<P> Simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States . The "second war of independence" for the American, it was little noticed in Britain, where all attention was focused on the struggle with France . The British could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814 . American frigates also inflicted a series of embarrassing defeats on the British navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe . A stepped - up war effort that year brought about some successes such as the burning of Washington, but many influential voices such as the Duke of Wellington argued that an outright victory over the US was impossible . </P> <P> Peace was agreed to at the end of 1814, but Andrew Jackson, unaware of this, won a great victory over the British at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815 (news took several weeks to cross the Atlantic before the advent of steam ships). Ratification of the Treaty of Ghent ended the war in February 1815 . The major result was the permanent defeat of the Indian allies the British had counted upon . The US - Canada border was demilitarised by both countries, and peaceful trade resumed, although worries of an American conquest of Canada persisted into the 1860s . </P> <P> Britain emerged from the Napoleonic Wars a very different country than it had been in 1793 . As industrialisation progressed, society changed, becoming more urban and less rural . The postwar period saw an economic slump, and poor harvests and inflation caused widespread social unrest . Europe after 1815 was on guard against a return of Jacobinism, and even liberal Britain saw the passage of the Six Acts in 1819, which proscribed radical activities . By the end of the 1820s, along with a general economic recovery, many of these repressive laws were repealed and in 1828 new legislation guaranteed the civil rights of religious dissenters . </P> <P> A weak ruler as regent (1811--20) and king (1820--30), George IV let his ministers take full charge of government affairs, playing a far lesser role than his father, George III . The principle now became established that the king accepts as prime minister the person who wins a majority in the House of Commons, whether the king personally favors him or not . His governments, with little help from the king, presided over victory in the Napoleonic Wars, negotiated the peace settlement, and attempted to deal with the social and economic malaise that followed . His brother William IV ruled (1830--37), but was little involved in politics . His reign saw several reforms: the poor law was updated, child labour restricted, slavery abolished in nearly all the British Empire, and, most important, the Reform Act 1832 refashioned the British electoral system . </P>

Who gained most from reforms in britain in the early 1800s