William Pitt the Younger, however, discovered the downside of discounted bonds when he tried to reduce the national debt during the lull between the American war and the Napoleonic wars.

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Other historians have often been less than kind regarding Pitt's ability to wage war against revolutionary and Napoleonic France.

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The British income tax had been 10% during the Napoleonic Wars and 6.6% during the Crimean War.

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For the British, the war was mostly an annoying distraction from the more-important Napoleonic Wars.

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Other embroidery features on the 2015 embroidery panel will depict visits by both Queen Elizabeth I and II, the founding of the veterinary profession in Britain, and French prisoners of war held on parole at Odiham and North Warnborough during the Napoleonic Wars.

BBC: Part of the Odiham embroidery design