The Political History of England - Vol XI From Addington's Administration to the close of William IV.'s Reign (1801-1837) — A Reader’s Guide

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Authors: Brodrick, George C. (George Charles), 1831-1903, Fotheringham, John Knight, 1874-1936 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2008 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1800-1837; Great Britain -- History -- 1800-1837 Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 188,904

Reading time 822 min

Text sections 38

The Political History of England - Vol XI From Addington's Administration to the close of William IV.'s Reign (1801-1837) — A Reader’s Guide can be approached with a clearer sense of reading commitment from its source measurements: 188,904 words, 13 hr 42 min estimated reading time, and 38 detected text sections.

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This editorial note examines the structure, recurring imagery, and scene shifts in Brodrick and Fotheringham's volume covering 1801–1837, focusing on parliamentary debates, the Catholic Emancipation crisis, and the authors' use of division lists and military metaphors.

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Mar., 1801. The new ministry 1 Condition of Ireland 2 Expedition to Copenhagen 3 Sept. Egypt evacuated by the French 6 French diplomatic successes 6 Bonaparte's concordat with the pope 7 Peace negotiations with France 8 Cornwallis at Amiens 10 25 Mar., 1802. The treaty of Amiens 12 Parliamentary criticism of the treaty 14 July. General election 15 Nov. Colonel Despard's conspiracy 16 Further aggressions of Napoleon 17 His colonial policy 18 Negotiations between Whitworth and the French government 19 18 May, 1803. Renewal of the war with France 22

23 July, 1803. Emmet's rebellion 23 Pitt's discontent with the ministry 24 Ministerial changes 27 Jan., 1804. The king's illness 29 April. Addington's resignation 31 The exclusion of Fox 32 18 May. Napoleon declared emperor 33 Pitt's ministry 34 The impeachment of Melville 36 July. The third coalition 37 Nelson's pursuit of Villeneuve 39 21 Oct., 1805. The battle of Trafalgar 40 Napoleon marches into Germany 41 Dec. Austerlitz: the peace of Pressburg 42 Collapse of the coalition 43 23 Jan., 1806. Death of Pitt 43

GRENVILLE AND PORTLAND.

Feb., 1806. Formation of the Grenville ministry 45 13 Sept. Death of Fox 46 14 Oct. Jena and Auerstädt 47 General election 48 25 Mar., 1807. Abolition of the slave trade 48 Fall of the whig government 49 The Portland administration 50 General election 50 7 July. The treaty of Tilsit 52 Seizure of the Danish fleet 54 The "continental system" and orders in council 55 Fruitless expeditions 56 12 Oct. Conference of Erfurt 59 Army scandals 60 The Wagram campaign 63 July, 1809. The Walcheren expedition 64 21 Sept. Duel between Canning and Castlereagh 67 Oct. Perceval's administration 68 Capture of the Ionian Isles and Bourbon 69 25. Jubilee of George III. 69

PERCEVAL AND LIVERPOOL.

Jan., 1810. Debates on the Walcheren expedition 71 April. The arrest of Burdett 72 Appointment of the "Bullion committee" 73 The king's insanity: regency bill 74 11 May, 1812. Assassination of Perceval 76 1809-11. Social reforms in his ministry 77 July, 1810. Deposition of Louis Bonaparte 78 Opposition in Europe to the continental system 78 Alliances formed by Russia and France 81 Conquest of Java and Sumatra 81 June, 1812. The formation of Liverpool's cabinet 81 1811-12. Distress in town and country 83 Oct., 1812. General election 85 1813. Confirmation of the East India Company's charter 86

1807, 1808. The origin of the war 87 Charles IV. and Ferdinand VII. seek the protection of Napoleon 87 1808. Napoleon's plans for the conquest of Spain 88 24 July. Joseph Bonaparte proclaimed King of Spain 89 13 Aug. Landing of Wellesley 90 21. Battle of Vimeiro 91 Oct., 1808.- Expedition of Sir John Moore 92 Jan., 1809. 16 Jan. Battle of Coruña 95 Wellesley returns to Portugal 97 27 July. Battle of Talavera 98 Sept., 1810. Bussaco: the lines of Torres Vedras 101 Struggle for the frontier fortresses 103 16 May, 1811. Battle of Albuera 103 Jan.-April, Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz 105 1812. 22 July. Battle of Salamanca 107 1812, 1813. Wellington reorganises the Spanish and Portuguese armies 109 21 June, 1813. Battle of Vitoria 110 Battle of the Pyrenees 113 Siege of St. Sebastian 113 8 Oct. Wellington crosses the Bidassoa 115 Battles round Bayonne 115 Feb., 1814. The investment of Bayonne 117 10 April. Battle of Toulouse 119

THE DOWNFALL OF NAPOLEON.

1812. French treaties with Prussia and Austria 122 Alliances made by Russia 123 June. Napoleon's advance into Russia 124 His retreat 125 War between England and the United States 126 Attacks on Canada 129 American successes at sea 131 Feb., 1813. Treaty of Kalisch 134 Austrian diplomacy 135 2, 21 May. Lützen and Bautzen 135 Aug., Oct. Dresden and Leipzig 137 France loses Saxony, Holland, and Switzerland 138 American war continued 138 1 June. Duel of the _Shannon_ and _Chesapeake_ 142 Jan.-Mar., Campaign in France 143 1814. April. Napoleon deposed: Louis XVIII. recalled 145 24 Dec. Treaty of Ghent 147 July. Visit of Alexander and Frederick William to England 148

30 May, 1814. The first treaty of Paris 149 English blockade of Norwegian ports 150 Union of Sweden and Norway 150 Restoration of Ferdinand VII. and Pius VII. 150 Attempts to abolish the slave trade 151 Sept., 1814- Congress of Vienna 152 June, 1815. 3 Jan., 1815. Secret treaty between England, France, and Austria 153 1 March. Napoleon's return from Elba 153 Flight of Louis XVIII.: the _Acte Additionnel_ 155 Plans of the allies 156 Defeat and death of Murat 157 June. Wellington at Brussels: his army 158 16. Ligny and Quatre Bras 159 18. Waterloo 160 July. Paris occupied by the allies 163 22 June. Second abdication of Napoleon 165 His surrender to England 165 Restoration of Louis XVIII.: treaty of Vienna 166 Resettlement of Europe 166 20 Nov. Second treaty of Paris: English gains 167 26 Sept. The Holy Alliance 168 Napoleon at St. Helena 169

THE FIRST YEARS OF PEACE.

1816. Depression and discontent 171 Vansittart's financial policy 173 Union of British and Irish exchequers 174 2 Dec., 1816. Spa Fields riot 175 Prosecution of Hone 177 1818. General election 178 16 Aug., 1819. The "Manchester massacre" 178 Dec. The six acts 180 1817, 1819. Institution of savings banks: currency reform 182 6 Nov., 1817. Death of Princess Charlotte 184 1818. Royal marriages 184 29 Jan., 1820. Death of George III. 185 Royalist reaction in Europe 187 1816. Expedition against the Barbary states 187 1819. Murder of Kotzebue 189 30 Sept., Conference of Aix-la-Chapelle 189 1818. Spain asks for assistance from the allies 190 The European alliance 190

THE LAST YEARS OF LORD LIVERPOOL.

1820. The Cato Street conspiracy 192 Dissolution of parliament 193 The "queen's trial" 194 7 Aug., 1821. Her death 196 1822. Changes in the cabinet 199 12 Aug. Death of Castlereagh 199 Sept. Canning foreign secretary 200 Jan. Peel home secretary 201 1823. Reform of the navigation laws 202 Agricultural discontent 203 1825. Speculative frenzy and financial panic 205 1823-26. Robinson's finance 206 General election of 1826 207 Close of Liverpool's ministry 208

PROBLEMS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE.

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Brodrick and Fotheringham organize their narrative around parliamentary sessions and legislative milestones, moving from ministry to ministry with a steady rhythm of debate, division, and royal assent. The volume's structure mirrors the procedural sequence of bills: first reading, second reading, committee, third reading, then transmission to the Lords. This pattern gives the political history a quasi-documentary feel, as if the reader is following the official record.

Recurring images of military conflict—'civil war,' 'capitulated,' 'old guard'—permeate the account of Catholic Emancipation, suggesting that the authors viewed parliamentary struggle as a form of warfare. The scene shifts between Commons and Lords, and between London and Dublin, are marked by abrupt transitions that emphasize the interconnectedness of events.

Parliamentary Procedure as Narrative Backbone

The authors rely heavily on division lists and voting tallies to advance the story. For instance, the first reading of the Catholic Relief Bill is recorded as 'carried by a majority of 348 to 160,' the second by '353 to 180,' and the third by '320 to 142.' These numbers are not mere data; they function as plot points, marking the bill's progress and the shifting balance of power. The structure of each legislative episode follows a predictable arc: introduction, debate, vote, and aftermath. This procedural scaffolding gives the volume a clear, if repetitive, rhythm.

Speeches are summarized with an eye to their effect on votes rather than their rhetorical content. Michael Sadler's 'brilliant speech' and Sir Charles Wetherell's 'violent invective' are noted primarily because they led to Wetherell's dismissal. The authors treat parliamentary oratory as a tactical element, not as intellectual history.

Military Metaphors and the Language of Conflict

The language of warfare pervades the account of the Catholic Emancipation crisis. Wellington is described as having 'capitulated to O'Connell,' and his admission of being 'driven to concession by the fear of civil war' is called 'historical.' The 'old guard of the anti-catholic party' is a direct military allusion, and Anglesey's speech is said to employ 'purely military arguments.' Even the king's resistance is framed in martial terms: he threatens to 'retire to Hanover' and 'capitulated to Wellington.'

This metaphorical consistency suggests that the authors viewed politics as a continuation of war by other means. The imagery extends to the description of the forty-shilling freeholders, who 'had never ventured to call their souls their own' and 'ceased to be the servile creatures of their landlords in order to become the servile creatures of their priests.' The language of servility and force reinforces the sense of a battlefield where loyalty and coercion are the weapons.

Scene Shifts Between London and Dublin

The narrative moves rapidly between the Houses of Parliament and Irish constituencies, often without explicit transition. The Waterford and Clare elections are invoked as the catalysts that 'forced the hand of the government,' yet the authors do not describe the elections themselves in detail. Instead, they appear as distant pressures that register in London through division lists and ministerial resignations.

This technique creates a sense of simultaneity: events in Ireland are always already present in the debates at Westminster. The disfranchisement of the forty-shilling freeholders is presented as a direct consequence of the Clare election, but the authors note that O'Connell himself 'had solemnly vowed to perish on the field or on the scaffold rather than submit to it'—a vow that is then undercut by his apparent acquiescence. The scene shift here is not geographical but moral, moving from O'Connell's public stance to his private compromise.

The Role of Royal Authority in the Narrative

George IV appears as a vacillating figure, caught between his father's resolute character and his own indecision. The authors describe his 'childish threats of retiring to Hanover' and his eventual 'capitulation' to Wellington. The king's role is structurally important: he is the final obstacle before a bill becomes law, and his assent is the narrative climax of each legislative episode.

The volume treats royal authority as a variable force, sometimes resisting, sometimes yielding. The contrast between George III and George IV is drawn explicitly, with the son lacking 'his father's resolute character.' This psychological sketch is brief but telling, as it frames the monarchy as a personal institution whose effectiveness depends on the monarch's will. The authors do not speculate on broader constitutional implications, but the pattern is clear: when the king wavers, the ministry prevails.

Readers approaching this volume should attend to the interplay between procedural detail and metaphorical language. The division lists are not dry statistics but markers of political momentum, while the military imagery reveals how contemporaries—and the authors—understood parliamentary conflict. The scene shifts between London and Dublin, and between Commons and Lords, are abrupt but purposeful, reflecting the interconnectedness of British and Irish politics. This is a history that moves at the pace of legislation, not of narrative.

There’s something grounding about watching a legislature argue its way through history, whether in the long shadows of Catholic Emancipation or in the quieter dust of a Sacramento session. The old volume’s division lists feel like distant weather reports. Then I found this one—Story of the Session of the California Legislature of 1909 — A Closer Reading—and thought how every age believes its own debates are the ones that matter. They are, in their way.