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The workers' situation did not improve. During the Napoleonic Wars, when it was impossible to import wheat from Europe, the price of local grain had risen. After the war ended in 1815, the government introduced legislation – the 'Corn Laws' – to limit the amount of cheap wheat that could be imported, so that the price of cereals and bread would be kept artificially high and so protect farmers' profits. In 1816, a bad harvest pushed prices so high that there were strikes and food riots all over the country.
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The Corn Laws fuelled the clamour for parliamentary reform. Again, rather than make any concessions, the authorities tried to suppress the anger of those who had no legitimate way of making their demands. The Corn Laws and electoral reform were the main issues to be discussed at a meeting organised at St Peter's Field in Manchester on 16 August 1819.
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