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 5 reasons for the outbreak of the Swing Riots
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 4 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 7 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?
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?
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?
1817
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?
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
When was the French Revolution?
1789
What did the French Revolution mark?
A period of radical political and societal change
What caused the French Revolution?
. Ideas of enlightenment
. High price of bread and food shortages
. Low wages
. Middle class not represented
. High tax
Reign of terror
Anyone who objected to revolution would be executed
What to the French Revolution put an end to?
The monarchy
What were the Napoleonic wars?
Series of the major conflicts with the French Empire vs Europe
What ended the Napoleonic wars?
Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo by Prussia + Britain
When were the Gordon Riots?
June 1780
What were the Gordon Riots?
Several days of rioting in London motivated by anti-Catholic sentiment
Why did the Gordon Riots begin?
Protest against Papist Act of 1778 which was intended to reduce official discrimination against British Catholics
What stopped the Gordon riots?
Government sent in army resulting in 300-700 death
What did the Gordon Riots do to Britain’s reputation
Destroyed it and constitutional monarch was seen as unstable
What is a Luddite?
A person opposed to new technology or ways of working
Who were the Luddite’s?
Secret oath based organisation of English textile workers
Why were the luddites protesting?
Against manufactures
Feared the time spent learning the skills of their craft would be wasted as machines replaced them
How many £ worth of machines and factories did the luddites destroy?
£100,000
Where was the Pentrich Rising?
Pentrich, Derbyshire
What did the men expect in the Pentrich
They marched towards Nottingham expecting to be part of a national uprising to overthrow the government
Why were people angry in the Pentrich Rising?
Anger and despair at the lack of work, lack of food and the indifference of the government and local authorities to their plight
What factors lead to the Pentrich Rising?
. Corn laws
. Radical leaders
. French Revolution
. Poor harvests - bread proce
. Extravagant life of Prince Regent
. Suspension of Hague’s Corpus
How were people tricked in the Pentrich Rising?
Spies working for the government invited the men to march to Nottingham where forces waited to arrest them
What happened to the people in the Pentrich Rising?
. The leader and two others were hanged
. Others transported
. Some put in prison
Why was the Pentrich uprising weak?
. Lightly armed with pikes, scythes and a few guns
. Unfocused revolutionary demands e.g. wiping out national debt
When was the Blanketeers demonstration?
March 1817
Where was the Blanketeer demonstration?
Manchester
Who made up the Blanketeer demonstration?
5,000 weavers
What was the intention for the Blanketeer demonstration?
. For the participants, mainly Lancashire weavers to march to London and petition the Prince Regent over the desperate state of the Lancashire textiles industry
. Protest against the suspension of the Habeus corpus Act
How was the Blanketeer demonstration broken up?
Violently with its leaders imprisoned
What did Blanketeer demonstration partly culminated?
The Peterloo Massacre
What did protesters at the Blanketeer demonstration carry?
Blankets to sleep in and as a symbol of their trade
How did the Swing Riots begin?
. Destruction of threshing machines in East Kent in the summer of 1830
. By December it had spread through the whole of Southern England
Why were people in the Swing Riots angry?
. Angry at the tithe system
. Requiring payments to support the Anglican
. Poor Law guardians who abused their powers over the poor
. Low wages and mechanisation
If captured what did the Swing Riot protesters face?
. Charges of arson, robbery, riot
. If convicted they face execution, imprisonment and transportation
What was the aim of the Swing Rioters?
. To attain a living wage
When were the Rebecca Riots?
1839 and 1843
Where did the Rebecca Riots take place?
. Rural parts of west wales including Pembrokeshire
Who took part in the Rebecca Riots in response to what?
Local farmers and agricultural workers in response to taxation
What did the Rebecca Rioters do?
Often men, dressed as women, took their actions against tall gates which represented the taxes
Why did the Rebecca Riots cease?
Due to increased troop levels and not wanting to use violence
1844 act of parliament linking to Rebecca Riots?
Act to consolidate and amend the laws relating to turnpike trust in Wales was passed , rent reductions and toll rates were improves
When was the first of the Rebecca Riots and what happened?
A group of Welsh farmers attacked a tall house
Why was it called the Rebecca Riots?
The leader of the protest wore women’s clothes as a disguise and was called Rebecca - links to a Bible passage
What happened to the ring leaders of the Rebecca Riot?
Sentenced to transportation
Who was King from 1860-1820?
George III
When was George III King?
1760-1820
Who succeeded George III?
George IV but he had served as Prince Reagent since 1811
When did George IV rule?
From 1820 to 1830
What did the public think of the Prince reagent?
They disliked him
What happened in 1815 and what followed in 1816?
. 1815 - poor
. 1816 - harsh winter
What is period between 1815-1820 called?
Period of unrest
What happened to the wheat prices during the Napoleonic wars?
They were high
Wheat price during the Napoleonic War vs before
Wheat prices were over double the price during 1810-1815 than what they were before.
What did the price of wheat fall to despite the corn laws and why?
Fall to 57 shillings a quarter from 102 shillings a quarter because too much wheat was being produced
What did the over production of wheat mean?
Loss of jobs in rural areas like Kent
When were the Game Laws passed?
1815
What did the Game Laws do?
Harsh punishments for poaching e.g. the death penalty for the stealing rabbits
How did the Manchester population grow?
Doubled from 135,000 in 1821 to 235,000 in 1841
How many cotton mills where in in England in 1838 and how many were in Lancashire?
1600, 1200 in Lancashire
What did the process of spinning in 1820 become?
Factory based
1820 power looms vs hand looms
14,000 power loom in operation compared with 240,000 hand
Hand loom weavers wages decline?
From 23 shillings/week in 1805 to 6 shillings/week in 1831
How many loom weavers lost their jobs in 1825?
250,000
Who was the first person to smash machines?
Ned Lud
When did the Peterloo Massacre stop being peaceful?
When the military and yeomanry were brought in
How many joined the Peterloo Massacre?
60-80,000
How did crowds at the Peterloo Massacre disperse?
Forcibly dispersed by a sabre charge
Who was the speaker at the Peterloo Massacre and what happened to him?
Henry Hunt and he was arrested
What happened in 1819 regarding reform?
Momentum increased and across the country there were a series of four political rallies
When and where was the Peterloo Massacre?
St Peter’s Fields in Manchester on the 16th August 1819
What did the protesters at the Peterloo Massacre want?
The vote
Who took part in the Peterloo Massacre?
Mostly the middle class dressed in their Sunday best
When were the six acts passed?
December 1819
How were the six acts passed?
By the Home Secretary in an authoritarian way
What did the six acts split?
The movement in two, isolated the working class who had less to loose
What did the Peterloo Massacre start out as?
Manchester radicals organised an open air meeting in St Peter’s Fields Manchester where Henry Hunt spoke about reform
What did the Magistrates order for the Peterloo Massacre?
Ordered troops and the local yeomanry to stand by, they allowed the meeting to go ahead but got panicked and decided to stop it
What did the Peterloo Massacre highlight about the government?
They were willing to use the same tactics against the British people that they had used against the French
How was Luddism and the Swing Riots similar?
. Against new technology and reduced
. Community protests rather than individual
. Machines would take jobs
. Both broke machines and used threading letters
. Similar areas of Britains
. Violently suppressed by military
. Protesters faced execution, transportation and arrest
Mythical figures in the Swing Riots and Luddism
. General Ludd
. Captain Swing
. Encouraged solidarity
Differences between Luddism and the Swing Riots
. Luddism aimed at defending traditional skills, Swing were angry at tithe, poor law guardians, payments for Anglican and wanted a minimum wage
. Luddites used violence, Swing was more ordered
. Luddites against the factory system and attacked mills, Swing targeted machines hat denied them winter work
