How was Britain affected by the French Wars?

When studying the effect of the French Wars on Britain one must not forget that 18th century warfare is not comparable in any degree to the 20th century world wars which as Tongue suggests "were fought with a ferocity and scale unknown in previous centuries". The French wars did not dominate British society during this period and therefore it is extremely hard to determine which changes in the economy, politics and society were induced by the war and which would have happened anyway.

There were many changes in Britain's politics of the period and although they could have all happened if there had not been any French wars there are obvious links between political changes in the period and the dramatic events in France. The wars increased the parliamentary majority of the party of government (i.e. Younger Pitt's government). Because Britain was at war with France all that France symbolised was unpopular, therefore Pitt's determination to resist radical change at home and revolution abroad was bound to prove incredibly popular and steal many of Fox and the Opposition Whig's votes. Furthermore, the threat posed to the British constitution

led to the articulation of a conservative ideology represented by writers such as John Reeves or Robert Nares who sought to counter the radical propaganda. But perhaps one of the most striking examples of the anti-French and revolutionary ideas was the formation of "the AntiJacobins which idealised monarchy and the benefits of living under a 'balanced' constitution".

Another result of the French Wars was the division of the Whig party. Their internal problems were mainly the result of their inability to unite in their response to the French business. While Fox expected the example of France to reinvigorate the reform movement in Britain, Burke was of the opinion that the French revolution was a threat to European civilisation. However, other factors were also crucial in dividing the Whig party (such as the close association with some elements of the party with the Prince of Wales) as O'Gorman suggests "it exposed inherent contradictions with the Opposition Whig party, but it did not create them". The gulf between the two parties also deepened during this period, from a divide on a question of the royal prerogative to an increasing political and ideological chasm. However the Ministerial instability after Pitt was not only the result of the War but also, of other factors such as the role of different characters or the King.

The effect of the war on the economy varied in scope and intensity from sector to sector. Trade was greatly affected by the war, both negatively and positively. Statistically, the rate of growth of export only slightly slowed down during the war (by 1% to the 1798-1802 period), the rate of re-exports doubled and there was a slight increase in imports, however this was only partly due to the war. The wars stimulated British trade, because they crippled England's continental competitors and because of the Royal Navy, Britain's commercial fleet had a monopoly on relations with non-European countries. However, trade with the Continent slowed down in this period as growth figures show, especially during the Continental blockade, which closed most European markets to British goods. Yet even this did not really affect Britain's trade to the Continent as the blockades were not properly maintained and Napoleon's marshals and allies often disregarded his orders in the face of a bribe. However, some developments in trade were not due to the war at all such as the export boom of 1798-1802, which developed out of technological advance in the cotton industry.

The effect of the war on industry was very positive however a lot of the growth in this period is not due to the war. The war would have caused rising prices and shortages because of the dislocation of trade on imports of raw materials. The fluctuation of exports resulting from military and political situations broad had an effect on the manufacturing sector, which exported 1/3 of its output. However these difficulties were not long term ones and did not cause any major disasters during the years of the war itself. The war did affect industry in other minor ways, it caused a fall in private consumption leading to reduced demand for manufactured goods and the need of the army and navy for commodities such as guns or uniforms had a small impact on industry, however, even in the 1793-1815 period only 10% additional output of iron was for military purposes. There was a notable increase in some areas such as cotton, which went from a 5-6% growth in the pre-war period to 12.8% during the war however overall the positive and negative effects of the war varied from industry to industry and even increase in growth of the cotton industry might have been due to technological advance!

One of the areas where the war could have had a negative effect was the investing of capital. In times of war governments spend most of their spendings and therefore there is less money available to other sectors of the industry, it is true that although investing did not double as it would have under pre-war conditions as Williamson calculates people it did continue to grow and people did not stop investing.

"A major aspect of the war was an outburst of sharp, though not runaway inflation". The Gayer index of wholesale prices of domestic and imported commodities rose from 89 in 1790 to 169 in 1813, however this was not all due to the war. Agricultural prices rose higher than manufactured goods prices, not because of the war but because of bad harvests and large increases in population. The war certainly had an effect on inflation through the mobilisation so that by the later stages of the war 10% of the 18-45 male age group were serving in the army. And the war did increase demand as soldiers ate more in the army than as civilians. However, the Bank of England could have controlled interest rates but didn't.

Politically, there were very few long-term effects, however economically, the long term effects of peace resulting in Britain's total victory over France meant that Britain was able to take control over the seas and the New World becoming the world's first superpower.

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