"Tory Government in the Period 1822 to 1830 had a genuine desire to introduce major Reform" Do I Agree?

Authors Avatar

“Tory Government in the Period 1822 to 1830 had a genuine desire to introduce major Reform” Do I Agree?

The period of 1822-1830 saw the origins of modern day democracy forming in Britain. It could be said that Britain was going through a political revolution, this was following on from the industrial, agricultural and social revolutions, which had occurred, in the previous 100 years. The reforms which took place under Tory rule was not due to their genuine desire for reform but more the case that if there was no reform then their would have been more widespread and violent unrest.

        Britain has seen a number of uprisings and demonstrations in the years prior to 1822, only a handful had actual malicious intentions. These would include the Pentrich Rising and Cato Street Conspiracy. However the Tory Government more often than not, chose repression over reform, and many innocent protestors were killed in demonstrations that were of a purely peaceful nature.

        Britain was going through many social-economic changes at the time, the population was rising, many industries were turning into a larger scale, more people were beginning to live in the urban rather than rural areas.

The French Revolution had reminded many politicians that the people could still muster enough strength and will to overthrow the monarchy and government. The revolution in France brought about more radicalistic movements in Britain and the Government wanted to keep these under control and if possible dissolve them. During the wars with France the armaments industry was making massive profits, after the end of the war this boom went spiraling down into a depression. Men from the army would be de mobbed however there was a severe unemployment crisis at the time and another 400,000 did nothing to help the situation.

        The Governments actions of repression caused much resentment among the lower classes. There was a death penalty for breaking the Game Laws, this involved poaching on private land. The abolition of the income tax made the lower classed feel abused, as they would have to pay the same tax as the middle classes. It had previously been based on how much the person earnt. Also, due to aristocratic influence over the Government, there was little opposition to the repeal of the income tax as it was not a major issue to them.

Join now!

        The corn laws held the prices of wheat at a certain low level, this was to help protect it from foreign imports, however it was seen as an example of landowners protecting their own personal finances. Riots, petitions and demonstrations followed. However in 1822 many tariffs and restrictions on imports were removed. And in 1832 the Corn Laws were modified by substituting a sliding scale for the previous fixed rate. As British wheat rose in price, the duty on foreign wheat was reduced. Also in 1832, the Navigation Laws were relaxed, this allowed foreign ships to bring goods into British ...

This is a preview of the whole essay