1. Napoleonic Wars
The war did not go well for Britain. During the Napoleonic wars it had to form four coalitions. Three coalitions collapsed and Napoleon was planning to invade Britain. It was Admiral Nelson's victory in the dramatic battle of Trafalgar in 1805 that prevented the invasion. The battle was won at the price of Nelson's life, but the French forces never stepped on the British soil. Admiral Nelson was buried in Westminster Abbey, and the column set up in Trafalgar Square in the center of London is topped with a bronze statue of the national hero.
Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 led to the fourth coalition, which brought together the armies of Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia. Britain's contribution included an army led by The Duke of Wellington, who first fought in Spain and later won the Battle of Waterloo. Wellington proved to be a capable commander early in the war. Unlike the majority of the officers of the allied forces, he did not believe either in the genius of Napoleon himself or in the invincibility of his army. He insisted that Napoleon usually won his victories largely due to the psychological effect produced by his army and his personality. On his appointment as commander of the British army he wrote about the French, “I am not afraid of them. I suspect that all the continental armies were more than half beaten before the battle was begun. I, at least, will not be frightened beforehand.” At the beginning of March 1815, the Emperor Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France. He reformed his army with astonishing speed, and determined to conquer Holland as the first move in rebuilding his empire. The representatives of the allied European countries that met at the Congress of Vienna mobilized their armies to stop him, but only two armies could be brought to Flanders in time: the Prussian army commanded by Marshal Blucher, and a mixed army of British, Dutch and German troops under the command of the Duke of Wellington. They were all divided in their languages, loyalties and experience, so it was largely due to Wellington's military talent that the allied forces defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, in Belgium, on June 18, 1815. The battle of Waterloo brought about Napoleon's downfall. Wellington is rightly considered to be a national hero, like Admiral Nelson.
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2. The political and economic development of the country
In the 1820s, Prime Minister Robert Peel turned his attention to the problem of crime by establishing a regular police force for London in 1829. The government employed a specially trained army of men to catch criminals. Although at first Londoners laughed at the blue-uniformed men in their top-hats, during the next thirty years almost every other town and country started a police force of their own. The new police units soon proved themselves successful, as much crime was pushed out of larger cities, then out of towns and finally out of the countryside. Robert Peel was able to show that certainty of punishment was far more effective than cruelty of punishment.
The
beginning of the century also saw the innovations of Robert
Owen,
a factory owner from Scotland, who gave his workers shorter working
hours and encouraged trade unions. He built his factory in the
countryside, away from the smog and dirt of the big cities, and
provide d
good housing for workers and a school for their children. Owen was
able to prove that his workers produced more goods in less time than
those forced to work longer hours. Better working and living
conditions resulted in an increase in labour productivity.
Owen’s ideas and example were supported and put into life by other reformers, like Authur Cadbury, the owner of the famous Birmingham chocolate factory, who built first-class housing for workers.
The main political issue of the 1830s was the Reform Bill, which became law in 1832. The bill set up a system of registration that encouraged political party organization, both locally and nationally. That measure weakened the monarch and the House of Lords. Other reforms came in a quick succession. In 1833 slavery was abolished. By the New Poor Law of 1834 workhouses were opened. They were meant to provide the homeless people with work and shelter. Abandoned children were also taken care of in workhouses. But although the new system involved supervision by a central board (or Committee), working and living conditions of people in workhouses were even worse than those of slaves. As the country's industry was rapidly developing, child labour became common practice. Children from poor families started working at the age of 4 or 5. They worked in textile factories and in mines for 16 hours a day. There were cases when little workers had to stay at work for 18 hours. They worked and slept in the same place. But the worst fate was of those children who worked as chimneysweeps. They seldom lived to become adults. It was only in 1849, during the reign of Queen Victoria, that an act of Parliament limited the working hours of children under the age of 10 – to 10 hours a day.
In 1836 a special law placed the registration of births, deaths and marriages in the hands of the state rather than the Church. All attempts on the part of the state to influence and subsidize education were strongly opposed by the Church.
During the economic depression of 1837 the reform spirit declined. Working conditions became even worse. The protest organization, known in history as the Chartist movement, came into being. The Chartists demanded the immediate adoption of the People's Charter, which might have transformed Britain into a political democracy with universal male suffrage, equal electoral districts and the secret ballot. It was also expected to improve living standards. Millions of workers signed Charter petitions in 1839, 1842 and 1848. Some Chartist demonstrations turned into riots. Parliament repeatedly rejected the People's Charter and the idea was never realized.