 Exacerbating matters were the Corn Laws, the first of which was passed in 1815, imposing a tariff on foreign grain in an effort to protect English grain producers.The cost of food rose as people were forced to buy the more expensive and lower quality British grain, and periods of famine and chronic unemployment ensued, increasing the desire for political reform both in Lancashire and in the country at large.In the winter of 1816–17 massed reform petitions were rejected by the House of Commons, the largest of then from Manchester with over 30,000 signatures.