Key Events- The Social and Political Impacts of The Napoleonic Wars in Britain (1815)
There were 4 main issues following the Napoleonic War:
- High levels of unemployment
- Conditions in towns and cities were getting worse- it stopped being worthwhile living there for the better wages which is why people flooded there in the first place
- National debt continuing to rise- reached £867 million in 1815
- Immense widespread worker discontent- increased likelihood of revolution in Britain
Arguably the biggest issue faced by Lord Liverpool and his government was the rise in worker discontent as the likelihood of revolution is one of the biggest threat a government can encounter as it puts them in peril. Below is ab overview of the discontent in Britain at the time.
- Industry could not progress at a consistent rate- only in 'booms and busts'
- There was a massive, national economic slump which meant a decline in industry. This caused employers to impose lower wages and dismiss many workers as their production was suffering- this meant a rise in employment, those who were lucky enough to have a wage saw them getting worse
- The periodic bad harvests only worsened the discontent- rise in price of bread left many very hungry as it was a staple part of their diet
- Speenhamland system was failing (based wages on price of bread and size of family). It could not cope with the rising population and is widely accepted as being unsuccessful
- The rising level of unemployment caused riots and uprisings- some meant the involvement of the military
- The government became hugely unpopular as the war increased national debt to levels never seen before, they were seen as weak war time ministers who won the war, not because they were doing well, but because Napoleon became greedy and started doing badly. This increased the social unrest in Britain and and national anger against the government.
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