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1811 - 18201811 February 5: Prince of Wales (future George IV) made Regent after George
III deemed insane November: Luddite uprisings (machine breaking) in the Midlands against weaving
frames started – went on until 1815 – groups of workmen rebelled against the
increased mechanisation of textile production by destroying the new machinery
– government fears revolutionary conspiracy – damaging property or taking
Luddite oaths become capital offences 1812 Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval, assassinated – shot as he entered the
House of Commons by a bankrupt Liverpool broker, John Bellingham, who was
subsequently hanged June 18: Start of American "War of 1812" against England and
Canada October-December: Napoleon retreats from Moscow with catastrophic losses Comet steamship launched in Scotland 1813 'Policy for the Improvement of the Highlands' approved by British
Parliament Ireland: First recorded "12th of July" sectarian riots in
Belfast Rose's Act (1812) established a printed format for baptism & burial
registers 1814 "Year of the Burning" in Sutherland and Ross Act of Burial in Woollen repealed First Pigot's Commercial Directory printed January 1: Invasion of France by Allies April 6: Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba Sugar prices reach record heights 1815 June 18: The Napoleonic Wars
came to an end at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. Fought near present-day
Brussels, Belgium, the battle was one of the most important in European history. A
combined army which included the major powers—Austria, Great Britain, and
Prussia—routed the French, forcing Napoleon to abdicate. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke
of Wellington, who led the allied force, was restrained after his great triumph. Surveying
the field of dead and dying men, he said: "Nothing except a battle lost can be half
so melancholy as a battle won." Corn Bill passed with enormous benefit to landlords 1816 Economic depression Income tax abolished Climate: the 'year without a summer' – followed a volcanic eruption in
Indonesia 1817 Johnstone's London Directory printed 1818 First steamship (Savannah) to cross Atlantic (26 days) 1819 Aug 16: Peterloo Massacre at Manchester – a large, orderly group
of 60,000 meets at St. Peter's Fields, Manchester – demand Parliamentary
Reform – mounted troops charge on the meeting, killing and maiming many people
December: Six Acts passed against radical political Unions – prohibits
assemblies similar to St. Peter's Fields and imposes press censorship 1820 January 29: Accession of George IV, previously Prince Regent Cato Street Conspiracy Aug 17: Trial of Queen Caroline to prove her infidelities so George IV can divorce her – George tries to secure a Bill of Pains and Penalties against her – Caroline is virtually acquitted because bill passed by such a small majority of Lords
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