways to prevent it.

        The poorest of the people in Britain were the ones that were suffering the most and the government feared that it was this group in society who would strive to ignite a revolution; just as they did in France. However, it was the poor that had to face the growing problems that came with the Industrial revolution; enclosures, population growth, unemployment in agriculture and horrific working conditions in the towns and cities. The Industrial revolution saw the birth of new and powerful machinery which reduced the demand for labour, resulting in an increase in unemployment in all aspects of life and disenchantment within the hearts of the people. The best example of this was the hardship of the hand loom weavers who were forced out of jobs by the power-loom in Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cheshire. The growth in population watched vast numbers of people move to the cities which were riddled with death and illness from the devastating working and living conditions in places like Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. Some of the actions made by the government only added to the problems in Britain within 1815-1820. The Combination, Corn and Game laws were introduced along with the abolition of income tax. The Combination Laws ruled trade unions illegal, the Corn Laws banned the import of foreign wheat unless the price of home-grown wheat was raised and the Game Laws made poaching unacceptable. Each of these new policies crippled the poor in Britain and suppressed them to the point of poverty. Although the promise to abolish income tax was granted by the government, it meant that other, more expensive taxes were put in place; indirect taxes, which only made poor, poorer.

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        Of course, it was inevitable that the people suffering in Britain under Lord Liverpool’s rule were going to protest. Riots broke out over the country, giving the government an even greater need for concern. We know that a revolution did not occur in Britain; however, the scare and the amount of demonstrations from the public were enough to encourage suppressive measures from the government. The Luddite Riots saw trade unions demolish new machinery and set fire to many factories and other demonstrations followed such as the Spa Fields Meetings, the March of the Blanketeers and the Derbyshire Rising. None of ...

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