it is about corn laws , for master students in management and economics

1. THE CORN LAWS

2. Overview
• The Corn Laws were a series of statutes
enacted between 1815 and 1846 which kept
corn prices at a high level. This measure was
intended to protect English farmers from
cheap foreign imports of grain following the
end of the Napoleonic Wars

3. Note
• in this context "corn" means grain of all kinds,
not simply the vegetable corn

4. Background
• During the Napoleonic Wars, the British
blockaded the European continent, hoping to
isolate the Napoleonic Empire and bring
economic hardship to the French. One result
of this blockade was that goods within the
British Isles were protected against
competition from outside sources. Farming
became extremely lucrative, and farming land
was traded at very profitable rates

5. • When the wars ended in 1815 the first of the
Corn Laws was introduced. This law stated
that no foreign corn would be allowed into
Britain until domestic corn reached a price of
80 shillings per quarter

6. Who Benefited?
• The beneficiaries of the Corn Laws were the
nobility and other large landholders who
owned the majority of profitable farmland.
Landowners had a vested interest in seeing
the Corn Laws remain in force. And since the
right to vote was not universal, but rather
depended on land ownership, voting
members of Parliament had no interest in
repealing the Corn Laws

7. Who suffered?
• The artificially high corn prices encouraged by
the Corn Laws meant that the urban working
class had to spend the bulk of their income on
corn just to survive. Since they had no income
left over for other purchases, they could not
afford manufactured goods. So manufacturers
suffered, and had to lay off workers. These
workers had difficulty finding employment, so
the economic spiral worsened for everyone
involved

8. Reform
• The first major reform of the Corn Laws took
place during the ministry of the Duke of
Wellington in 1828. The price of corn was no
longer fixed, but tied to a sliding scale that
allowed foreign grain to be imported freely
when domestic grain sold at 73 shillings per
quarter or above, and at increasing tariffs the
further the domestic price dropped below 73
shillings. The effect of this reform was
negligible

9. The Reform Act
• In 1832 the right to vote was extended to a
sizable portion of the merchant class through
the passage of The Reform Act. The merchant
classes were far more likely to look favorably
on changes to the Corn Laws

10. The Reformers
• Several groups arose during the early and mid 1800s to
fight for repeal of the Corn Laws amid other social reforms.
Most prominent among these movements were the
Chartists and the Anti-Corn Law League. The ACLL began in
1836 as the Anti Corn Law Association, and in 1839
adopted its more familiar name. Despite its social reform
agenda, the league drew its members largely from the
middle-class; merchants and manufacturers. Their aim was
to loosen the restrictions on trade generally, so that they
could sell more goods both at home and around the world.
After constant agitation, the ACLL was successful, and in
1846 the government under Sir Robert Peel was persuaded
to repeal the Corn Laws