In depth notes on Chapter 5 of the Pitt to Peel textbook. These include notes from the textbook, my class notes and my extended research. The notes include the context of Pitt's time in office, Pitt's domestic reforms, the French Revolution and the radical threat.
Summary OCR A Level History - OCR A Level History: From Pitt to Peel 1783-1846 - AS Unit F961 - British History Period Studies
Summary OCR A Level History - OCR A Level History: From Pitt to Peel 1783-1846 - AS Unit F961 - British History Period Studies
Exemplar Essay 'How far do you agree that 'the Tory governments were no more liberal from 1822-1830 than from 1812-1822'.
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Pitt’s England WHIGS
There are two fundamental beliefs of the Whigs
Context
Constitutional Monarchism
MONARCHY
Opposition to Absolute Rule
In 1688 Prince William of Orange III became King of England. He was
popular with the people because he was the heir, he was a protestant and The Whigs played a vital role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The
he allowed government to limit his power. Before 1689, the King had more Whig’s standing enemies were the Stuart Kings and the Pretenders (Roman
power than parliament and then after that date, the two were more equal. Catholics). The Whigs reigned supreme in Parliament from 1715 to 1760.
This is because in 1689 The Bill of Rights was passed which created a The Whigs didn’t like the Tories and god rid of them from major positions
Constitutional Monarchy meaning that the Monarchy no longer ruled with in government, the army, the Church of England, the legal profession and
absolute power. The crown was passed by hereditary descent to men. The local officials.
king is the head of the church, the armed forces, the empire and all TORIES
institutions that form part of the state. The concept of ‘King in Parliament’
means that the two act in agreement and conduct all government functions. The Tories have the political philosophy of Toryism based on
The concept of ‘the King can do no wrong’ means that the monarch can traditionalism and conservatism. They believed in God, King and Country.
only act on the advice of ministers, these ministers assume responsibility The Tory religion was High Church Anglican which is protestant but acts
for all actions and policies of government. The Hanoverians came to the as Catholicism but with the King as the head of state. ‘Conservatism’
British throne because they had a blood claim and were protestant. emerged at the end of the 18th century when ‘Whig supremacy ended in
1760. Edmund Burke and William Pitt aided it by being strong leaders.
POLITICAL PARTIES
COMMONS AND LORDS
There were no parties in the modern sense but in the late 17th century two
groups had emerged. Each was given a nickname by their opponents. The You could get a seat in Commons during the 18th century by bribery,
Tories, who favoured the King, were named after Irish Bandits; the Whigs, philanthropy and by calling favours. As a result the aristocrats and the rich
named after poor Scottish farmers, favoured controlling the power of the were most likely to become MPs. Only property owning males were able
crown. The dominant party for the most of the mid-18th century were the to vote in this period. Generally Bishops and small numbers of great
Whigs. They were not a modern political part but loose groupings in landowners sat in Lords. The Lords had to power to block legislation and
parliament around influential aristocrats like the Marquess of Rockingham, had a readily available break to apply to the forward motion of
who wanted to restrict the power of the crown. George III had to accept government. They could only be stopped by a very powerful PM with a
Whig PM’s because they had majorities in the House of Commons. secure majority in the Commons who could demand their submission. The
MPs were elected either for the counties for instance, Kent which each
sent two MPs to the Commons or from the boroughs (urban areas) which
,also sent two MPs. People could influence these elections in the 18th wealthy through the slave trade. The key difference between 1783 and
century for instance, in the counties it was the landowners. Some boroughs today is population and size. England and Wales had a population of only
were democratic and others had small electorates or were practically the 7.5 million. The middle classes often bought land and there was a social
property of influential men. mobility not common in other parts of Europe.
RELIGION BRITAIN AND THE WORLD
Britain was a strongly Protestant country. Its main Catholic population was Britain had established important overseas possessions. In key wars earlier
in Ireland, but it was tightly controlled by a dominant Protestant ruling in the century Britain had defeated France to establish control over much
class. The predominant religion was Protestantism. There were restrictions of India and America. It had a powerful royal navy and its extensive
placed upon Catholics during the 18th century, for instance they couldn’t merchant shipping made it the world’s greatest trading power. In 1776 the
be members of parliament and there couldn’t be a Catholic monarch. There British colonists in North America had begun a rebellion. It ended, with
were lots of Protestant religious groups that were active at this time French help, in the defeat of Britain in 1783 and the independence of the
including Baptists, Quakers, Unitarians and Methodists. These groups thirteen colonies on the Atlantic seaboard, which became the United States
were called non-conformists because they are protestant but they don’t of America. However, Britain still held Canada. France was considered the
want to be part of the Church of England. There were restrictions placed main national enemy. Britain had taken part in major international
on non-conformists as well for instance, they couldn’t go to Oxbridge. conflicts since the late 18th century, but its army was considerably smaller
These dissenters (non conformists) flourished in business, trade and than those of other great European states. Its naval power, empire and
industry. commercial wealth were its main assets and gave it international influence.
LONDON LIFE AND SOCIETY Important Figures
Merchants were people involved in trade and supported the expansion of William Pitt (1759-1806)
industry and colonies. Clubs and coffee houses were important places for
Pitt was a British Prime Minister who served in office twice from 1783 to
the spread of radicalism because gentlemen could begin their mornings
1801 and from 1804 to 1806. Pitt went to university at 14 years old, where
read of the first newspapers of political journals in a coffeehouse or if
he trained to be a lawyer. Pitt first became an MP in a pocket borough
wealthy in a new club. The less well-off might dine or drink wine and gin
named Appleby, in Cumbria. Pitt went on to become the MP for
in taverns and ale houses. 13.3% of the population lived in London. The
Cambridge University. In his early career, Pitt was a reformer, who
rest lived in rural areas or in small towns, rural society was dominated by
opposed the traditional corrupt system of voting for MPs. He also wanted
the aristocrats and landowners who controlled the local government. In
to end the war against the American colonies. His intellect and speeches
1783, industries were well established and on the verge of the industrial
attracted attention and in 1782 was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer
revolution but in spite of this they were still certainly small scale. London
(in charge of finance) under the Whig Prime Minister, the Earl of
was a large commercial and culture centre. Flourishing trade had seen the
Shelburne. His former associate, Charles James Fox, refused to join the
growth of key ports, including Liverpool and Bristol which were made
Earl of Shelburne’s new government and instead allied with his former
, enemy, Lord North. North had led the war against America which Fox had Shelburne, a former colleague. Instead he united in opposition with his
opposed. Their support in parliament forced the King to dismiss Shelburne former enemy Lord North. He returned to office in the Fox-North
and appoint the Duke of Portland as Prime Minister. Despite this, the coalition. When the Fox-North coalition was dismissed by George III, he
ministry was known as the Fox-North coalition. Pitt however, was King went into opposition against Pitt. He remained in opposition until 1806 but
George’s favourite leader and so in December 1783 he appointed Pitt as died the same year.
Prime Minister despite him being so young and having no real
William Pitt’s Rise to Power
parliamentary following. In March 1783 he declared he wasn’t a Whig or a
Tory Britain contextually in 1783 (the year Pitt came to power)
Pitt’s father was the Earl of Chatham, a lead statesman who had been British people thought that the British Empire was declining.
responsible for victories in the 7 Years War (1756-1763) and secured 13 The American colonies which were vital to Britain’s wealth, had
American colonies and Canada under British control. William Pitt the won their independence.
Elder also served as Prime Minister in the 1760s. Britain’s dominance in world trade was falling. Exports fell 20%
George III between 1772 and 1780 and this money was vital to defending its
colonies as far away as India.
George the III was different from the previous two Hanoverian monarchs It isn’t surprising therefore that readers of Edward Gibbon’s ‘The
because he was born in Britain while the previous two Georges were born History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire published in
and raised in Germany. Two of his min dislikes included party conflict and 1776 believed that Britain was following the Roman Empire.
the war with the American Colonies. George III was instrumental in the There was unrest among the working class, usually as a result of
rise of William Pitt the Younger even though he was never personally close food shortages or high food prices. Eg. In1764 and 1788 there
to him. George III succumbed to Porphyria in 1788. This was a blood cell were food riots in Nottingham.
disorder that has psychological effects. George III suffered relapses in In 1783 a crows in Halifax besieged the corn merchants and made
1801, 1804 and 1811. In 1811, he became too ill to continue as King. His them sell corn at a reduced price.
son, the future George IV ruled as Prince Regent from 1811 to 1820. Among political writers and philosophers of the late 18th century,
Charles James Fox reform of the constitution was a key idea and one traced back to
constitutional conflicts of the civil war in the 1640s.
Charles James Fox was the nephew of the Whig leader, the Marquis of
Rockingham. Charles James Fox was famously known for womanizing, Why was the time right for Pitt to seize power in 1783?
drinking and gambling. Fox became an MP in 1768 for the family pocket
After 1760 there were 10 years of instability as George III sought
borough at Midhurst, Sussex. Fox objected to the war with the American
an acceptable PM.
colonies which caused him to be intensely disliked by the King. He was
Stability was provided by the administration of Lord North from
committed to reducing the influence of the crown and supporting popular
rights. In 1782 he was foreign secretary but would not serve under Lord 1770-1782).
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