What was the context of politics in the mid-19th century?

Hello. I'm Jeremy Black.

I was professor of history at the University of Exeter,

I want to talk to you today about the transformation of

British politics in the mid nineteenth century.

What I want to start off doing is looking at the context

because I think the contexts are tremendously important.

It's all too easy to focus on the particular political

maneuvers to talk about lord John Russell and how,

the the tories were left as a result of the repeal the

Cornwall controversy with a divided

party, which provided the whigs with an opportunity,

but nevertheless didn't give them enough it's all too easy

to look in terms in other words of political calculation

at the high political But we're interested in British

politics in the mid nineteenth century as a hold.

So let us try and think about how these politics worked and

what were the key themes in them?

Well, first of all, and here the present situation gives you

an easy guide to one of the things we need to be thinking

about, which is often what doesn't happen.

And one of the pre issues that doesn't happen in the mid

nineteenth century nor indeed the early nineteenth century

nor the late nineteenth century is a Scottish question.

I mean, it's really interesting.

We look at the Irish question.

We look at the role for example,

of Ireland and encouraging the repeal of Catholic,

measures against Catholics in eighteen twenty eight.

We look at the Irish issue as causing a problem for the wigs,

in the eighteen fifties.

We look at the, Irish problem in causing the famine agitation,

desire for change at the point of the repeal of the Gorn Law

in, in the, you know, in eighteen forty five,

eighteen forty six,

but we don't actually have to think about Scotland nor did

the whigs nor did what we might call the Liberals nor did the

Tories nor did the conservatives and it's the

things we don't have to talk about that actually help to

provide the political context.

In some respects, politicians in London had to only

consider two possible spheres, Britain as a whole and Ireland.

And that in fact gave them a considerable degree of

flexibility that is worth thinking about.

Next, point.

And again, we're looking here about the context in the mid nineteenth

century that are worthy of consideration.

Yes, there was a build up for chartism.

And, yes, there were episodes that were either associated with chartism

by with reasonable nature or that could be associated by critics.

And there were episodes of violence in Newport Wales,

for example, but the striking thing about chartism,

though it wasn't inevitable only until in the aftermath,

is that it was not a violent overthrow of the British state.

And that, again, you can see all over Britain We've got to

look at this quite carefully because we're considering

transitions in mid century.

There is evidence that the eighteen forty eight crisis

came close to large scale violence and problems in

Ireland than people

necessarily understand.

And that this may well have been a factor affecting

considerations in the government in London.

But what is striking is that in the main house,

Britain as a whole, this was not an issue.

And do remember, that at the time of eighteen forty eight,

the government strengthened the defenses of the tower of London

They deployed large numbers of special con constables.

There was a preparation for warfulness if you like for

violence, mass violence,

which is comparable to nineteen twenty six, the general strike.

When the government of the day deployed tanks, deployed

troops, escorted food from the docks with troops,

signed up large numbers of specials and generally prepared

for the possibility of civil insurrection.

Now just as that did occur in nineteen twenty six,

so it didn't occur in eighteen forty eight.

And each of those absences is very important to the

political situation because what one needs to understand is

that if one's looking at the uncertainty that Lord John

Russell, how to cause lord John Russell

was the weak prime minister that took office after,

Peele went in eighteen forty six,

if you're looking at the uncertainty that Russell

caused, it was the anxiety that there might be a

turn to lungs to instability,

serious instability as a result of his values and his aspiration.

And I want to look in the next little portion at his values

and aspirations, but I want you to take away with you this idea

that confidence about what didn't happen was

nowhere near as strong

that not everybody believed that Britain was in an age of

improvement to use the term of a later famous historian Azer

Briggs, and that in stead,

what one has to understand is that there was anxiety and

anxiety across the political spectrum.