The French Revolution

The French Revolution created several different reactions in Britain. There were those who supported the actions of the French against the monarchy and there were those who opposed the destruction of order within the country.

The main opposition to the French Revolution in Britain was led by Edmund Burke. He produced a book in the 18th Century called “Reflections on the Revolution in France” as a warning to those considering trying to implement the changes in Britain as well. Burke's first public condemnation of the Revolution occurred on the debate in Parliament on the Army Estimates on 9 February 1790, provoked by praise of the Revolution by Pitt and Fox.

        Burke did not oppose reform; instead it was the nature of the reform which had caused his opposition. He believed in organic reform and organic growth i.e. natural evolution. He opposed the rapid, uncontrolled change that the French revolution had brought about. He said that the events in France would lead to conflict and bloodshed, and that a military dictatorship would occur (Napoleon).  Edmund Burke increasingly gained support as he was proved to be right. Burke’s view was that it was too risky to allow natural rights to trump an established system of government. Moreover, the shared traditions, beliefs and habits of a nation, passed on through institutions, function to secure the benefits that have been hard won by previous generations. Burke believed that humans were corrupt and capable of great evil if civilisation was removed. There are ten principles upon which the ideas of conservatism have been built which were based on the reactions to the French Revolution:

1. There is a moral order in the world that man must follow.
2. It is old custom that enables people to live together peaceably.
3. We should abide by precedent and precept to further our knowledge as we are unlikely to make any brave discoveries in morals, politics or taste.  
4. Conservatives are guided by their principle of prudence e.g. any public measure ought to be judged by its long-term consequences, not merely by temporary advantage or popularity.
5. Conservatives believe in the principle of variety. For the preservation of a diverse civilization, there must be classes, differences in material condition, and many sorts of inequality.
6. Conservatives believe that the human is fundamentally flawed. As man is imperfect we have no chance of creating a perfect society and attempts to do so are completely pointless.
7. Freedom and property are closely linked. It provides a sound economic basis and it allows large civilizations to be created.
8. Voluntary community work should be kept local to ensure the support is specific to the needs of the people.
9. Power should be restrained to prevent anarchy or tyranny and human feeling should not come in the way of decision making.
10. Change must occur in a society but it must be organic change that is not forced into occurrence by alternate factors to the norm.  

Although not all of these are relevant, there are several which directly relate to the hurried nature of the French Revolution and the problems Burke saw with it, such as the policies on the need for lack of feeling in leadership, the need for organic change, and the need for prudence.

The group in favour of the Revolution were the Foxite Whigs led by the Member of Parliament, Charles Fox. They were opposed to the tyranny of the monarchy and they disagreed with the feudal system in France that caused there to be massive poverty and inequality for the lower classes. Another very strong supporter of the revolution was Tom Paine. He tried to encourage democracy in England and then went to America where he possibly had a hand in writing the Declaration of Independence. He responded to Burke’s opinions written in Reflections on the Revolution in France by writing a response titled Rights of Man. Paine believed all men were equal and any non-equalisers like money or titles were wrong. He also felt that governments should reflect social equality. Paine was a pure democrat and believed in the ability of the ordinary man to make decisions for himself. Paine was responsible for politicising the lower orders and demanded social reforms including free education, old age pensions and family allowances, all of which were to be financed from income tax.

        Therefore, the French revolution created many ideas of anarchism based on the principles taught through the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers. However, it also led to the creation of counter-revolutionists like Edmund Burke, who went on to use observations of the revolution to create his own opinions and formulate the base of traditional conservatism, whose principles can still be observed today in the modern Conservative  party.

The Industrial Revolution occurred during the nineteenth century when the industry of Britain boomed along with other countries around the world. There are several reasons for the commencement of this revolution and many of them are still debated. These reasons include several areas. As there was more border control, there were fewer endemics and more children lived past infancy, meaning that the number of people seeking employment was increasing. As there had been several movements to increase the efficiency of farming, the people who could not get farming employment had to move into the cottage industries like lace making. The world had become more colonial in the 17th century, leading to more opportunity for international trade and the creation of the concept of an economy. Finally, the use of patents had been introduced, meaning the inventors could m0onopolise the market and so encouraged more people to try to invent items.

There are also several reasons to explain why Great Britain began its Industrial Revolution before the other countries. Britain received a lot of natural and financial resources from its overseas colonies in Africa etc. Britain is said to have more liberal trade for a merchant than other countries. As Britain had large cottage industries, it ensured markets were already available for many early forms of manufactured goods. Also any conflict tended not to be fought on British soil due to its status as an island and so it was not disturbed by wars as other countries were. Another reason was that there were many resources in Britain that could be used easily to expand the industry. Finally, the political situation in Britain was fairly stable and there was more acceptance of change than some countries.

There are several inventions connected with the start of the Industrial Revolution in Britain. The cotton spinning wheel led onto the cotton mills to increase production. The improved steam engine allowed the creation of semi-automated factories and the transport of goods. Coke was finally used in the iron process instead of charcoal, improving the quality of the iron and so the goods made from it. These represent three 'leading sectors', in which there were key innovations, which allowed the economic take off by which the Industrial Revolution is usually defined.

The knowledge of new equipment was spread by several means. Workers who were trained in the technique might move to another employer or might be poached. A common method was for someone to make a study tour, gathering information where he could. During the whole of the Industrial Revolution and for the century before, all European countries and America engaged in study-touring; some nations, like Sweden and France, even trained civil servants or technicians to do it as a matter of state policy. In other countries, Britain and America, this practice was carried out by individual manufacturers anxious to improve their own methods. Another way to spread news was by the network of informal philosophical societies, in which members met to discuss science and its application to manufacturing. At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, inland transport was by rivers and roads. Railways or wagon ways were used for conveying coal to rivers for further shipment. The Industrial Revolution improved Britain's transport with a turnpike road network, a canal, and waterway network, and a railway network. Raw materials and finished products could be moved more quickly and cheaply than before. Improved transportation also allowed new ideas to spread quickly.

During the Industrial Revolution, the social structure of society changed dramatically. Before the Revolution most people lived in small villages, working either in agriculture or as skilled craftsmen. They lived and often worked as a family, doing everything by hand. In fact, three quarters of Britain's population lived in the countryside, and farming was the main job. However, this all changed. The enclosure laws meant that many poor farmers lost grazing and became bankrupt. As a result, there were many people who were forced to work at the new factories being built. This meant they had to move to towns and cities so that they could be close to their new jobs. It also meant that they made less money for working longer hours.  As there were so many people arriving, living costs went up and poor people were very short of money.

As a result of this increased cost of living, women and children were sent out to work, making up 75% of workers on the earliest shifts. Families were forced to do this, since they needed money, while factory owners were happy to employ women and children. First of all, they could be paid very little, and children could be controlled more easily than adults, through beating them. Children also had smaller hands, which were needed to reach into a machine. For these reasons, children as young as eight were sent to factories—usually textiles factories—where they became part of a growing business.  

The Industrial Revolution also led to the creation of new social and political ideologies. In this period of time, the government was not too bothered about regulating capitalism. This meant there were no regulations or interference into the treatment of workers and so allowed the owners to give them a pittance and do anything they could to increase the profits they received from their business. The business sector really liked this ides and promoted it. However, the hard working conditions and bad economic life led to various protests and riots by the workers and eventually led to the formation of trade unions and "benevolent societies" that tried to protect worker rights.

However, the social changes that took place were not all negative. Most classes eventually benefited in some way from the huge profits that were being made, and by 1820 most workers were making somewhat better wages. The government, however, did have to eventually intervene in order to put an end to child labour and other unacceptable practices.

The Industrial revolution caused the creation of dissent in England. In 1811, the most violent movement occurred. Workers in the area became at employers continually reducing wages and began to revolt, breaking into the factories and destroying their machinery. This idea of destruction of the machines which were doing the humans’ jobs was known as Luddism and during that year, it spread all over England. They believed that the machinery was the cause of the unemployment and that the owners were reducing the workforce to make a smaller, more efficient business, instead of retaining the workforce and expanding the business.  Sometimes the riots even went to the extent of killing someone, such as William Horsfall in Yorkshire. The government were completely opposed to this and offered rewards to anyone who turned in the Luddites.  By 1817, the movement had disintegrated as the government were executing and deporting people attacking the machinery. However, even though this movement was stopped, the working class was discontented. They became interested in politics and began demanding better working conditions, less government corruption and universal suffrage.

In 1833, the Sadler report, suggested that the working class were being treated in breach of their human rights and in terrible conditions and that the government needed to introduce reforms to stop any discontent. The list of changes introduced follows:

The middle classes were also given more opportunity to play a part in politics during the nineteenth century. However, the working classes were not represented. Thus, Chartism was born. It was an ideology calling for political reform. They wanted to vote by ballot, have annual Parliament, pay MPs, allow MPs without land etc. It gained support quickly in the poorer classes but died out when the leaders became divided.

The factory owners were gaining lots of wealth and the working class was gaining none of it. Hence, socialism was born. Socialism grew during the 1800s as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution. It was preaching more state influence, equal rights, and an end to inhumanity, which was strongly opposite to the laissez faire politics of the government.  While industrialists did not want any change, workers and intellectuals wanted a complete change in society. The socialism

Thus all of the revolutions such as price revolution, agricultural revolution, technological revolutions and the economic revolutions all became loosely known as the Industrial Revolution. It began in Britain and soon encompassed whole of Europe and changed the world forever. The period was marked by transformations of European agricultural, technological, and manufacturing and production capabilities had a significant impact of the social, economical and political landscape of Europe and soon changed the world as we know it. The environmental damages during the period were widespread and led to vast reforms as new green movements emerged in the 20th century. Social life was changed as women left the homes to work and provide for families and the working conditions slowly improved. Businesses and industries saw the formation of unions and worker's rights groups that promoted better wages and working conditions in Europe. New transportation and communication lines linked Europe and Americas to the rest of the world and helped to bring about new radical political ideologies. Overall, the Industrial Revolution was a process that can never be reversed and completely transformed every aspect of life in Europe and the world.