G.M Trevelyan - SHE - Chapter XVI
[alert-success] COBBETT'S ENGLAND- II
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[alert-primary] THE COBBETT'S ENGLAND [/alert-primary]
[alert-primary] THE COBBETT'S ENGLAND [/alert-primary]
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At the end of the
Napoleonic War, England was in charge of all the seas in the world. At the same
time, thanks to the work of her inventors and mechanics and the fact that she
had a lot of coal, she was far ahead of any foreign competitors in the industrial
arena. Women and the
new World
As the factory system and capitalist
agriculture grew, women's jobs changed in a number of ways. These changes
affected family life and, in the long run, how men and women related to each
other.
Since the beginning of time, women and children have been making things
at home. As the upper and middle classes got richer and the rural gentry became
more influenced by city life, it became a point of social pride for young
ladies to be taught by a governess in the schoolroom, then go to the drawing
room and do as little housework as possible. In Miss Austen's books, the women,
who represent the smaller gentry and upper bourgeoisie, don't have much to do
besides read poetry, spread rumours, and wait for the attention of the
gentlemen. Aside from dancing, "ladies" were not encouraged to move
their bodies. In the manor house, where there were a lot of jobs to do both
inside and outside, the ladies from good families, like the Pattons and the
Verneys, had their own jobs. But now, being idle has become a sign of a "lady."
Even among the
wealthy, there were many women who were busy and helpful. Some were the
old-fashioned housewives, while others, like Hannah More, were more modern,
philanthropic, and smart. But the false idea of the "sheltered" woman
was a real threat to "the new century.
Corn Laws
In 1815, a heavy tax was put on imported corn
because of the Corn Laws. The goal was to protect the English wheat farmers so
that they wouldn't lose money by selling their corn for less. Because the Corn
Laws made it harder to bring in foreign corn, the price of bread went up.
Because of this,
poor people suffered a lot, and there was a lot of anger in the country because
British landlords controlled the market at the expense of the common people.
People finally decided to get rid of the Corn Laws because there was no other
way to make their lives better. Ireland had a terrible famine in 1845 because
the potato crop failed. The potato was the main food the Irish ate. Peel was
able to get the Corn Laws overturned in 1846 so that millions of people would
not die of hunger. So, England set up a free market for corn trade.
Rural Laborers
Cobbett says that
in the old days, a worker would eat the same meal as his boss, though the
farmer might save a stronger beer for himself. In the winter of 1830, a few
months before the Great Reform Bill was passed, hungry field workers in the
counties south of the Thames River marched around in a rowdy way, demanding
that they be paid half a crown a day. It would be a big mistake to think that
all of rural England is like the hard lives of the workers in the counties
south of the Thames.
In the North, wages for farm workers were higher, the
number of people getting aid for the poor was lower, and the number of poor
people was also lower. Cobbett, but everyone complained that farmers were
"imitating their betters" and giving up old homely ways. In 1830,
farm workers in Cobbett's favourite part of England, Southern England, rioted
because they didn't make enough money.
Laissez-faire
It means free trade. The government didn't get
involved in the country's economy, so exports and imports were free, which made
it hard for poor people to get by. Poor people were used in this way. It was
unfair for the state to leave the worker unprotected in terms of wages, hours, and
factory conditions while also denying him the right to protect himself through
a union. It wasn't "let it go," but the masters had freedom while the
men were forced to work. Ricardo and other big names in the laissez-faire
school of thought were on the side of the workers and wanted trade unions to be
legal.
William
Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was the most important
person in the movement against slavery. As a good guy, he was known for being
honest and dedicated to the cause. Obviously, people from different political
parties and religious groups worked with him, and in 1807, a Parliamentary Act
banned the slave trade because of this. About 20 years later, all of the slaves
in the British Empire were freed. He could do well in life because of his skills
and position.
Game Laws
The Game Laws protected the well-stocked
estates, which were full of pheasants, partridges, and hares, so that the
owners could use them. Poachers who were caught were given harsh punishments.
In 1816, a law was passed that said any man caught with a net to catch rabbits
would be sent to prison for seven years. The Game Laws are a good example of a
criminal law that made the Statute-Book look bad in 1815.
More than 200
crimes, most of which were forms of theft, could get you killed. The laws about
"game" were unfair and self-serving, not just to the poor but to
everyone except a few wealthy people. Anyone who bought or sold game did
something wrong. Because of this, the prices that professional poachers could
get were much higher. It was against the law for anyone who wasn't a squire or
the eldest son of a squire to kill game, even if the owner asked them to. A
process called "deputation" could be used to get around this annoying
law. Even though the Duke of Wellington was against it, the Whig legislators
got rid of it in 1831.
Conclusion
Cobbett knew that the poor were upset because
they were out of work and hungry, not because they wanted to overthrow English
society as the government said. Cobbett thought that the economy couldn't get
better without a change in Parliament and a cut in interest on the national
debt. During the 1820s, he worked for a lot of different causes to try to get
back to where he was before and to bring about the changes he wanted to see in
England's political and economic system.
Even though he had
old-fashioned ideas about what an ideal society should be like, no one could
criticise England's corruption and waste, harsh laws, low wages, and absent
clergymen as well as he did. In fact, he pointed out almost everything that was
wrong with England.
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