At the turn of the 19th century, the government had only a vague idea of how many people were living in Britain. That was a problem. With a French invasion on the cards, the government needed to know how many conscripts it could call on. But there was another enemy to guard against one that was far more insidious and closer to home.
The industrial revolution had brought about a population explosion. And while population growth was hailed as a good thing both in terms of economic and imperial expansion, it also posed a threat to public order something Britain's ruling class was desperate to avoid, given the recent revolution across the Channel.
The problem was that mechanisation brought greater efficiency in the field and the factory, but it also led to large-scale job losses. Much of the population was forced to live hand to mouth and things were only getting worse as the population grew.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Thomas Malthus (well-known to economists as the man behind the idea of peak growth') warned that there would come a time when Britain could no longer feed its people. So how many hungry (and angry) people would there be?
To answer this question, statistician John Rickman drafted the Census Act of 1800. It called for a comprehensive survey of the British population (excluding Ireland) down to the level of the individual. And it was to be carried out every ten years.
The following year, on 10 March, an army of parish officials in England and Wales, and schoolmasters in Scotland, went door to door recording how many houses there were, who lived in them, and what the occupants did for a living.
Once the results were in, Rickman realised the census hadn't been a great success. There were gaps in the information, which varied from parish to parish. Some parishes didn't even return the data.
But the data did show that the combined population of England, Wales and Scotland had grown to over ten million. And when compared with the census taken ten years later, the government was shocked to discover that the population of England and Wales had continued to swell by another million people.
-
IMF suggests “refinements” to Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rulesThe IMF has upgraded the UK’s growth forecast but wants Reeves to refine her fiscal rules to avoid unnecessary spending cuts or tax rises
-
Invest like a tortoise, not a hare to avoid market volatilityOpinion Hassan Raza, Portfolio Manager at CG Asset Management, highlights three favourite investment companies
-
31 August 1957: the Federation of Malaya declares independence from the UKFeatures On this day in 1957, after ten years of preparation, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation.
-
13 April 1960: the first satellite navigation system is launchedFeatures On this day in 1960, Nasa sent the Transit 1B satellite into orbit to provide positioning for the US Navy’s fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.
-
9 April 1838: National Gallery opens in Trafalgar SquareFeatures On this day in 1838, William Wilkins’ new National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square opened to the public.
-
3 March 1962: British Antarctic Territory is createdFeatures On this day in 1962, Britain formed the British Antarctic Territory administered from the Falkland Islands.
-
10 March 2000: the dotcom bubble peaks
Features Tech mania fanned by the dawning of the internet age inflated the dotcom bubble to maximum extent, on this day in 2000.
-
9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'
Features On this day in 1776, Adam Smith, the “father of modern economics”, published his hugely influential book The Wealth of Nations.
-
8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formedFeatures On this day in 1817, a group of brokers moved out of a New York coffee house to form what would become the biggest stock exchange in the world.
-
7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Victoria Line
Features On this day in 1969, Queen Elizabeth II took only her second trip on the tube to officially open the underground’s newest line – the Victoria Line.
