Europe was swept by revolution in the period from 1789 to 1848. Britain, alone of the major western powers, seemed exempt from this revolutionary fervour. The governing class attributed this exemption to divine providence and the soundness of the British Constitution. This view has been upheld by historians for over a century. This book provides students with an alternative view of the potential for revolution and the resources of conservatism in early industrial Britain which challenges many of the common assumptions. Incorporates quotations from primary sources to give the reader a critical sense of why revolution was taken seriously by people at the time. Shows how the revolutionaries were defeated by the government's propaganda against revolutionary sentiments and the strength of popular conservatism.
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part 1. Sedition and Treason, 1792-1820
The impact of the revolution in France
Plots, real or imagined, 1793-1795
United Irish, English and Scotsmen, 1795-1803
The seriousness of the threat
Luddism
The post-war crisis, 1817
From Peterloo to Cato Street and Bonnymuir
Conclusion
Part 2. Revolution or reform, 1830-1832
The Reform Bill crisis
Political unions and urban riots
The Welsh rising, 1831
Rural unrest
Conclusion
Part 3, 1837-1848
The first Chartist crisis, 1839-1840
The Monmouthshire and Yorkshire risings
The second Chartist crisis, 1842
The third Chartist crisis, 1848
Conclusion
Part 4, Why was there no revolution
The nature of the popular movement
Geography and the problem of London
Loyalism and the silent majority
The cohesion of social welfare
Religion
The strength of the state
The authority of the law
The forces of order
Conclusion
Appendix: Wheat and bread prices, 1790-1850
Select bibliography
Index
