The Breadstealers
Fascinating history of the efforts to remove import duties on corn in Great Britain. When the Anti-Corn-Law League was established in 1839, it was opposed by every established interest in the country. Removal of the import duties would ruin the landowners who were the backbone of the country and starve the already impoverished farm workers. Even industrial workers, who had the most to gain, were far from united in their support. The author tells the whole story of the League, from its tentative beginnings with a few lecturers touring the country, though the development of the support of great Victorians such as Cobden and Bright, up to its triumphant conclusion when Sir Robert Peel split the Conservative Party and supported total repeal of the Corn Laws. 270 pages with index.