The Corn LawThe Corn Law was first introduced in Britain in 1804, when the landowners, who dominated Parliament, sought to protect their profits by imposing a duty on imported corn. During the Napoleonic Wars, it was not possible to import corn from Europ

The Corn Law
The Corn Law was first introduced in Britain in 1804, when the landowners, who dominated Parliament, sought to protect their profits by imposing a duty on imported corn. During the Napoleonic Wars, it was not possible to import corn from Europe. This led to an expansion of British wheat farming and to high bread prices. Farmers feared that when the war ended in 1815, the importation of foreign corn would lower prices. British landowners applied pressure on members of Parliament to take action to protect the profits of the farmers. Parliament responded by passing a law permitting the import of foreign wheat duty free only when the domestic price reached 80 shillings per 8 bushels of corn. The price of these goods remained high.