Corn Laws

Corn Laws were British laws for the regulation of the grain trade from 1436 to 1846. In the later years, from about 1790, it became increasingly evident that these laws were primarily protecting the British land owners from foreign competition and thus raising the prices of bread and cereals, the basic diet of industrial workers. In 1838, the Anti-Corn Law League was founded in Manchester, England. The League, led by Richard Cobden, "The Apostle of Free Trade," and John Bright, was largely responsible for the repeal of the Corn Law in 1846 and the growing acceptance of the laissez faire principles of the Manchester School.

Note: Corn is the name generally given to the leading cereal grass consumed as food by a country's inhabitants. In England, corn is what Americans know as wheat. In Scotland and Ireland, corn is oats, while on the European continent, corn is usually what Americans know as rye.

Links

 * Corn Laws at the 1902 Encyclopaedia Britannica
 * Corn Laws at the 1902 Encyclopaedia Britannica