An essay from David Ricardo on the influence of the Corn Laws on the profits from capital investment.

In the early 1830s Peel had been well-known for his opposition to the repeal of the Corn Laws and in 1841 had promised not to repeal the legislation. During the course of his second ministry (1841-6) he changed his mind and by December 1845 was considering repealing the Corn Laws. In the speech from which these extracts are take, Peel justified his change of mind.

Parliamentary Speech by the Prime Minister, Robert Peel, on the succesful motion to abolish the Corn Laws. Peel was seen as a traitor by many of his Conservative colleagues because of his volte-face on maintaining the laws.

A text written in 1814 by the economist and clergyman Thomas Malthus advocating a retention of the war time prosperity for farmers by a large tax on foreign corn.

An article from the 1851 edition of the United States Democratic Review.

Article from the English Historical Review by Anna Gambles.

A speech given by a prominent opponent of the Corn Laws.

A time line and some pass notes on this influential middle class pressure group formed to promote free trade, and a template for further radical advances throughout the nineteenth century.

An entry from Victorian Web on the Corn Laws, a significant import duty on wheat and other essential foodstuffs aiming to stabilise the price.

A society devoted to the study of seventeenth century Parliamentarian John Hampden, who became famous through resisting the Charles I's illegal Ship Money tax.

A book review from History Today.

Hyperlinked article from the Open Source Encyclopedia.