Day One Notes

Agricultural Revolution
Farmers used an open field system for centuries up til this time. Everyone worked the same land and reaped the benefits. They also used the three field system, in which crops were rotated. One field would have a crop, a second field another, and the third field would lie fallow to rest.
Farmers started to enclose their land and cut off the age old grazing rights of others. Mechanized means of farming led to more land being enclosed. Small farmers lost rights as bigger land owners took over. The church at first fought against land enclosures because of the amount of newly poor it was creating. These people would move to the cities to survive. This led to the new factory systems having the workers they needed.
The power source for these first factories was water. They were built near rivers so that wheels could power the machines.
When steam machines took over they needed coal.
Coal mines got bigger and deeper which led to them filling with water. Then they used steam engines to drain the mines.

The spinning jenny, water frame, and spinning mule were all spinning wheels.
Yarn was made more efficiently which led to a bigger need for cotton. Cotton gin stepped in.
Another factor of industrial revolution was the surplus capital available in England. England was wealthy, had power, favorable government, and had surplus workers.
Transportation was the fifth requirement for the revolution. Canals were built to transport goods from the riverine factories.
The sixth factor was the glut of markets available. England had merchants and colonies to buy their goods. The English Merchant Marine could transport and protect the goods to their intended markets.

With all of these things, England became the first industrialized nation in the world. Along with the primary economy.
England was the one country that Napoleon couldnt beat. They were too strong and had the channel to help defend them. Napoleon did his best to strangle the English economy, to slim effect. When Napoleon invaded Spain, England became free to trade with south america. After the war, England used its naval power to keep Spain from regripping power among its colonies. This led to South American revolutions.

During the war English labor had agreed not to strike or agitate. After the war many british troops became unemployed. They moved to the cities to get jobs. However, with manufacturing needs lowered the factories were cutting jobs and wages.
Labor started to agitate because the cost of living was rising while the wagers were being slashed.
Corn Laws- Govt wanted to protect british agriculture. You had to buy British food or pay high tariffs for cheaper foreign food. This led to calls for political reform. By 1819 political pressure had come to a head. Political disgruntlement led to the forming of the Manchester Patriotic Union.
The head of the union, Joseph Johnson, invited radical Henry Hunt to chair a political rally in Manchester. A letter from Johnson to Hunt, containing revolutionary speak out of context, fell into the hands of the govt. They took it out of context and feared insurrection.
The Manchester Patriotic Union wanted to put a good face on the working class. They were seen by the upper classes as louts. They emphasized good behavior and banned weapons.
Sixty to Eighty thousand people attended the meeting. To keep the gathering orderly, the attendees were made to practice marching. The govt saw this as an army training for insurrection. The authorities called in the Army and special constables. General Bing showed up with cavalry, infantry, and his artillery.
The 16th of august turned out to be a race day. Bing had horses in the race, so he left command to his adjutant. The govt decided to arrest Hunt and Johnson.
The Yeomanry were inexperienced militia drawn from the dregs of the Torrie loyalists. They were young, dumb, and ready for a fight.
The crowd hugely outnumbered the militia and they were pushed from the field.
William Hulton, the chairman of the magistrates, issued warrants for the arrest of Hunt and Johnson.
The yeomanry were very drunk and started pushing into the crowd on horseback. The yeomanry got stuck in the crowd and started to swing their swords. The crowd panicked from being attacked. The Hussars were sent in to "save" the yeomanry. The crowds were being pushed into the bayonets of the infantry. It seems that the yeomanry was deliberately attacking women. 168 of the casualties were women, way out of proportion.
This became known as the "Peterloo" massacre. The Hussars had fought at waterloo, and the massacre was at st. peters field. Hence Peter-Loo.
The effect of Peterloo was a crackdown on radicals. They were charged with sedition and transportation. The govt feared armed rebellion from the poor they were oppressing.
1819
The Six Acts- New legislation- any meeting of radicals was meant as an overt act of treason. Newspapers were gagged and the poor were stomped on.

1-Training prevention act- No more marching for workers. Violators were transported.
2- Seizure of Arms Act- Warrantless search and seizures on private property.
3- Misdemeanor Act- Reduced judicial processes to make it easier to jail dissidents.
4- Seditious Meeting Prevention Act- Any meeting of 50 or more people had to have magisterial approval.
5- Blasphemous and Seditious Libel Act- Toughened existing laws for seditious writings. 12-14 years in australia.
6- Newspaper and Stamp Duties Act- Newspaper and Opinion papers both have to pay for stamps to continue operation. Before, opinion papers were exempt. Newspapers also had to post bonds to show they would behave.