Editing William Pitt the Younger (section)

====French Revolution====
{{main|French Revolutionary Wars}}
[[File:The House of Commons 1793-94 by Karl Anton Hickel.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|Pitt (standing centre) addressing the Commons on the outbreak of the war with France (1793); ''[[The House of Commons, 1793–94]]'' by [[Anton Hickel]]]]
An early favourable response to the French Revolution encouraged many in Great Britain to reopen the issue of parliamentary reform, which had been dormant since Pitt's reform bill was defeated in 1785. The reformers, however, were quickly labelled as radicals and associates of the French revolutionaries. Pitt, due to economic reasons, wanted to remain aloof from War with France. However, this option was taken away from him by an ultimatum from King George III. Pitt could either resign or go to war. Committed to making Britain financially stable Pitt agreed, albeit very reluctantly, to go to war against the French Revolutionaries. Though France's declaration of hostilities against Britain meant that Britain was forced into war. <ref>Alter 'Pitt' Volume 1 (2024) ''see p 169 and Appendix A''</ref> Subsequently, in 1794, Pitt's administration [[1794 Treason Trials|tried three of them for treason]] but lost. Parliament began to enact repressive legislation in order to silence the reformers. Individuals who published [[sedition|seditious]] material were punished, and, in 1794, the writ of [[habeas corpus]] was suspended. Other repressive measures included the [[Seditious Meetings Act 1795]], which restricted the right of individuals to assemble publicly, and the [[Combination Act]]s, which restricted the formation of societies or organisations that favoured political reforms. Problems manning the [[Royal Navy]] also led to Pitt to introduce the [[Quota System (Royal Navy)|Quota System]] in 1795 in addition to the existing system of [[impressment]].{{sfn|Ennis|2002|p=34}}

The war with France was extremely expensive, straining Great Britain's finances. Unlike in the latter stages of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], at this point Britain had only a very small standing army, and thus contributed to the war effort mainly through sea power and by supplying funds to other coalition members facing France.