Britain, Ireland, the U.S. and War of 1812

British Reforms and Rebellion | Irish Rebellion of 1798 | The War of 1812-14

Britain ruled the waves. Here is the British warship HMS Victory

British Reforms and Rebellion

When revolution broke out in France in 1779, many in Britain saw anything that weakened France as good for their country, and there was expectation and then acceptance that France's monarch would be reduced in his powers. When France's National Assembly proclaimed the Rights of Man and Citizen in 1779, some in Britain who were looking forward to reforms in their own country were pleased. In towns through much of Britain a few people formed what they called the Society for Constitutional Information, and they called one another "citizen." And some blue-collar workers formed what they called the London Corresponding Society. Members of Parliament in these times were elected by only a small fraction of the population, and these admirers of the revolution in France desired wider representation in parliament.

After the French Revolution executed Louis XVI and Britain joined others in a war against France, opposition to the French Revolution grew, and the conservative notion spread that wider representation in parliament meant giving more voice to the irrational mob. Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger turned against the pro-French reformers. Spies for the government reported on the activities of reformist groups. One of those arrested was the Scottish reformer, Thomas Muir, who was convicted of sedition and sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment. Those few who resisted the government by taking up arms were sentenced to death, hanged, drawn and quartered.

Spithead is near Portsmouth. Noir is in the Thames estuary.

In 1794, Pitt suspended habeas corpus, making it possible to detain prisoners without trial. Nevertheless, dissenters gathered at protest rallies. Hunger in 1795 had risen in much of Europe, including Britain, where bread riots occurred and crowds shouted not only for peace but "Down with Pitt" and down with the king, George III. The crackdown against dissent continued. In 1795, parliament passed a law against meetings of more than 40 people. In 1797, sailors at anchorages at Spithead and Nore in England took over their ships and put their officers ashore. [note] The sailors wanted better pay, better living conditions and removal of some of their officers. The mutineers passed a resolution among themselves to hand over the fleet to the French – the only country they claimed understood the Rights of Man. The government's response was both to improve the conditions that had helped create the rebellion and to crackdown. The most outstanding ringleader, Richard Parker, was hanged, with representations of sailors from every ship sent to witness the execution as a show of what became of mutineers.