Corn Laws
The Corn Laws were introduced in 1815 in Britain, in order to protect the British agricultural sector after a series of grain shortages during the Napoleonic wars. According to these laws, foreign corn could be imported only when the domestic price rose above 80 shillings/quarter. While this legislation benefitted the landlords, the dominant force in the parliament, it harmed the manufacturers and the workers. As the cost of food increased, people spent less and less on other commodities, such as manufactured goods. The manufacturers, traders and bankers, the capitalists, united in the Anti-Corn-Law League in 1838 to pressure the parliament to repeal the Corn Laws. As part of the Anti-Corn-Law campaign, James Wilson, a Scottish member of the League, founded The Economist magazine in 1843.
In 1846 Prime Minister Robert Peel repealed the Corn Laws, starting an era of increased economic integration. This openness in the structure of international trade only lasted till 1880, as Britain’s hegemonic power decreased, a period of relative closure started.
It is debated whether the repeal of Corn Laws was influenced by ideas, institutions or domestic interests. Irwin stands for the importance of ideas. He says early on Peel regularly expressed his belief in free trade but insisted that the protection of agriculture was a justified exception. Later Peel changed his views on protection to agriculture, he justified his shift in opinion claiming he learned from experience. Schonhardt-Bailey, on the other hand, points out the importance of domestic interests as well, the conversion of Peel to free trade was heavily influenced by the pressure groups for free trade and the lobbying activity of the Anti-Corn-Law League.
Irwin, Douglas A. “Political Economy and Peel’s Repeal of the Corn Laws.” Economics and Politics 1, no. 1 (1989): 41-59. Schonhardt-Bailey, Cheryl. From the Corn Laws to Free Trade: Ideas, Interests, and Institutions in Historical Perspective. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2006. Ch 2 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/137814/Corn-Law 09/24/2010
