Protests in the Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries nmgo6

Why were there so many riots in the 18 th century?  1715 Riot Act made it capital offence for 12 or more people to meet together  Act was used against all kinds of protesters  Any kind of meeting of more than 12 people could be dispersed by this Act  Protests included turnpike roads, food prices, theatre prices and shop taxes  For ordinary people it was the only way to make views known

When was a riot not a riot?  Often peaceful protests & even petitions were referred to as ‘riots’  Many were well organised with clear aims  Deaths & injuries were rare and avoided at all costs  People saw riots as a normal way of working together to defend their rights

Why was the government so worried about protests? Fear of revolution Need for law & order Fear of losing land

The Luddites  1811 period of unemployment in Britain  Employers introduced stocking frames in Nottingham  Workers smashed frames  Attacks spread to Lancashire & Yorkshire

The ‘Peterloo Massacre’ Prince George giving orders Speakers calling for change Manchester Yeomanry

The Peterloo Massacre  1819 Campaign to force government to extend right to vote  Mass meeting to be addressed by Henry Hunt  Magistrates panicked & called in the local yeomanry  11 people killed and about 400 injured  Government congratulated magistrates for prompt action

What was the government’s reaction after Peterloo?  Government now passed the 6 Acts  Press was now under control & free speech lost  Magistrates had power to search houses  Public meetings with over 50 people banned  Trials were speeded up  Military training & drilling banned

The Rebecca Riots  When ? - Late 1830s/early 1840s  Protests against high tolls on new turnpike roads  Protesters were farmers facing poverty  Soldiers sent in  5 leaders transported

Chartism :  Working class not given vote in 1832  1834 New Poor Law splitting families up  High level of unemployment  Chartism set up to get vote for the poorer people 1.A vote for every man over Secret Ballots 3. Abolition of property qualifications for MPs 4. MPs to be paid 5. Equal size constituencies 6. Annual elections

What happened to the Chartists?  1839 Newport Rising – direct action taken by authorities – 20 Chartists killed  Between Chartists transported  Chartists collected 3 petitions outlining their demands – each rejected by Parliament  1848 Mass demo planned in London  Govt brought in troops & police  Event was failure for the Chartists

The Suffragettes : 1860s-1914  Campaign to get vote for women  WSPU formed 1903  Began to use violence as method  Attempts made on PM’s life + Emily Davison  Government took strong action

The ‘Cat and Mouse Act’ The Government passed the so-called ‘Cat and Mouse’ Act – this allowed suffragettes on hunger strike to be released and then re- arrested when they were feeling better!