ABSTRACT
In 1816 William Cobbett, indignant as ever, spat out a comparison between the quelling of rebellion in occupied France and in England’s own Cambridgeshire. “It is curious to observe,” wrote Cobbett, “the exact pace which is kept by the two Governments, that of the Bourbons and ours, in putting down insurrections in their respective countries. A few days ago, we were told the troops at Ely had seized the arms of the people, and, amongst the rest, a great number of fowling pieces” (Cobbett’s Weekly Political Register, 24 September 1816 [American edition, written 29 June]). In Grenoble, Cobbett remarked, once the authorities had succeeded in disarming the turbulent population, they began returning hunting weapons to their owners. British authorities, according to Cobbett, feared to emulate their French counterparts by giving back insurgents’ weapons. Thus vigorously victorious Britain had become more timorous, more tyrannical, or both, than decisively defeated France.
