The 'tale of two revolutions'

After the booming years that the British economy enjoyed during the Napoleonic War, the beginning of the 19th Century also saw the start of not only the Industrial Revolution, but that of a political nature as well. The French domination of Europe was over, and the British Empire was becoming the strongest in the world, benefitting greatly from the foreign trade of textiles, coal and cotton. And yet, this period in history has become known as one of the most horrendous in which the British population was forced to endure.

With the end of the war, the number of British exports rapidly declined, creating a big hole in various industries, including that of agriculture. In order to protect it, the government introduced the Corn Laws, which placed considerable tariffs upon imported grain. Foreign prices thus rose considerably and forced many of families away from the 'bread line'. Starvation raged across the country.

During this time, Parliament was considered to be extremely corrupt - only 2% of the population was even allowed to vote! It took a strong policy of repression towards any dissent by the public, threatening exportation to one of the new colonies abroad. In 1819 though, thousands gathered in protest of governmental policy, leading to the Peterloo Massacre, in which the cavalry were sent in to disperse the crowds, killing 11 people in the process. This public outcry continued however, and in 1846, the Corn Laws were finally abolished.

By such a time, the developments that were beginning to be made in technology began to see a gradual shift in emphasis towards industry in the cities anyway. The Enclosure Acts cut off the rural land significantly, forcing vast numbers of workers into the city. Again though, living conditions were appaling, due to such large workforces leading to much lower wages. The Industrial Revolution had begun.

During this period, extreme members of the public voiced their opinions as to the damaging effects that technology was causing to British lifestyles and values. One such person was William Cobbett. He was devastated at seeing the countryside being emptied of people, feeling that Parliament's power-hungry policies were simply destroying the country from the inside. He began to distribute one of history's very first pieces of radical press, in the form of a pamphlet named the Political Register. In it, he condemned the government's treatment of the British workforce, particularly those farmers who had been pushed off their own land. He was later sent to prison.

Another radical was a certain Charles Dickens. Like Cobbett, he believed firmly in the harm the government was causing in its chase for world domination, but unlike his contemporary, preached against the horrendous conditions in the city. His criticism of the inadequacy of workhouses, which were slowly starving many thousands of families, is most notable in his novel, Oliver Twist. He was seen very much as an heroic figure to the working classes, condemning the laws which seemed intent on criminalizing the poor.

Indeed, this period is noted as one of the most important in Britain's history, and saw the foundations laid for the country to become one of the most powerful in the modern world. However, it is undoutedly the case that governmental policies were horrendously extreme and perhaps all too guilty of placing the growing Empire before the population itself. Cobbett and Dickens were just two members of the public, who tried vigorously to voice these concerns, and in my view, are rightly commended for doing so.