Explain Why Lord Liverpool’s Government Followed Reactionary Policies in the Years 1815 to 1820.

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1. a) Explain why Lord Liverpool’s government followed reactionary policies in the years 1815 to 1820. One of the reasons why Lord Liverpool’s government followed reactionary policies is because the fear of a revolution. After the French Revolution in which the French government was overthrown by their people, the British government feared that the British people would do the same, in influence of the events in France. Therefore, they harshened their policies, especially towards those who would consider overthrowing the government such as the poor. This was meant to show the people that the government was strong and could not be destroyed. However, the French revolution wasn’t the only thing fearing the government of a revolution. Another reason why Liverpool’s government followed reactionary policies was because of the impacts of the industrial revolution, particularly the increase in population. The industrial revolution created many jobs which lured people from the countryside to move to the cities. This rapidly increased the population and the government knew that this would cause radical ideas to spread faster amongst the people, therefore threatening the government. This fear of both the French and the Industrial Revolution caused the government to become very repressive in the years 1815 to 1820, forcing Liverpool to introduce policies like Habeas Corpus and the Six Acts which discouraged the people from the idea of revolution. The third reason why Liverpool’s government followed reactionary policies is because of the economic depression after the war. The government was in severe depression after borrowing a lot of money during the war with Napoleon. Therefore, they abolished income tax and introduced indirect tax which took tax directly from items like bread or clothes. This was extremely hard on the poor, which is why it is seen as a reactionary move
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