 With the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo , the wars in Europe ended , and the troops returned home . As a result , the nation underwent dramatic shifts due to rising unemployment as the economy shifted and the government began to pay off its debts incurred during 20 years of war . Agricultural prices slumped , and Coke became active in opposing tax increases which would impact on the farmers . In February 1816 he spoke out against income and malt tax , and in March attacked the property tax as " utterly at variance with civil liberty " . An opponent of government excess in a time of unemployment and high taxation , he also voted against the army estimates and opposed the Civil List in May . With a County Meeting on 5 April 1817 , Coke spoke on the King 's intent on " overturning democracy and enslaving the country " by restricting freedom of speech and the press , suggesting that the government needed to be removed . 
