Britain

Reasons for Unrest in Britain:

1) Affects of the Napoleonic Wars (ended in 1815 and lasted 22 years) were:

-Unemployment- 1/3 million soldiers without jobs; textile (uniform) and metal (weapons) workers that were 

-Cost of war left Britain with a £861 million debt that had to be paid of with hight taxes, or which 70% was indirect on everyday goods such as soap and candles (impacted poor)

2) Good harvests meant that corn prices fell and landowners objected to this. They passed the Corn Laws in 1815, which limited the amount of corn imported, thus keeping bread prices high. Also know as 'bread tax' 

3)People (The Radicals)  were unhappy with how parliament was being run, and with memory of the French revolution in mind (1789), they wanted reform

The Luddites = against Industrialisation 

From 1811-1816 there were numerous attacks on the new machines introduced into the textiles industry

They feared unemployment as a result of the new machinery 

These groups of workers became known as the Luddites

The government reacted very harshly to them by introducing a death penalty for convicted frame breakers (shows their fear of revolution)

Spa Field Riots, Winter of 1816

A series of meetings was held at Spa Fields in 1816 calling for social reform and the widening of the right to vote

Once they rioted and were immediately supressed by soldiers

Response = Government restrict public meetings and suspended the Habeas Corpus Law (meaning that they were allowed to arrest anybody without a reason)

SHOWS GOV FEAR

The March of the Blanketeers -1817

Unemployed workers planned a great march from Manchester to London, where they hoped to present a petition to the Prince Regent demanding reform

Marchers carried blankets

What happened?

-The leaders of the march were arrested

-Many were arrested and put into prison without trial

-Only one blanketeer actually made it to London

The Pentrich Rising- 1817

- A group of rebels marched to Nottingham led by Jeremiah Brandreth

-Soliders were waiting for them in Nottingham (Government monitoring)

-Three leaders were hung and 50 people were transported to Australia

SHOWS GOV FEAR

Peterloo Massacre

-1819, St Peter's Field

-A crowd of between 30,000-153,000 came to listen to Henry 'Orator' Hunt talk about parliamentary reform

-Local magistrates banned their meeting and feared the vast numbers of people attending (with French Revolution in mind)

-When Hunt began to speak, they sent out the Yemonary (inexperienced mounted military volunteers who could'nt deal with large crowds) who became trapped, so they sent out 15 Hussars (regular troop)

-11 people were killed, 400 were severely injured

-6 Acts (1819) were introduced following Peterloo Massacre, which put further restriction on meetings and radical press (shows gov fear)

Cato Street Conspiracy     1820

-In 1820, a group of radicals lead by Arthur Thistlewood plotted to murder the entire cabinet

-A government secret agent uncovered the plan

-Thistlewood and four others were hanged, beheaded and quartered

1)Size of constinuencies- varies sizes, but all voted for 2 MP's- eg: Yorkshire= 1 million people, whereas Rutland = 10,000. However both still have 2 MPs. Also new industrial towns were not officially 'boroughs' (eg: Manchester, which had a population of 60,000), so were not intitled to MP's, whereas rotten boroughs (Old Sarum- & voters, Dunwich- under the sea) we4re intitled to 2 MP's. This was sometimes abused in paliament and it meant many were unrepresented.

2)Corruption in elections- No secret ballot until 1872. Open hustings, with a lot of bribery and coruption (money and alcohol). Pocket boroughs= where landowners are so powerful that they are not contested and chose MP's

3)The franchise= 500,000/24 million have the right to vote. No women are included in this. Many people are not represented. Right to vote is also based on wealth - eg: 40 shilling free holders can vote. Many are unrepresented.

4)Distribution of MP's around the country- Most of the MP's were based in the South/South East- eg: Cornwall has 44 MP's whilst the entire of Scotland had 45 MP's. Changing demographics made this particularly unfair.

1) Tories (including the Prime Minister = Duke of Wellington)

-Out of self interest- they benefitted from the current system- eg: rotten boroughs ...they argued that Britain was the leading country in the work so the system must be working

2)Government- feared revolution that might come from giving more power to lower classes (1789 French Rev). The Cato Street Conspiracy etc proved that people had revolutionary aims

3)Wealthy/Landowners- also benefitted from the current system...eg: the power they had over elections.  They argued that the lower classes wouldn't have the experience needed to run the country

1)M/C- wanted seats taken from rotten boroughs and redistribtued to industrial towns. Also wanted the vote for themselves. Many mine and factory owners were M/C and wanted rules in parliament that would benefit them.

2)W/C- Want a voice, because only wealthy make changes happen. Want improvements in working and living conditions which are being ignored by government due to a laissez-faire attitude. A vote would give them a voice. 

3)Radicals- eg: Henry Hunt

4)Industrial Towns (if it says 'groups') - Manchester= 60,000 people without representation

5)Most Whigs (inc. Earle Grey) - thought it would quieten protestors 

HAPPY 

-M/C - 30% of parliament was now made up of M/C people, meaning they has a say and could influence change

-Northern Industrial Towns- Now had 2 MP's that were redistributed from rotten boroughs (give example)

-U/C- Still dominated parliament and still had a lot of control in elections

UNHAPPY

-W/C - Didn't get the vote - lead to Chartist movement ....Women also didn't have the vote

-The other 23 million who didn't have the vote

-MP's of rotten boroughs and people living in rotten boroughs (they benefitted too!)

1)Constituencies were redistributed. 56 rotten boroughs were abolished and these seats were given to new industrial towns such as Manchester and Leeds. Eight more seats were given to Scotland. More seats were also given to counties with the largest populations

2)The M/C got the vote

3)The Act signalled the beginning of change, making it easier to make reform happen in the future. 

1)W/C did not get the vote and neither did women, so these groups still had no voice. In Birmingham only 7000 workers out of a population of 144,000 were enfranchised. This was because all voters had to own property worth £10 or more - which most people did not. The working classes still had not voice and were frustrated (they had put effort into it and got nothing from it). This lead to the Chartist movement. The new MP's were manufacturers, not workers.

2)The electorate was still very small. It rose from 500,000/24 million to 800,000/24 million. 

3)Landowners still dominated politics. Some pocket boroughs also still existed. Between 60/70 of the MPs in the House of Commons were there because of somebody else's influence.South was still over represented

4)Voting still remained very corrupt. Secret ballot was not introduced until 1872! This meant that bribery and corruption still occured when voting (could link this point with pocket boroughs)

5)Every time the Bill went through parliament (3 times) it was weakened, eg: only votes for M/C

1)The Swing Riots in 1830-32 (a pressure group of honest and hard workers that were driven by unemployment and desperate measures) frightened the government and convinced some Whigs that reform was necessary. There was also another revolution in France in 1830, which made the government even more fearful. Every time the Bill was rejected, there were riots. For example, the Bill was rejected for the second time on October 1831 and this was when the Bristol Riots occured. The third time it was rejected, the Days of May (1832) followed.

2)Growing pressure for reform. There were bad harvests in 1828,29,30 and economic slumps in 1829, 1831. This meant that food prices were higher and people were struggling and generally really fed up. 

3)Political unions/ Individuals- Thomas Attwood (a banker) suggested that everyone should withdraw all their money from the banks. He arranged a march to London with 200,000 people. This worked and the King and the Torries backed down.

3)The new government. In the general election following King George's death in 1830, many pro-reform MP's were elected. The new Whig government replaced the old Tory (Duke of Wellington) government. Before accepting the post of PM, Earle Grey demanded that the King agreed to the reform bill. 

The Swing Riots were a series of disturbances (more than 1000 incidents took place) including machine breaking, arson and riots.

The riots were actually relatively orderly, no one was ever killed and the people simply wanted higher wages, NOT TO CHANGE A POLITICAL SITUATION

CAUSES

1)Poor harvests in 1828,29,30 = bread prices are high and people struggle to eat

2)1830 Revolution in France leads to a sense of expectation and hope

3)Industrial Revolution means that new machines eg: threshing machines are being introduced and these are replacing the labourers, leading to unemployment

4)Population increase leads to unemployment

Why did Chartism begin

1)Discontent with the 1832 Reform Act, where many ordinary people were angry because they felt the government had betrayed them

2)Poor living and working conditions

3)DIscontent with the Poor Law Ammendment Act on 1834

Chartism lasted between 1838-1848

Chartist movement was lead by Lovett (and Francis Plaice) and O'Connor. Lovett believed in moral force, whereas O'Connor believed in physical force

They presented petitions to parliament 3 times- 1839,1842,1848 -These were the years of economic slumps and therefore high unemployment and people were hungry

The Charter had 6 demands on it

The Newport Uprising happened when the Petition was rejected by parliament for the first time

John Frost led several thousand armed mine and iron workers in Newport

Some estimate that there were as many as 30,000 of them

When they arrived, they found a strong force of government troups waiting for them at the Westgate Hotel

24 people died

125 arrested

The petition was presented to parliament again in 1842, with 48,000 members and 3 million signatures in support, however, it was rejected - so Chartists were disappointed and angry again.

1842 was also another economic depression

The Plug Plots were a series of striking workers (mostly Chartists) pulling the plugs from steam boilers that powered the machinery in factories/pumped water in mines

Hunger soon forced many of the workers back to work

1)The Moral force, set up by Lovett set up Sunday Schools. These became the centre for his educational ideas. Working class people also learnt debating and reading skills. Some Chartists became missionaries and did good things

2)If was the first time that working class people had organised themselves in this way, for example, signing petitions, but also running churches and school. It gave a sense of hope 

3) 5/6 of the requests on the charter have been achieved today, so it must have been important in spreading the seeds. It was a movement ahead of it's time

4)Awareness was raised of the dreadful working and living conditions of the poor

1) Divisions between their leaders over the use of moral and physical force- not a united froup

2)The economic depressions didn't last much beyond 1848. 1850 was know as the Golden Age because things began to look up again - eg: good harvest. Also introduction of steam engines etc. solved some of the problems with unemployment. Furthermore, working conditions began to improve due to the facotry and mine acts - so most of the Chartist problems were not relevant

3)There was a lack of M/C support and in reality, the working classes did not have the funds needed for successful nation campaign. Working class people didn't give constant support. Only during economic slumps did they really care. 1842-47=economic boom and therefore no support for Chartism

4)Many were hostile to the radical and violent nature of them. The press emphasised their violent nature, which made them unpopular

5)The movement was made a joke of when there were only 2 million signatures compared to the 6 million promised by O'Connor. Some of the signatures included 'Queen Victoria'.

6)O'Connor had a plan to give poor people shares in land companies in 1845. 70000 Charists bought shares, but only 250 actually settled on land. The whole enterprise collapsed due to mismanagement and gave the Chartists a bad name and associated them with fraud.

7)Government dealt with them effectively and efficiently and harshly- eg:Plug Plots  ---trains allowed this

In 1848, O'Connor claimed that he had 6 million signatures in favour.

1848 was another hard year - cholera, revolution in France where the King was overthrown (revolutuons followed in Europe, and this is one reason that the government listened to them)

They arrived in Kennington Common with the petition, however it was rejected here, because only 2 million of the signatures were real (names like Queen Victoria used). This made the movement a joke

Before 1834, each parish had a responsibility to look after their poor, and this was organised by Overseers who had to collect a Poor Rate from everybody who owned property. This money was used to provide poor relief for the poor.

Able bodied poor = healthy people who were unable to find employment

Impotent poor= disable, sick, aged

The system was quite flexible and parished could adopt the following approached:

1) Speenhamland system = The amount of poor relief given depends upon 1)Family size 2)Cost of bread

2)Roundsman system= Overseer gives pauper a ticket which they could take to landowners, asking for work. The landowner would pay them whatever they would have received in Poor Relief. Only about 5% of parishes used this system, because why would you work if you could get the same amount for doing nothing?

3)Some parishes had workhouses where the able bodied poor could do jobs

The old system was based on an agricultural society, however, the Industrial revolution meant that times had changed. People now moved around the country etc.

1)The cost rose dramtically - In 1785 it cost £2 million per year, in 1832 it cost more than £7 million per year

2)Industrialisation of farming equiptment, economic slumps and poor harvests = more people claming poor relief, so it becomes very expensive for rate payers - who object!

3)Some people argued that the current system encouraged the poor to have large families and be idle. Rate payers also argued that the Swing Riots proved that the poor were ungrateful. The roudsman system offered no incentive to work

4)Lack of uniformity throughout the country

5)Swing Riots proved that poverty was a real issue

In 1832 a royal commission was set up to look into the problems arising from the current system (which was struggling to cope at this point and was close to collapse).

All of them started out believing that the old system was bad, so many reports were biased

This lead to the government making the Poor Law Ammendment Act in 1834. A central board of commisioners was set up to supervise the new system and Edwin Chadwick was very influencial in their decisions.

The new system said that:

1)The only way 'able-bodied' poor could get help from authorities was in a workhouse

2)Conditions in workhouses were to be made very bad, because of the principal of less eligibility= conditions in the workhouse had to be worse than the conditions of the worst paid worker outside the workhouse - this acted as a deterrant. Workhouses built in every parish

3)Each parish must have a Board of Guardians, who would collect poor rate, control workhouses and send updates to the Central Board in London

1) The 'impotent poor' and the 'able-bodied' poor = they could no longer provide for families and were forced into workhouses, which they hated somuch that they called them 'Bastilles'. They resented the harsh diet and conditions of the workhouse. And they didn't want to be separated from families.

2) Richard Oastler = a Tory humanitarian who campaigned against the New Poor Law

3) William Cobbett = a radical who organised resistance to the New Poor Law

4)Workers that were forced into unemployment due to trade depressions and industrialisation

1) Poor rates dropped by 40%, from £7 million in 1834 to £4/5 million after, therefore M/C and ratepayers are happy because poor rate decreased.

2)Sometimes the workhouses were good for the poor - eg: they mostly were fed albeit sparse amounts, they did get medical treatment and children were educated

3)System was now unified across the whole country and was generally much more efficient

1) It didn't work in the industrial North, eg York. Due to frequent large economic slumps, huge numbers would be unemployed at once and workhouses could not cope, so outdoor relief was used.

2)Conditions were really terrible and therefore people resented them. For example, W/C called them 'Bastilles' and the Andover scandle proved how people starved. Social cruelty (family separation was also very unpopular). The poor felt like they were being punished

3)There were riots against them in the north - eg Bradford riots 1837

1) That they were idle - this idea was particularly held by THOMAS MALTHUS. He argued that Poor Relief kept the population too high and that some poverty was good. He said that the old system encouraged the poor to become dependent upon assistance.

2) Robert Owen was a humanitarian who believed that the problem of poverty would be solved by organising society differently.

3)Laissez- faire

a.k.a Benthamite principle

-influenced by the ideas of Jermemy Bentham 

-Edwin Chadwick was greatly influenced by his ideas

-'Principal of Utility' = does it bring happiness to the greatest number of people?

Laws should be passed that bring the greatest benefit to the largest number of people

-Men, women and children worked very long hours 12/14hr days

-Cotton had to be spun at 27-29 degrees and the air had to be kept damp so that it didn't break - this made conditions difficult and there were lots of respiratory diseases

-Machinery was unguarded and therefore workers were exposed to moving parts, some suffered severe mutations - particularly when workers were tired after a long shift

-Children were especially bad off - crawled under machines to retrieve fallen thread and their small hands were good for tying together broken threads. Pauper apprentices (often exploited) were orphans from the workhouse that worked in factories and in return were liberated from the workhouse

-Owners exploited workers by paying them in tockens for Tommy Shops, which were shops owned by the factory owner, where there were extremely high prices

NB: Robert Owen and his factories in New Lanarck were an exception, he believed in treating workers well by abolishing pauper apprentices, giving children education, providing good housing

-Conditions were so bad, that some called the factory workers the 'white slaves'

-The coal industry grew rapidly due to the IR's huge demand for coal to power new machinery, this meant that mines had to go deeper, where conditions were more dangerous

1)Very dangerous- a)The roof may collapse b)Mine flooded quickly, esp. after heavy rain c)rope snaps in mine shaft d)many lethal gases - Methane pockets were explosive (due to the candles they carried) and carbon monoxide could also kill them

2)Hours were very long - 12+ hour days, which was especially hard for the children who worked as trappers (who could be as young as 4) that often fell asleep down the mines.

3)Illnesses related to the mines and their working conditions included : 1)Nystagmus (reduced vision due to the lack of daylight) 2) 'Black spittle' which was arespiratory disease, where miners would cough up black mucus due to inhaling so much carbon.

FOR REFORM

1) Robert Owen (who had factories in New Lanarck) and Lord Shaftesbury (philantrpoist)

2)People involved in the 10 hour movement campaign (campaign for 10 hour days for children and women)- Lord Shaftesbury, John Fielden, Richard Oastler

3)Many members of the public, who were shocked to discover how terrible conditions were

AGAINST REFORM

1)Facotry owners - they were making huge profits from the current system - they argued that the most profits were made in the last hours of the day

2)The government/ PM Robert Peel, argued that British industry would become less competitive, especially with the threats of Germany and the USA

3)Economists- Nassau Senior, advised that Britain would fall behind other countries and economy would weaken

4)Workers - many really needed all the money they could get and did not not want to lose it from shortened hours (some women were so depserate that they cut their hair - got paid more for underground work)

Factories

1833= Prohibited children under the age of 9 (but not birth registration until 1837) and said that children under the age of 13 must be given some education. Only 4 inspectors were appointed.

1844= Womens working hours limited to 12 hours per day. Machinery had to be guarded. Maximum age of children reduced to 8 years

1847= Ten Hours Act - Restricted hours of women and children to 10 hours

1850=Everybody must work 10.5 hours (more for women and children, but less for men)

Mines

1842= No women/children underground and no boys under 10 underground

Only 1 inspector was employed for the whole country

Act enforced due to the 1842 Report on Mine Conditions

Useful

1)Shows the start of government taking responsibility and weakening the laissez-faire attitude

2)1844 Act looks after safety of workers

Not useful

1)Only 4 inspectors for the entire country

2)Children lied about their age, because registration of births was not until 1837, and wasn't effective until 1846

3)Unscrupulous facotry owners simply paid the fines, because they made such large profits, and continued to have dreadful conditions

Useful

1)Government are addressing the situation, weakening laissez-faire attitude

2)In some cases, lives of women and children under that age of 10 were improved. Less disease/likelihood of death/risk of disease

Not Useful

1)Only 1 inspector for the entire country= an impossible task - Naughty mine owners were not found out about

2)Fines were low and mine owners were rich (due to high coal demands because of IR), so they simply paid them off and ignored them 

3)Some workers lost money and starved

The Stockton - Darlington railway transported coal and was built in 1825.

The engine was called Locomotion and was designed by Stephenson (commisioned by Pease).

It was originally meant to use horse power, but Stephenson suggested steam power.

The line showed the significance and potential of steam power

-Completed in 1830

-Problems they had to overcome when building it:

1)Natural Obstacles:  1)Had to build viaducts, for example, the Sankey Brook Viaduct which cost £45,000 that allowed trains to run over the Sankey Brook Canal   2)Cut through obstacles - for example, the cuttings through Olive Mount (24m deep) which would have been done by the navvies   3)Build through marshes - for example, Chat Moss using wooden rafts and heather

2)The great cost - the estimated cost was £300,000, which was organised by promoters, such as George Hudson (many were fraudulent). Investors would invest £100 each

3)Opposition from landowners and farmers- Landowners, such as Earles Sefton and Derby didn't was railways on their land. The objected so much that they attacked the route surveyers. Some farmers also argued that their cattle would be frightened and that their crops would set on fire with the sparks. As a result, the route of the line had to be altered

1)The continued growth of the cotton industry (IR)  was being hamped by the inefficient transport systems.

-Roads were expensive (toll roads), built unreliably with poor quality  (making transport slow and difficult), unable to carry large loads at a time (coaches would only carry up to 10/20 people)

-Canals were also expensive, very slow, unreliable (sometimes froze)

2)The Stockton- Darlington railway was a success

-1829

-Aim was to find the best locomotive for the Liverpool-Manchester railway line

-Winner would receive £500

-The 'Rocket' designed by George and Robert Stephenson won

-It reached speeds of 30mph

1)Employment - they provided LOADS of employment. This ranged from people working on the trains eg: ticket collectors, to the people building them eg: navvies, people in the coal and iron industry (coal was used to run the engines)

2)Led to the expansion and development of towns - for example 'Swindon' which was on the Great Western Railway line. Improved towns

3)Improved the status of Britain as 'world leader' in railway building. Especially because of the threats held by Germany and the USA

1) It made travel accessible for more people -even the working classes. The Cheap Trains Act 1844 = every line has to have lines that carry passangers for a penny a mile. It was estimated that the Great Exhibition (6 million visitors) would have had 1/10th of its visitors without train travel

2)Better diets for the nation- allowed fresh foods such as fish and dairy to be transported into towns and cities quick enough not to go moudly. More people could therefore afford fresh food and therefore diets became better. Example =fishing industry grew in places such as Grimsby and fish could be transported to places like London

3)Helped industry - Freight and goods could be transported more easily - no canals/ roads and all the problems that came with them. Farmers could carry animals to distant markets for sale. Companies made profits more quickly. Companies such as Thomas Cook formed as a result.

4)Improved leisure activities. People could travel to watch a football league. Led to the creation of seaside resorts such as Blackpool and Brighton

1)People who benefitted from the employment offered by railways - navvies (100,000 navvies were needed), ticket collectors, iron/coal workers. Seaside resorts also benefitted from the growth in tourism, which created employment too.eg; Blackpool, Brighton

2)People living in cities, who were now able to get fresh foods, such as fish and dairy. Fresh fish came from fishing ports such a s Grimsby. Fresh fruit also came to markets, improving overall health

3)The working class- 1844 Cheap Trains Act= a penny a mile. Poor could travel to seaside resorts and holiday for the first time - Great Exhibition (could bring in Thomas Cook)

4)Rich also benefitted from the travel, for business and leisure. Leisure such as theatre trips and children who went to boarding schools such as Eton

5)Improved communications - growth of national newspaper - News of the World began in 1843. Penny post began in 1840

1)Road and coaching inns - their workers lost jobs. In 1829 there were 29 stage coaches running between Liverpool and Manchester, however in 1832, there were only 2 running

2)Canal companies lost money/became unemployed

3)Some towns went into economic decline, whilst neighbouring towns which were on the railway lines developed. Example - Middlemarch which was a market town that went into decline 

4)People opperating turnpike roads

George Stephenson= 4ft 8.5inches

Brunel (Great Western Railway) = 7ft

Different gauge sizes caused problems in the places that the railways met

Trials showed that Brunel's gauge allowed trains to travel faster, more safely and more comfortably, however, there were only about 480 km of broad track gauges and there were 3000km on narrow gauge tracks

Therefore the narrow gauge was kep for cost reasons

1)Hard working- most of the work has done by hand and was very difficult - eg:Olive Mount cutting 24 m deep

2)Worked in dangerous conditions - gunpowder (respiratory problems), terrible living conditions (they moved with the railways- often portrayed in sources with backpacks, because they carried their lives on their backs -few belongings) which included dampness.

3)Many regarded them as heavy drinkers and thought they were immoral because they had "many women but no wives"- feared by locals - in 1842 in Penrith, 2000 navvies caused a disturbance that needed the local Yemonary to resolve it

4)Many of them were Irish after potato famine

1)High unemployment - Unemployment after Napoleonic Wars - 1/3 million soldiers unemployed, meltal workers etc. 1816, 1817 + 1839,1842,1848 = economic slump, more unemployment

2)High food prices - Corn Laws 1815

3)Housing shortages - IR= many more people are moving to towns, back-to-back housing which is very crowded - landowners want as many people in as little space as possible

4)Highland clearances in Scotland- new landowners wanted to make profits, so drove Highland clans from their homes to introduce sheep farming. Many people preferred the idea of emigrating than moving to cities

5)Potato famine in Ireland - Between 1845-1849 potato blight ruined all potato crop in Ireland. Potato was the mainstay of the Irish diet. During this time 1 million people died as a consequence. Many landowners exicted people to allow more space for livestock and dairy.

1) Discovery of gold in California 1849 and discory of gold in Australia 1851

2)Government Incentives - bounty was given to young unmarried women - government wanted rid of people. In 1835 a bountry of £20 was given to mechanics

3)Chance of a new life

4)Advertising from US states

5)Availabilility of cheap land

1)The Mormons - they did this to increase the number of mormons and build up a religious community. They were very well organised and had an emigration fund of three and a half tons of Californian gold. They were an example of successful emigration. They often went to Salt Lake, Utah. Called themselves the 'Poor Man's Church' because they helped paupers.

2)Ratepayers- Disliked the rocketing prices of poor rate. Increased to more than £7million by 1832. Poor Law Guardians (who were the people in charge of workhouses) paid for the passage of emigrants because they would save money in the long run. In some places, emigration comittes were set up by landowners, who wanted to save money in the long term aswell.

3)Government- In 1826, a parliamentary report said that in some areas of Britain there were more people than were needed to work. At the same time, the British colonies (Australia) had vast areas of land where these people could live. They were even prepared to help by offering bounties. Eg: bounty for unmarried women and a bounty of £20 for mechanics in 1835.

4)Philantropists- Lord Egremont set up the Petworth Emigration Commitee in 1832. They were responsible and humane and provided support for the voyage and once emigrants arrived in Canada

1)The journey was VERY dangerous and some emigrants never even made it. Between 1847 and 1853, 49 emigrant ships were lost at sea. The ships were often crammed and full of disease and filth

2)Advertising, Propaganda and Explotiation - Many people did it purely for profits and therefore charged too much for fares and did not care about the conditions the emigrants had to face during their passage. Publicity would make emigration look very rosy!

3)For many of the emigrants who were looking for gold in California (1849) and Australia (1851, the gold had already been found by the time they arrived

4)The poor that emigrated with no money, no plan (if they hadn't gone through a good/any emigration comittee) and no land were often equally unsuccessful in their new country. The people that did well tended to be reasonably well off already. Some emigrants were forced to leave (for example, the 1500 evicted from Cluny's estates during the Highland clearances, where many of them ended up begging for bread in Canada). Some of the people forced to emigrate were old/unable to work and their lives tended to be bad