The Peel Web

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Sir Robert Peel was one of the most important men in Britain during the Nineteenth Century. He became an MP in 1809 and became Home Secretary in 1822; he dominated parliament throughout the period 1830-50. Peel was responsible for the establishment of the Metropolitan Police Force in 1829 and was Prime Minister for a short time in 1834-5. His second ministry lasted from 1841 to 1846.

Peel has been seen as both the founder and betrayer of the Conservative Party and also as the real founder of the Liberal Party. He has been accused of having no principles because he changed his mind over three important issues: Catholic Emancipation (1829), the Reform Act (1832) and the repeal of the Corn Laws (1846). On all three matters he vehemently opposed the proposals for reforming legislation until he felt that he could continue no longer; he then accepted the necessity for, if not the desirability of, change. His second ministry fell as a result of the repeal of the Corn Laws. Historians continue to debate the reasons for Peel's policies.

This web site covers many social, political and economic issues in the period 1830-50 and was written for A Level History students studying this period. For a "quick view" see the Overview of this site. For more detail, see below. Many of the links go to further topic pages.

The Peel Web continues the story begun in another, related web, The Age of George III

Links to other related sites

The Age of George III . This site looks at some of the major events in the period 1760-1820
The Victorian Web is a site located at Brown University, Rhode Island. It has information on many aspects of Victorian History
History on the Web is an educational site written by a teacher; it provides historical information, linked to the United Kingdom Secondary School National Curriculum, that is easy for both children and adults to navigate.
The Irish Museum site is located in Waterford and has an excellent section on the Famine besides much other material on Irish history
See this web site for links to numerous books on the Napoleonic wars
Victorian Web Sites. This is a list of web sites for this period.
The Peel Society's Home page
"Letters from the Past" is a fascinating web site containing transcripts of original correspondence with thorough, clear annotations.
aims to unlock the secrets of the city, leading you to places of interest that most people don't realise exist.
The United Kingdom web site of the European Regional Directory provides many links to related sites.
The Diary Junction is a new internet resource providing information on, and links for, over 300 historical and literary diarists
This site covers English history from 802 to the present.
See this site for an extensive collection of photgraphs of Queen Victoria and her times.