Anti-Corn Law League

The Anti-Corn Law League was established in response to the British Corn laws, first imposed in 1804, which raised the price of importing bread and grain, favouring the rich landlords, and landed gentry. Initially, in 1838, there were many local branches, whose members were drawn from the industrial middle classes, but in March 1839, Richard Cobden unified these to become the Anti-Corn Law League. After several periods of economic depression and the Irish potato famine, the matter was brought to a head, and in 1846, Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel was forced to pass a new Corn Law setting a new low duty rate on the import of oats, wheat and barley. With abolition achieved, the league dissolved.