Introduction
Changes in industry in this time greatly affected the lives of people. A rise in the price of bread
or a slump in trade could mean disaster for them. Some craftsmen too lost their livelihoods because they were replaced by
. Other complaints involved
[?] working conditions, long hours and being cheated by employers.

Ordinary people got no help from the in the eighteenth century. Only those who owned land could
(about 4% of the population). MPs had to own property and were not paid so no working person could
think of standing for election.

This meant that working people could accept they had no power and persuade the ruling classes to help them by peaceful petition, meetings or negotiations. Alternatively they could use
[?] attacks to try to change the situation.


The French Revolution and its effects
In 1789 the Revolution had an impact on the people of Britain. The British ruling classes were
worried about its effects and what was happening in France by 1793 and declared war on France. However the revolution had shown people in
that people could rise up and throw out their rulers. Many groups were formed to discuss democratic
ideas and many wrote to France for more information, so were called Corresponding Societies. Thomas Paine attacked the British government system in his Rights of
[?] and Corresponding Societies published his writing in their pamphlets.

The British government feared a revolution would be copied. At this point they had no [?], were already at war and faced radical activity from many areas countrywide. Therefore they took action and banned Corresponding Societies and arrested Tom Paine and imprisoned printers of radical books. Newspapers
were [?] to make them too expensive for the poor to buy and get any ideas. The
Combination Acts of 1799 and 1800 even made trade unions [?].

Radical unrest
The Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815 and soldiers and sailors were out of work leading to mass .
At this time the Corn Laws had been passed keeping up the price of corn so hunger was also a problem. Protest demonstrations were held. This was reinforced in 1817 when unemployed Lancashire cotton workers began to march south. They all carried
blankets and it was called the March. They were not successful as they were stopped by soldiers
and the leaders put in [?]. The government were worried at this time and they arrested and imprisoned
people without if they were considered a risk. Over a hundred radicals were put in prison. Other
events like Peterloo in 1819 meant that soldiers put down demonstrations in a brutal way.

Industrial Protests
Alongside demands for political change there were actions by working people for changes in their working conditions. The Luddites had lost their livelihoods when they were replaced by stocking knitting and shearing frames. They resorted to
violence when the owners of the mills would not negotiate. The movement ended in failure for the Luddites with the leaders being
[?] and others transported to Australia.



The Captain Swing riots followed the same pattern in 1830 but affected [?] when threshing
machines replaced labourers.

Trade Unions
These were societies of skilled workers who generally worked with their employers to ensure they got good treatment and higher pay than
[?] workers.
After 1820 when radicalism had faded there was pressure to legalise so the Combinations Acts were
repealed in 1824.
Robert Owen, a businessman, set up the Grand National Consolidated Trade Union (GNCTU) and got 800,000 members. He aimed to support any worker who wanted better
[?] but wanted them to see benefits of co-operation rather than conflict.
However the collapsed in 1834 following the case of the Tolpuddle Martyrs when the government accused
agricultural workers of swearing a secret oath and they transported them. For a while working people were turned away from
[?] especially as employers did not want to employ anyone involved in them.

Reform of Parliament
Working people took part in the demand for [?]. The 1832 Reform Act was
disappointing as only people who owned property were given the vote. This led to the London Working Men’s associated led by Francis Place and William Lovett drawing up a charter of demands linked to the vote. Petitions were presented to
Parliament and rejected. later came under Fergus
O’Connor’s leadership and became more violent. Chartism eventually collapsed but it had some positive effects and over the next fifty years many reforms were made.