Protest during 19th Century in industrial Britain Flashcards
- When were the Combination Acts passed?
1799/1800
- In what year did the Luddite protest start?
1811
- In what areas did the Luddite protests take place?
Nottingham, and the north of England
- How did the government respond to the Luddite protest?
Brought in the Frame Breaking Act of 1812
- What was the name of the mythical leader of the Luddites?
Ned Ludd
- What was the motivation of the Luddites?
handloom workers whose jobs were being replaced by steam-powered looms
- How long did the Luddite protest last?
6 Years
- What extreme action happened a year after the Luddites began?
An outspoken anti-Luddite mill owner, William Horsfall was shot dead outside Huddersfield
- When did the Swing Riots take place?
1830-1831
- What was the difference between the Luddite and the Swing Riots?
Industrial versus agrarian protest
- Give 2 reasons for the outbreak of the Swing Riots. 2 marks
Poor harvests in the late 1820s, introduction of the threshing machine, winter unemployment as a result of the new machine, poverty, hunger
- Why did the Swing Riots shock the government? Give 2 reasons.
Because in times past agricultural workers were seen as docile and not liable to riot, they employed the same tactics as the industrial workers/Luddites, fear of revolution, landed gentry and their role in parliament
- What action did the Swing rioters take?
threatening letters, signed Captain Swing, hayricks burned, intimidation, breaking of threshing machines
- What is interesting about the reaction to the Swing rioters by local magistrates?
Often treated with leniency, only 19 executed, a degree of sympathy with the rioters from the local magistrates who tried them
- Who started the 10 Hour Movement?
Richard Oastler and George Bull
- Give 2 reasons why the 10 Hour Movement was successful?
Religious conviction of the organisers, single issue politics, peaceful petitioning rather than violence, long working day e.g. up to 16 hours but often 10-12 hours, some mill owners saw the benefits of having a healthy workforce, Whig MP John Hobhouse had tried to bring in a law in 1825 to limit a working day for children, Oastler wrote a letter to the Leeds Mercury in 1830
- Name the 2 Tories who took up the cause of the 10 Hour Movement? 2 marks
Michael Sadler MP and Lord Ashley Peer
- When did the Pentrich Rising take place?
1817
- How did unemployed spinners and weavers in Manchester react to their poor situation in 1817?
Blanketeers arranged a march to London to take a petition to the Prince Regent.
- How did the government respond to the wave of early 19th Century protest?
transportation, spies, extreme punishment, hanging
- What were the 6 parts of the Six Acts? 6 marks
speedy trials, increased penalties for seditious libel, stamp duty imposed on all magazines, public meetings limited, training of people to use firearms prohibited, magistrates given increased power to search properties
- Why was the Suspension of Habeas Corpus an extreme move for the government?
Suspension of Habeas Corpus permits arrest without trial and imprisonment without charge
- When was the Suspension of Habeas Corpus?
1816/7
- What was the penalty for stealing a rabbit in the Game Laws of 1815?
Death/execution
- How did the Napoleonic Wars contribute to the problems that working class people faced?
400,000 soldiers were demobbed and arrived back looking for work
- What happened at the meeting at St Peter’s Fields in Manchester in 1819? 2 marks
Sabre charge by yeomanry into the crowd killing 11 and injuring 400
- What was the name of the radical speaker who spoke to the crowds at the event at St Peter’s Fields in Manchester in 1819?
Henry Hunt
- What nickname was given to the Manchester event in 1819?
‘Peterloo’ Massacre
- How did the government react to the Manchester event in 1819?
The government reacted harshly and brought in the Six Acts
- When did the 10 Hour Movement eventually have success?
1847
