A
Abolitionism – Generic term for the movements that arose during the late 18th century which sought to abolish the transatlantic slave trade and slavery.
Anglican Church -The official (or established) state church of England. Founded in 1534 by Henry VIII, it is a Protestant denomination. The British monarch is the head (Supreme Governor) of the Church and the most senior cleric is the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Ascendancy (Anglo-Irish) – The term used to refer to the elite that ruled Ireland from the seventeenth to the 20th century. The Ascendancy was principally composed of English Protestant settlers who were landowners, clergymen, and professionals. Use of the term became common from the late 18th century.
Assize Court – Also known as the Assizes, these were courts held twice a year in the main county towns. They were presided over by visiting judges from the higher courts based in London and generally dealt with serious criminal offences, such as murder, large-scale theft, and treason. They date from the late medieval period and were abolished in 1971.
B
Bank of England – Founded in 1694, the Bank of England was, initially, a private company offering services only in England. Its importance in terms of managing the money supply and national debt increased from the late 18th century, and by the end of the 19th century it had become the effective central bank and currency manager for the British state. In 1946 it was taken into public ownership.
Baptists – One of the main Protestant dissenting groups that emerged in the 17th century, holding that baptism should only be undertaken by adults who could understand the ceremony. They expanded greatly in the 19th century and by 1851 had more than 2,700 congregations in England and Wales.
Board of Trade – Beginning life in the early 17th century as part of a series of committees dedicated to managing colonial trade, the Board of Trade became a permanent body in 1786. From the early 19th century its prestige and importance grew markedly, as Britain’s economy and empire expanded.
Boer War – See South African War.
Borough – By the 18th century the term ‘borough’ was used chiefly in two senses: as a legally corporate town, usually with privileges granted by royal charters, and as a town which sent members to Parliament. Both meanings persisted into the 19th century, but the term became more associated with towns that enjoyed powers under the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act.
British world – A term used to describe both the formal British Empire and those areas of the world with which Britain shared more informal economic relations and cultural exchanges.
By-election – An election held in a single political constituency to fill a vacancy arising during a government’s term of office. Until 1926 one notable cause of by-elections was the requirement for holders of certain ministerial offices to stand for re-election.
C
Cabinet – The executive committee of the government, appointed by the Prime Minister, and composed of ministers drawn from the House of Commons and House of Lords. It evolved out of the Privy Council of royal advisors during the 18th century, at the same time that a ‘prime minister’ emerged to lead the discussions and assume many of the powers of an official head of state. The size of the Cabinet grew from this time onward: the Fox–North coalition in 1783 had a Cabinet of seven members; Peel’s Conservative government in 1841 had a Cabinet of fourteen members; and Salisbury’s in 1895 had nineteen.
Captain Swing Riots – A form of Luddism in the arable farming areas of the South, East Anglia and the Midlands, which took place largely in 1830, targeting horse-driven threshing machines. The name ‘Swing Riots’ was derived from Captain Swing, the fictitious name used to sign threatening letters sent by protesters to farmers, magistrates, parsons, and others. In the wake of the disturbances nineteen people were executed, 481 transported and more than 700 imprisoned.
Catholic Emancipation – The removal of barriers to Catholic participation in public life. It was finally achieved in Britain by an act of Parliament in 1829, which allowed Catholics to sit as MPs in Westminster. The act split the Tory party, preparing the way for the Whig election victory of 1830.
Catholic Relief Act (1829) – A core legislative component of Catholic emancipation, this act permitted Roman Catholics to sit in Parliament. It followed a decade of unrest in Ireland under the leadership of Daniel O’Connell and was bitterly opposed by a section of the Tory party, sometimes known as the Ultras.
Cato Street Conspiracy – A plot to murder Lord Liverpool’s Cabinet in 1820, led by Arthur Thistlewood, a follower of the agrarian communist Thomas Spence. The plotters were betrayed by a government spy and arrested as they assembled in Cato Street, London. Thistlewood and four fellow conspirators were executed later that year.
Chartism – A national movement for political reform composed largely of working men that emerged in 1838. The Chartists were so named because they formulated their demands in a six‐point charter that called for universal manhood suffrage, annual parliaments, vote by (secret) ballot, abolition of property qualifications for MPs, payment of MPs, and equal electoral districts. Although they submitted a number of petitions to Parliament signed by millions, these were rejected and the movement, which was always riven with infighting, petered out during the 1850s.
Church of England – See Anglican Church
Church of Scotland – The national church of Scotland. Its origin lies in the Scottish reformation, but its peculiar presbyterian forms of governance were not firmly established until the end of the 17th century.
City of London – Originally the medieval centre of London. From the late 17th century, it became home to the nation’s chief financial institutions, including the Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange. From the late 18th century, it became the world’s leading financial centre, specialising in the trade of stocks, bonds, and insurance.
Civil List – The grant made by Parliament for the monarch’s personal support and for that of the royal household. It began in the late 17th century under the reign of William III and Mary II and was abolished in 2011.
Colonial Office – Founded in 1801, and located on Downing Street, the Colonial Office took over responsibility for the central administration of Britain’s forty or so foreign dependencies (with the exception of India), a task that had previously been divided between various agencies. It fell under the authority of a new Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. It was reorganised in 1854, with the establishment of a dedicated Secretary of State for the Colonies.
Colonialism – The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political and administrative control over another country or area belonging to other societies, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it for economic gain.
Combination Acts (1799–1800) – Acts designed to suppress trade unions by outlawing the practice of workmen ‘combining’ to bargain for better pay and conditions. Following a lengthy campaign by radicals, they were repealed in 1824–5, prompting an upsurge in trade union activism.
Congregationalists – One of the main Protestant dissenting groups that emerged in the 17th century. Since they believed strongly in the autonomy of each congregation, they were also known as Independents or separatists. They expanded greatly in the 19th century and by the 1850s had more than 3,000 churches in England and Wales.
Conservative Party – Growing out of the Tory party, the term ‘Conservative Party’ was used from the 1830s, and was designed to convey its desire to temper reform with a reverence for inherited practices and forms of authority. The Conservatives spent most of the period 1830–86 in opposition, however, winning only two general elections (1841 and 1874). Their electoral fortunes revived toward the end of the century under the leadership of Salisbury and Balfour, paving the way for their emergence as the dominant political party of the 20th century.
Constitutional Monarchy – A form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises authority in accordance with a written or unwritten constitution. In Britain, this means that although the King or Queen is the formal Head of State, the ability to make and pass laws resides with Parliament.
Corn Laws – Introduced in 1815, the Corn Laws imposed a protective tariff on foreign wheat imports and were designed to keep prices high in order to favour domestic producers. They were fiercely opposed by radicals and advocates of free trade, who saw the laws as favouring the interests of landowners over those of the people, and they were eventually repealed in 1846.
Cotton Famine – (1861–5) During the American Civil War, supplies of cotton from southern states to British textile mills were severely interrupted. The resulting ‘famine’ of cotton forced textile workers, especially in Lancashire, out of work or on to limited working hours.
County – The main unit of provincial government in England and Wales until the end of the 20th century. All counties had a high sheriff, a lord lieutenant and a body of justices of the peace, also known as magistrates. Over time, magistrates became especially important in managing day-to-day affairs and they continued to wield both judicial and administrative powers in counties until 1888, when their administrative roles were taken over by elected County Councils.
County and Borough Police Act (1856) – Made the provision of local police forces compulsory throughout England and Wales. The act also established a central Inspectorate of Constabulary to report to the Home Secretary on the efficiency of each police force.
Crimean War (1853–6) – A war fought mainly on the Crimean Peninsula between the Russians on the one hand, and an alliance of the British, French, and Ottoman Turks on the other. It was waged in order to curb what were seen as Russian designs on the Ottoman Empire and the threat they posed to British and French interests in the eastern Mediterranean. The war resulted in over 20,000 casualties for the British—mostly from disease—and prompted criticism of the inefficiency of the army and the British state. The Russians were eventually defeated and the war was formally brought to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in March 1856.
Crown Colony – A British overseas territory under the direct authority of the British Crown. Crown colonies were normally administered by a governor appointed by the British government and responsible to the Colonial Office.
D
Disestablishment -The act of depriving the Anglican Church of its established status and official privileges. The Church of Ireland was the first to be disestablished, following an act passed by Gladstone’s Liberal government in 1869. In Wales, where Nonconformists accounted for 80 per cent of worshippers, a similar campaign was waged. Several parliamentary bills from 1870 onwards failed, until one was passed in 1914, which cameinto effect in 1920.
Disestablishment and Disendowment of the Irish Church (1869) – Ended the status of the Anglican Church as the state (established) church of Ireland and repealed the law that enabled it to collect tithes from the population. The act also ended the practice of sending Irish bishops to the House of Lords and was fiercely opposed by the Conservative Party.
Dissenters – Term used to describe Protestants who refused to recognise the authority of the Church of England and resisted state interference in their religious practice. By the end of the 18th century, Dissenters were also referred to as Nonconformists.
E
East India Company – A corporation first formed in 1599 and granted the monopoly of trade with India by the British Crown. Following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the Company began to acquire a substantial territorial empire in India. Territorial conquest, however, promoted more direct parliamentary control, culminating in the Company’s abolition following the Indian Rebellion of 1857–8, when its powers were vested in a Secretary of State for India.
Ecclesiastical Titles Act (1851) – An act which forbade the Roman Catholic Church from using English place‐names in the titles of bishops. Although the measure was popular in the country, reflecting significant levels of prejudice toward Catholics, it attracted considerable criticism in Parliament and was repealed in 1871 by Gladstone.
Education Act (1870) – Established a system of school boards to build and manage schools in areas where they were needed, while allowing existing voluntary schools to continue unchanged. The new school boards were locally elected bodies which drew their funding from the local rates. Unlike the voluntary schools, religious teaching in the board schools was to be non-denominational.
Evangelicalism – A predominantly Anglican movement which emerged in the mid-18th century. Key characteristics include a literalist interpretation of the Bible and active attempts to convert others. Evangelicals placed a strong emphasis on human sinfulness and personal salvation.
F
Fabianism – A form of socialism associated with the Fabian Society founded in 1884. It advocated the achievement of socialism via gradualist reform. Leading members included Beatrice and Sidney Webb, H. G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw.
Factory Act (1833) – A product of popular and parliamentary agitation, the act was another step towards the regulation of conditions of industrial employment, especially in relation to the employment of children. Among other things, it prohibited employing children aged under nine; obliged employers to provide schooling for children aged between nine and thirteen; and established a factory inspectorate.
Factory Act (1847) (Ten Hours Act) – An act that limited the working hours of women and young persons (aged thirteen to eighteen) in textile mills to ten hours a day for five days in the week and eight hours on Saturday. It was the result of a popular campaign mounted from the 1830s by radicals and trade unionists and managed in Parliament by the Conservative evangelical Lord Ashley and the radical John Fielden.
First British Empire – A term for the British Empire up until the loss of the American colonies in the 1780s. It was characterised by mercantilist trading practices and territorial settlement within the Atlantic world.
Foreign Office – Created as a separate department in 1782, the Foreign Office was headed by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, usually second in authority only to the Prime Minister himself. Members of staff were originally recruited entirely by patronage and the Office was among the last to introduce recruitment by competition in Whitehall, doing so in a limited form in 1908.
Four nations – The constituent parts of the United Kingdom, comprising England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, formalised through Acts of Union in 1536, 1707 and 1800.
Free Church of Scotland – Arose from the so-called Disruption of 1843, when those unhappy at the conduct of the Church of Scotland seceded under Thomas Chalmers. In 1900 the vast majority of the Free Church of Scotland joined with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church of Scotland, which in turn mostly joined with the Church of Scotland in 1929.
Free Trade – The minimisation of duties, tariffs and legal barriers to trade between nations. Free trade became a popular cause after the end of the Napoleonic wars and was most associated with the movement to abolish the Corn Laws.
French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) -A series of military conflicts across Europe and the wider world, lasting from 1792 until 1802. Resulting from the French Revolution of 1789, they pitted France against Great Britain, the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, Russia and several other European monarchies. A short-lived peace treaty signed between Britain and France in 1802 is commonly regarded as marking the transition between the revolutionary wars and the Napoleonic wars.
Friendly Societies – Mutual aid organisations which enabled subscribing members to help each other and draw on funds in the event of accident, sickness, old age and death. Dating back to the late 18th century, they expanded enormously in the nineteenth, from an estimated 925,000 members in 1815 to about 4 million in 1872.
H
Home Office – Created in 1782, the Home Office originally took charge of domestic and colonial affairs. From the early 19th century, it assumed responsibility principally for the domestic maintenance of law and order.
Home Rule – The demand that the governance of Ireland be returned from Westminster to a domestic parliament in Ireland. Ireland had enjoyed its own parliament up to 1800, when the Act of Union ended Irish representation at the parliament sitting in Dublin. Home Rule aimed to restore this kind of devolved settlement using constitutional means and as a political cause dates from the 1870s. In 1886, it was embraced by the Liberal Party under Gladstone, causing the party to split into Liberals and Liberal Unionists.
Hustings – A raised platform purpose-built for an election contest and situated in a central location. They were the key stage on which candidates were nominated and addressed electors and non-electors during a contest. They were also home to polling places, where electors would cast their votes in an open fashion. Following the demise of these central platforms after 1872, when the secret ballot was introduced, the term ‘hustings’ came to refer to indoor meetings where candidates took part in debates before a public audience.
I
Imperialism – The policy, practice, or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of one country over other areas of the world, either by direct territorial acquisition or by means of orchestrated political and economic influence.
Income Tax – First introduced in 1799 by William Pitt’s government to fund the war against the French. Although it was re-introduced as a temporary measure by Peel’s government in 1842, it was found impractical to discontinue and was extended to Ireland in 1853. David Lloyd George’s controversial ‘People’s Budget’ of 1909 imposed, for the first time, an income tax with rates that varied according to the ability to pay.
Independent Labour Party – Formed in 1893 by Keir Hardie, it aimed to secure parliamentary representation for organised labour, without relying on the support of the Liberal Party, and went on to play a role in the formation of the Labour Party. During the 1920s many in the Independent Labour Party became disillusioned with the Labour Party, especially during its second term in office (1929–31), prompting it to break its association with the latter in 1932.
Indian Rebellion – A major but ultimately unsuccessful popular uprising in India against the rule of the East India Company, provoked by attempts to impose British-style army discipline on indigenous troops (or ‘sepoys’). The events of 1857–8 marked a watershed in Indo‐British relations, prompting the assumption of direct Crown rule, the reorganisation of the army, and a more conservative assessment of the possibilities of improving Indian society. It was referred to at the time as the ‘Indian Mutiny’, a term that persisted until recently.
Irish Famine – A famine that occurred in Ireland in 1845–9 when the potato crop failed in successive years. The problem was exacerbated by the response of the British government, which in mid-1847 took the decision to drastically curtail emergency relief measures. Around 1 million died in Ireland as a result, either of starvation or, more commonly, disease, and a further 1 million emigrated.
J
Jingoism – A derogatory term for aggressive, xenophobic nationalism which was used from the 1870s.
Judicature Acts (1873 and 1875) – Significantly reorganised the higher court system. The old higher courts, dating back to the medieval period, were abolished and a new Supreme Court of Judicature was created, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal.
Justices of the Peace – Also referred to as magistrates. A local official, normally drawn from the ranks of the gentry and upper middle classes, appointed to maintain law and order and oversee trials and criminal hearings. In addition to their judicial and peacekeeping duties, they played a role in administering the Poor Laws and, through the quarter sessions, to oversee local government in counties.
L
Labour Party – Developed out of the Labour Representation Committee, which was established in 1900 by a conference of trade unionists and socialists orchestrated by Keir Hardie. Although it won only two seats at the 1900 election, an electoral pact with the Liberal Party negotiated by Ramsay MacDonald in 1903 helped the rechristened Labour Party enjoy a tally of 30 MPs after the 1906 election. During the 20th century, the Labour Party would become the principal progressive alternative to the Conservative Party.
Laissez-faire – (French: literally, leave alone) A term that refers to the belief of classical political economists in the virtues of a small state, especially a state that exercises little interference in the market.
Land Acts (Irish) – A collective term for a series of acts passed between 1870 and 1919 which attempted to defuse popular discontent among rural tenants in Ireland that threatened the stability of British rule. In general, the legislation had two aims: the immediate improvement of tenants’ rights; and the gradual encouragement of peasant proprietorship.
Liberal Anglicanism – Theological stance associated with the ‘Broad Church’ strand of the Church of England, and normally distinguished from evangelicalism on the one hand, and the Anglo-Catholicism of the Oxford Movement on the other. Liberal Anglicans upheld the authority of the Church of England, but believed in doctrinal latitude.
Liberal Party – This emerged from the 1830s and was formalised in 1859 as a coalition of Whigs, Peelites and Radicals. Use of the term ‘Liberal Party’ became current during the 1860s, when the party formed a government under the leadership of Gladstone, and more Liberal governments would follow in 1880–5, 1886, and 1892–4. Issues such as Home Rule and the Boer War strained the cohesion of the party, resulting in schisms between its moderate and radical wings, but it enjoyed a landslide victory in the 1906 election, when it began its last significant period in office as a majority party.
Liberal Unionist Party – Formed by disaffected Liberal MPs who objected to the Irish Home Rule policy pursued by Gladstone in 1886. It eventually merged with the Conservative Party in 1912 to form the Conservative and Unionist Party.
Licensing Act (1872) – Introduced various regulations and offences relating to alcohol, particularly the licensing of premises, which included restricting the opening hours of pubs. The act was disliked intensely by the brewing industry, publicans and their customers, and defenders of personal liberty, and was opposed in Parliament by the Conservatives.
Local Government Board – Set up in 1871 to bring together and oversee the management of the poor laws and public health. It was abolished in 1919 and replaced by the Ministry of Health.
London Stock Exchange – Founded in 1802, the London Stock Exchange provided a mechanism for the increasing volume of financial transactions which had developed over the 18th century. The volume of business increased massively during the 19th century as the City of London became the world’s leading financial centre.
Loyalism – A pronounced attachment to the authority of the British Crown and constitution. It dates from the late 18th century when it emerged as a reaction to the republican radicalism of the American and French revolutions, and the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Since the late 19th century, it has also come to refer to Protestant supporters of the union between Great Britain and Ireland (and later Northern Ireland).
Luddites – Groups of textile workers who destroyed spinning machinery in the period 1811 to 1816. They did so by protesting the way new technology was displacing the need for their labour. They gave rise to the generic term ‘Luddism’ to describe an aversion or opposition toward technological innovation.
M
Matrimonial Causes Act (1857) – Enabled divorce proceedings to take place in a civil court, ending the need for this to take place in an ecclesiastical court. It encouraged a more secular, contractual view of marriage, though it also embodied a double standard: while a wife’s adultery was sufficient cause to end a marriage, a woman could divorce her husband only if his adultery had been compounded by another matrimonial offence.
Maynooth Grant – The Maynooth Grant was a financial grant from the British government to a Catholic seminary in Ireland. The grant was increased in 1845 by the Conservative government of Robert Peel, provoking controversy that reflected widespread anti-Catholic feelings in Britain.
Mercantilism – A term usually applied to systems of economic policy and thought which flourished in Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. Underpinned by the belief that bullion, land and labour were the source of all wealth, and there was a finite supply of each in the world, mercantilism encouraged states to enrich themselves through competition with each other. It favoured high import tariffs to protect domestic markets and monopolistic companies conducting trade overseas.
Methodists – Beginning in the 1740s under the leadership of John Wesley, the Methodist Church grew to become the largest of the nonconformist denominations, and by 1850, membership was about half a million. It developed distinctive institutions, notably the weekly class meeting of ten to twelve members and a travelling body of lay preachers who visited the societies, preaching in the homes of members and in the open air. It spawned numerous breakaway groups such as the Primitive Methodists, which formed in 1811.
Metropolitan Police Act (1829) – Introduced a full-time, professional police force for the greater London area under the control of the Home Secretary and two (later reduced to one) Metropolitan Commissioners. It marked the advent of a new style of policing in Britain, characterised by a more disciplined and organised approach to crime prevention.
Municipal Corporation – A town or city council formally granted corporate status and normally governed by a mayor, aldermen, and freemen.
Municipal Corporations Act (1835) – A reform to local government that imposed a standard and more accountable structure of governance—consisting of a mayor, aldermen, and councillors elected by ratepayers—on 178 existing borough corporations. It also enabled non-incorporated towns to become incorporated and permitted incorporated towns to establish police forces.
N
Napoleonic Wars (1803–15) – A series of military conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a shifting array of European powers formed into various coalitions. By 1807, Britain was Napoleon’s final enemy, against whom he resorted to a form of economic warfare (known as the ‘Continental system’ of blockade). Napoleon suffered significant setbacks from 1812 onwards, after his invasion of Russia, and the wars ended with his decisive defeat by a coalition army under Wellington at Waterloo in June 1815.
National Insurance Act (1911) – Passed by Asquith’s Liberal government, the act established a system of sickness and unemployment benefits, paid for out of employers’ and employees’ contributions.
Navigation Acts – A series of acts, first introduced in the mid-17th century, designed to protect English (later British) commerce from foreign competition and underpinned by a mercantilist philosophy of trade. The acts made it illegal for non-British ships to carry goods within, and to trade with, the British Empire. The Navigation Acts were abolished in 1849 as Britain embraced a free trade economy.
New Imperialism – A period of intensified imperial expansion and territorial acquisition by the major Western powers, which occurred during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
New Liberalism – Emerging in the later 19th century, its heyday was in the Edwardian period. While it adhered to traditional liberal principles, like free trade and civil and political rights, it also advocated a more interventionist role for the state in tackling social problems, such as unemployment and poverty. It was associated with intellectuals such as J. A. Hobson and Lionel Hobhouse and politicians including Lloyd George, Charles Masterman and Winston Churchill.
New Poor Law – A major reform of the poor law introduced in 1834. It established a central Poor Law Commission, merged existing administrative units into larger Poor Law Unions, and promoted the building of new workhouses and the punitive principle of ‘less eligibility’—i.e. that relief should only be provided within workhouses and should be less appealing than conditions outside.
New Unionism – Developing from the 1880s, New Unionism was characterised by greater levels of militancy and trade union membership among hitherto poorly represented semi-skilled and unskilled workers. It was also characterised by more explicitly socialist aims and helps to account for several major strikes, including the 1889 London Dockers’ Strike.
Nonconformists – See Dissenters
O
Old Age Pensions Act (1908) – Introduced the first state pensions system in Britain. Financed out of central taxation, it was means-tested, with the full amount paid to those with incomes below £21 a year and reduced on a sliding scale for those with incomes between £21 and £31 and ten shillings.
Oxford Movement – Founded by a group of clerical Oxford dons in the 1830s and 1840s, who sought to renew the Catholic inheritance of the Church of England. It went on to have a profound influence on Anglican theology and liturgy in the second half of the century.
P
Parish – The geographical area of ecclesiastical governance surrounding a church. There are roughly 15,000 parishes in England and Wales. Prior to the early 19th century, they were also important political units responsible for administering the poor laws, policing, and local roads.
Pauperism -The condition of being a ‘pauper’—i.e. in receipt of relief administered under the English Poor Laws.
Peelites – A breakaway political faction of the Conservative Party from 1846 to 1859. Initially led by Robert Peel, the former Prime Minister and Conservative leader, the Peelites supported free trade while the bulk of the Conservative Party remained protectionist. The majority of Peelites later merged with the Whigs and Radicals to become part of the Liberal Party.
Peterloo Massacre – The name given to describe the occasion when cavalry charged protesters who had gathered in St Peter’s Fields, Manchester, in August 1819, to campaign for political reform. Eighteen people were killed and many hundreds injured. It was called the Peterloo Massacre in mockery of the battle of Waterloo.
Petty Sessions – Regular courts held by justices of the peace to try minor criminal offences in a summary fashion—i.e. without a jury.
Plenipotentiary – An ambassador or a diplomat vested with full powers of independent action on behalf of a government in relation to another country.
Plug Plot Riots – Also known as the General Strike of 1842, the Plug Plot Riots started among miners in Staffordshire, England, and soon spread through Britain affecting factories and mills in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and coal mines, from Dundee to South Wales and Cornwall. The unrest and protest focused on improved pay and conditions, as well as elements of the Chartists’ programme of political reform.
Political Economy – Pioneered during the late 18th century by the Scottish Enlightenment, political economy was a novel discipline that sought to study the generation of wealth by looking at the formation of markets and the role of enlightened self-interest. It is the forerunner of modern economics.
Poor Law Amendment Act (1834) – See New Poor Law
Prime Minister – The head of the British government. The role has its origins in the 18th century and by the mid-19th century was generally accepted to exist in practice. The term, however, was not widely used until the turn of the twentieth century.
Primrose League – Founded in 1883 by Lord Randolph Churchill and John Gorst, the Primrose League was designed to enable the Conservatives to adapt to the demands of mass politics under an extended franchise. It combined social activities, such as dances, teas, and summer fêtes, with forms of political instruction.
Privy Council – A formal body of advisers to the monarch. A crucial mechanism of the executive up to the end of the 17th century, its powers gradually flowed to the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Protectorates – A country that is protected by a more powerful state to which it typically cedes control of external affairs while exercising more autonomy over domestic affairs. Britain became the protectorate of a number of states during the course of the British Empire, including Egypt, Cyprus, Nepal, and Brunei.
Public Health Act (1848) – Established the first central office devoted specifically to public health in England and Wales—the General Board of Health—and empowered localities to set up their own elected Boards of Health composed of ratepayers. It paved the way for the building of some of the first large-scale sewerage and water-supply systems in Britain.
Public Health Act (1875) – Consolidated and clarified a mass of earlier public health statutes, while granting local authorities new powers in relation to the building of isolation hospitals. It remained the key source of statutory guidance in Britain through to the 1920s and 1930s.
Q
Quakers – A radical Protestant sect that emerged during the 17th century. Possessing no formal ministry or service, they professed instead the principle of the ‘inner light’, a sense of the direct working of Christ. They became more prominent in the 19th century through their association with causes such as the abolition of slavery and prison reform.
Quarter Sessions – Courts held four times a year at county level to hear criminal charges, as well as civil and criminal appeals. They date from the late medieval period and were abolished in 1971. Until the establishment of county councils in 1888, they also—through committees of magistrates—played a significant role in local government.
Queen Caroline Affair – Caroline of Brunswick was the wife of the Prince of Wales (later George IV), but the two separated shortly after the birth of their daughter in 1796. Having spent much time abroad, she returned to Britain in 1820 when George IV succeeded as King, seeking to claim her place as Queen. George sought to annul the marriage, but her cause was taken up by theKing’s many opponents and she won a good deal of popular support. This waned, however, following revelations of her immoral behaviour, and she died in 1821.
R
Rates – Local taxes on the occupiers of land and buildings. Different rates were charged for different services and forms of communal maintenance (e.g. water rates, sewer rates, and poor rates). The rates were often unpopular because they were mildly regressive and paid by only a section of the local community. They were not abolished until the 1990s.
Rebecca Riots – Coinciding with Chartist agitation, these riots, which took place in west Wales between 1839 and 1843, were an expression of rural discontent about general economic conditions. They originated as protests against road tolls which imposed heavy burdens on farmers and local people, and later spread to attacks on workhouses. The government deployed troops and police in response, but more effective in the long-term was an act of 1844 that reduced tolls.
Redistribution Act (1885) – Complementing the Reform Act of the previous year, the act redrew parliamentary boundaries to make electoral districts more equal. The act also made the overwhelming majority of parliamentary seats single-member constituencies (i.e. they returned only one MP), although a number of double-member constituencies remained until 1948.
Reform Act (1832) – Also known as the Great Reform Act, it introduced the first major changes to the electoral system since the 17th century. Crucial among these were changes to the franchise: in counties, certain types of leaseholders, copyholders and tenants were added to the 40 shilling freeholder franchise; in boroughs, a uniform franchise was established and vested in householders occupying property valued at £10 or more for local taxation purposes, although older franchises were retained for existing voters. A significant number of rotten and small boroughs were abolished and their seats redistributed. In general, the act satisfied the middle classes but not radicals, who continued to agitate for more extensive reform.
Repeal of the Corn Laws (1846) – A decision taken by the Prime Minister, Robert Peel, which split the Conservative Party into a free‐trading minority and a protectionist majority. Tariffs on imported corn had long been opposed by groups such as the Anti-Corn Law League and Peel had earlier reduced the level of duties in 1842. His conversion to full repeal was driven by a number of factors, among them popular discontent at the high price of bread, the campaigning of the League, and the need to address the humanitarian crisis in Ireland which had resulted from the famine that began in 1845.
Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts (1828) – Dating back to the reign of Charles II, the Test and Corporation Acts effectively barred non-Anglicans from public life by requiring all public office-holders to practise the sacraments of the Anglican Church. They were repealed in 1828 as part of a broader movement toward ending the Anglican monopoly over state institutions that also included the Catholic Relief Act of the following year.
Republicanism -In Britain, this refers to the belief that the monarchy should be abolished in favour of a wholly democratic polity, where no positions in public life are subject to hereditary succession. Although periods of monarchical unpopularity stimulated republicanism during the 19th century, it remained a minority cause, popular only among radicals and radical Liberal MPs such as Charles Dilke and Charles Bradlaugh.
Roman Catholicism – The portion of Christianity accepting papal authority based in Rome. Since the 16th century, it has referred to those communities in Britain who reject the assertion of royal supremacy over the church in England.
Rotten Boroughs – A term used before 1832 to describe parliamentary constituencies where the number of electors was very small, meaning that the return of a member of Parliament could be easily controlled by a local landowner or wealthy individual. A classic example was Old Sarum in Wiltshire, which had only a handful of voters following the displacement of its population, but many others had between 20 and 50 voters. Most of them were abolished by the Great Reform Act.
Royal Prerogative – Discretionary powers of state to—among other things—deploy the army and sign international treaties. Originally exercised by the monarch, these powers were increasingly invested in government ministers over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries.
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School Board – Elected local bodies set up by the 1870 Education Act, which were empowered to build and manage new schools and to take over existing ones. They were abolished in 1902.
Scramble for Africa – Used to refer to the way Western European powers, following the Berlin Conference of 1884, launched an unprecedented and aggressive series of occupations and invasions of African territories. It was adefining feature of the New Imperialism of the late 19th century.
Second British Empire – A term used to describe the development of the British Empire following the loss of the American colonies, when Britain became a global superpower and embraced free trade.
Second Reform Act (1867) – Building on the 1832 Reform Act, it extended the franchise by reducing property qualifications. The borough franchise was extended to all male householders and to lodgers paying at least £10 per year in rent, and to those in the counties occupying property rated at £12 per year and those owning land worth £5 per year. It also undertook a modest redistribution of seats.
Sedition – Conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries radicals were sometimes prosecuted and imprisoned for seditious activities.
Settler colony – A colony formed largely or originally of British voluntary emigrants who actively displaced the original population. Although ultimately backed by the force of the British state, settler colonies were self-governing and developed their own elected assemblies. Notable examples of states that began as settler colonies are Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Sinecure – An office providing a salary or offering other means of generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service.
Six Acts (1819) – A set of repressive measures introduced by the Tory government in 1819 following the Peterloo Massacre. They sought to silence critics of the government by imposing additional taxes on the press, banning large-scale meetings and increasing the severity of punishments for blasphemy and sedition.
Slave Trade – The slave trade of Great Britain and other European countries transformed the indigenous African and Muslim slave trades during the 17th and 18th centuries. The trade was critical to the production of major colonial commodities, especially sugar, tobacco and rice, and was conducted by monopolistic chartered companies and private traders. The British slave trade was among the largest and was abolished in 1807.
Slavery – The state of being a slave or the practice or system of owning slaves, who are regarded as a form of property. British colonial slavery operated chiefly in the American South (up to the 1780s) and the Caribbean region, where slaves brought from Africa worked on cotton and sugar plantations. Slavery in the British Empire was abolished in 1833.
Social Democratic Federation – Founded in 1881, although it did not add ‘Social’ to its name until 1884. Under the leadership of H. M. Hyndman, it advanced a radical socialist agenda, strongly informed by the work of Karl Marx. It was never a mass party, but it did exert considerable influence and assisted in the birth of the Labour Party in 1900.
South African War (1899–1902). -Also known as the Boer War, or Second Boer War,this was a conflict between Britain and the self-governing Afrikaner (Boer) colonies of the South African Republic (the Transvaal) and the Orange Free State. It led to the consolidation of the British Empire in South Africa. The conflict was distinguished by the use of novel military technologies such as machine guns, concentration camps to detain civilians and guerrilla warfare.
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Tariff Reform – A set of fiscal policies promoted from the start of the 20th century designed to end Britain’s attachment to free trade by the use of protective duties on imported goods. Spearheaded by Joseph Chamberlain and the Tariff Reform League, formed in 1903, it was argued that the use of tariffs would strengthen Britain’s public finances and strengthen links within the British Empire by making possible a policy of imperial preference (the application of lower rates of duty between its member countries). In the short-term tariff reform failed, but it was eventually adopted in the 1930s.
Temperance Movement – Began life as a working-class movement to reduce the consumption of alcohol but developed into one encouraging teetotalism and complete abstinence. Nonconformists were the chief supporters of the movement and it later found a political home in the Liberal Party. Key organisations included the British and Foreign Temperance Society (1831), the National Temperance Society (1842) and the United Kingdom Alliance (1853).
The Raj – Rule by the British Crown primarily on the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947.
Third Reform Act (1884) – Created a uniform franchise by making the property qualifications in counties the same as in boroughs—i.e. it extended the franchise to all male householders and to lodgers paying at least £10 per year in rent.
Tories – One of the two main political groupings, alongside the Whigs, between the later 17th and mid-19th centuries. Tories were firm believers in God‐ordained, monarchical authority and in general they championed the supremacy of the Anglican Church and mercantilist economics that saw land (and not trade) as the source of wealth. During the early 19th century, the Tories developed into the Conservative Party and they continued to champion the Anglican Church and established forms of authority.
Tractarianism – The name applied to the first stage of the Oxford Movement, derived from a series of Tracts for the Times written between 1833 and 1841 by a group of Oxford high churchmen alarmed at the spread of more liberal forms of Anglicanism.
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Unitarians – A minority dissenting sect in existence in Britain from the 17th century. They rejected the doctrine of the Trinity in favour of a more rational interpretation of God. They had no national co‐ordinating body before the British and Foreign Unitarian Association was founded in 1825.
University Test Act (1871) – Abolished religious tests for university entrance and allowed Roman Catholics, Nonconformists and non-Christians to take up professorships, fellowships, studentships and other lay offices at the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham.
Utilitarianism – An ethical doctrine which takes the supreme good to be ‘the greatest happiness of the greatest number’. As developed by Jeremy Bentham, James Mill and John Stuart Mill, it became an integral part of radical liberalism (also known as Benthamism and philosophic radicalism), although it was later also appropriated for more pragmatic, conservative purposes.
Utopianism – The belief in, or pursuit of, a radically better society through human effort and cooperation. It emerged during the second half of the 18th century and during the 19th century became especially associated with socialists in Britain and France.
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Whigs – One of the two main political groupings, alongside the Tories, between the later 17th and mid-19th centuries. In general, Whig MPs championed the rights of Parliament over the monarch, the toleration of Dissenters, the military defeat of Catholics in Europe, and the promotion of trade and commerce. The mid‐19th century saw Whiggery largely subsumed within liberalism, and the Whig label began to fall out of use.