The Peterloo Massacre (or Battle of Peterloo) occurred at St Peter's Field, Manchester Manchester (pronounced /ˈmæntʃɛstə/ ) is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2008, the population of the city was estimated to be 464,200, making it the seventh-most populous local authority district in England. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas; the metropolitan county of Greater, England, on 16 August 1819, when cavalry charged into a crowd of 60,000–80,000 gathered at a meeting to demand the reform of parliamentary representation.

The end of the Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to the in 1815 had resulted in periods of famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food that may apply to any faunal species. This phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality and chronic unemployment Unemployment occurs when a person is able and willing to work but currently without work. The prevalence of unemployment is usually measured using the unemployment rate, which is defined as the percentage of those in the labor force who are unemployed. The unemployment rate is also used in economic studies and economic indices such as the United, exacerbated by the introduction of the first of the Corn Laws The Corn Laws were import tariffs designed to protect corn prices in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The tariffs were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. 22). These laws are often viewed as. By the beginning of 1819 the pressure generated by poor economic conditions, coupled with the lack of suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. In English, suffrage and its synonyms are sometimes also used to mean the right to run for office , but there are no established qualifying terms to distinguish between these different meanings of the term(s). The right to run for in northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, or as the North, is a cultural region of England. It is not a government administrative region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the north is bordered by Scotland. At times in history the Isle of Man, today a, had enhanced the appeal of political radicalism The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order. Historically, early radical aims of liberty and electoral reform in Great Britain widened with the American Revolution and. In response, the Manchester Patriotic Union, a group agitating for parliamentary reform, organised a demonstration to be addressed by the well-known radical orator Henry Hunt.

Shortly after the meeting began, local magistrates called on the military authorities to arrest Hunt and several others on the hustings A husting originally referred to a physical platform from which representatives presented their views or cast votes before a parliamentary or other election body. By metonymy, the term may now refer to any event, such as debates or speeches, during an election campaign where one or more of the representative candidates are present with him, and to disperse the crowd. Cavalry charged into the crowd with sabres The sabre or saber is a kind of backsword that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger. Although sabres are typically thought of as curved-bladed slashing weapons, those used by the world's heavy cavalry often had straight and even double-edged drawn, and in the ensuing confusion, 15 people were killed and 400–700 were injured. The massacre was given the name Peterloo in ironic comparison to the Battle of Waterloo Coordinates: 50°40′45″N 4°24′25″E / 50.67917°N 4.40694°E The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium. An Imperial French army under the command of Emperor Napoleon was defeated by combined armies of the Seventh Coalition, an Anglo-Allied army under the command of the Duke of, which had taken place four years earlier.

Historian Robert Poole has called the Peterloo Massacre one of the defining moments of its age. In its own time, the London and national papers shared the horror felt in the Manchester region, but Peterloo's immediate effect was to cause the government to crack down on reform, with the passing of what became known as the Six Acts In the United Kingdom, following the Peterloo Massacre of August 16, 1819, the British government acted to prevent any future disturbances by the introduction of new legislation, the so-called Six Acts which labeled any meeting for radical reform as "an overt act of treasonable conspiracy". The Parliament of the United Kingdom had. It also led directly to the foundation of The Manchester Guardian (now The Guardian The Guardian is a British national daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation (the Scott Trust, via the Guardian Media Group). It is known for its left-of-centre political stance. At the 2010 election it supported the Liberal Democrats), but had little other effect on the pace of reform. Peterloo is commemorated by a plaque close to the site, which has been criticised as being inadequate. In a survey conducted by The Guardian in 2006, Peterloo came second to the Putney Debates The Putney Debates were a series of discussions between members of the New Model Army, a number of the participants were Levellers, concerning the makeup of a new constitution for England. After seizing the City of London from Presbyterian opponents in August 1647, the New Model Army had set up its headquarters at Putney. The debates began at the as the event from British history The history of the United Kingdom as a unified sovereign state began with the political union of the kingdoms of England, which included Wales, and Scotland on 1 May 1707 in accordance with the Treaty of Union, as ratified by the Acts of Union 1707. The Union created the United Kingdom of Great Britain, which shared a single constitutional monarch that most deserved a proper monument or a memorial.

Contents

Background

Suffrage

In 1819, Lancashire was represented by two Members of Parliament A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of parliament tend to form parliamentary parties with members (MPs). Voting was restricted to the adult male owners of freehold In English law a freehold refers to the ownership of real property, being the land and all immovable structures attached to such land. This is opposed to a leasehold in which the property reverts back to the owner of the land after the lease period has expired. Immovable property includes land and all that naturally goes with it, such as buildings, land valued at 40 shillings In the United Kingdom, the shilling was a coin used from the reign of Henry VII until decimalisation in 1971. Before decimalisation there were twenty shillings to the pound and twelve pence to the shilling, and thus 240 pence to the pound or more – the equivalent of about £ The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown dependencies (the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence (singular: penny)80 as of 2008[1] – and votes could only be cast at the county town of Lancaster Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including neighbouring Morecambe, by a public spoken declaration at the hustings. Constituency boundaries were out of date, and the so-called "rotten boroughs A "rotten", "decayed" or pocket borough was a parliamentary borough or constituency in the United Kingdom that had a very small electorate and could be used by a patron to gain undue and unrepresentative influence within Parliament" had a hugely disproportionate influence on the membership of the Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories. At its head is the Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth compared to the size of their populations: Old Sarum in Wiltshire Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys. Salisbury Plain is famous as the location of the Stonehenge stone circle and other ancient landmarks and as the main training area in the UK of the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its medieval cathedral. Important country houses open to the public include Longleat,, with one voter, elected two MPs,[2] as did Dunwich in Suffolk The county is low-lying with few hills, and is largely wetland habitat and arable land with the wetlands of The Broads in the North. The Suffolk Coast and Heaths are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which by the early 19th century had almost completely disappeared into the sea.[3] The major urban centres of Manchester Manchester (pronounced /ˈmæntʃɛstə/ ) is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2008, the population of the city was estimated to be 464,200, making it the seventh-most populous local authority district in England. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas; the metropolitan county of Greater, Salford Salford lies at the heart of the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Salford is sited in a meander of the River Irwell, which forms its boundary with the city of Manchester to the east. Together with its neighbouring towns to the west, Salford forms the local government district of the City of, Bolton Bolton ( pronunciation ) is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is 10 miles (16 km) north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the administrative centre. The, Blackburn Blackburn ( pronunciation ) is a large industrial town in Lancashire, England. It lies to the north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, 8.9 miles (14.3 km) east of the city of Preston, and 21 miles (34 km) north-northwest of the city of Manchester. Blackburn is bounded to the south by Darwen, with which it forms, Rochdale Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, 5.3 miles north-northwest of Oldham, and 9.8 miles (15.8 km) north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, of, Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines. Ashton (as it is often shortened to) is 3.8 miles (6.1 km) south-southeast of Oldham, 6.1 miles (9.8 km) north-, Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, 5.3 miles south-southeast of Rochdale, and 6.9 miles (11.1 km) northeast of the city of Manchester. Oldham is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, of and Stockport Stockport is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground on the River Mersey at the confluence of the rivers Goyt and Tame, 6.1 miles southeast of the city of Manchester. Stockport is the largest settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, and has a population of 136,082, the wider borough having 281,000, with a combined population of almost one million, were represented by either the two county MPs for Lancashire, or the two for Cheshire in the case of Stockport. By comparison, more than half of all MPs were elected by a total of just 154 voters.[2] These inequalities in political representation led to calls for reform.

Economic conditions

After the end of the Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to the in 1815, a brief boom in textile manufacture With the establishment of overseas colonies, the British Empire at the end of the 17th century/beginning of the 18th century had a vast source of raw materials and a vast market for manufactured goods. The manufacture of goods was performed on a limited scale by individual workers – usually on their own premises – and was transported around was followed by periods of chronic economic depression, particularly among textile weavers and spinners.[4] Weavers who could have expected to earn 15 shillings for a six-day week in 1803, saw their wages cut to 5 shillings or even 4s 6d The penny, originally a coin of 1.3 to 1.5 g pure silver, was introduced around the year 785 by King Offa of Mercia. Coins of the same value were in circulation continuously until decimalisation in 1971, at which time a new penny was introduced worth 2.4 times the value of the old coin. Offa's original coins were similar in size and weight to the by 1818.[5] The industrialists, who were cutting wages without offering relief, blamed market forces generated by the aftershocks of the Napoleonic Wars.[5] Exacerbating matters were the Corn Laws The Corn Laws were import tariffs designed to protect corn prices in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland against competition from less expensive foreign imports between 1815 and 1846. The tariffs were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 and repealed by the Importation Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. 22). These laws are often viewed as, the first of which was passed in 1815, imposing a tariff A tariff is a tax levied on imports or exports on foreign grain in an effort to protect English grain producers. The cost of food rose as people were forced to buy the more expensive and lower quality British grain, and periods of famine and chronic unemployment ensued, increasing the desire for political reform both in Lancashire and in the country at large.[6][7]

By the beginning of 1819 the pressure generated by poor economic conditions was at its peak and had enhanced the appeal of political radicalism The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order. Historically, early radical aims of liberty and electoral reform in Great Britain widened with the American Revolution and among the cotton loom weavers of south Lancashire.[4] In response, coupled with the lack of suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. In English, suffrage and its synonyms are sometimes also used to mean the right to run for office , but there are no established qualifying terms to distinguish between these different meanings of the term(s). The right to run for in northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, or as the North, is a cultural region of England. It is not a government administrative region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the north is bordered by Scotland. At times in history the Isle of Man, today a, a "great assembly" was organised by the Manchester Patriotic Union, a group agitating for parliamentary reform. The secretary of the union, Joseph Johnson, wrote to the well-known radical orator Henry Hunt asking him to chair a large meeting planned for Manchester on 2 August 1819. In his letter Johnson wrote:

Nothing but ruin and starvation stare one in the face [in the streets of Manchester and the surrounding towns], the state of this district is truly dreadful, and I believe nothing but the greatest exertions can prevent an insurrection. Oh, that you in London were prepared for it.[8]

Unknown to either Johnson or Hunt, the letter was intercepted by government spies Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it is known that the information is in unauthorized and copied before being sent on to its destination. The contents were interpreted to mean that an insurrection An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognised as belligerents. An insurgency can be fought via counter-insurgency warfare was being planned, and the government immediately responded by ordering the 15th Hussars to Manchester.[9]

Samuel Bamford led a group from his native Middleton Middleton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Irk, 4.7 miles south-southeast of Rochdale, and 5.1 miles (8.2 km) north-northeast of the city of Manchester. At the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001, Middleton had a population of 45,580 to St Peter's Field. Following his imprisonment Incarceration is the detention of a person in jail. People are most commonly incarcerated upon suspicion or conviction of committing a crime. Incarceration rates, when measured by the United Nations, are considered distinct and separate from the imprisonment of political prisoners and others not charged with a specific crime. Historically, the for "inciting a riot", Bamford emerged as a prominent voice for radical reform.

The mass public meeting planned for 2 August was delayed until 9 August. Announcing the delay, the Manchester Observer reported that the intention of the meeting was "to take into consideration the most speedy and effectual mode of obtaining Radical reform in the Common House of Parliament" and "to consider the propriety of the 'Unrepresented Inhabitants of Manchester' electing a person to represent them in Parliament".[10] The local magistrates, under the leadership of William Hulton, had already been advised by the acting Home Secretary, Henry Hobhouse, that "the election of a Member of Parliament without the King's writ" was a serious misdemeanour,[11] encouraging them to declare the assembly illegal.[12]

Rehearsals

Although banning the 9 August meeting had been intended to discourage the radicals entirely, Hunt and his followers were determined to assemble. A new meeting was organised for 16 August,[12] after the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth, had written to the magistrates instructing them that it was not the intention to elect an MP that was illegal, but the execution of that intention.[13]

The press had frequently mocked previous meetings of working men because of their ragged, dirty appearance and disorganised conduct. The organisers were determined that those attending the meeting at St Peter's Field would be neatly turned out and would march to the event in good order.[14] Samuel Bamford, a local radical who led the Middleton Middleton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Irk, 4.7 miles south-southeast of Rochdale, and 5.1 miles (8.2 km) north-northeast of the city of Manchester. At the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001, Middleton had a population of 45,580 contingent to the assembly, wrote that "It was deemed expedient that this meeting should be as morally effective as possible, and, that it should exhibit a spectacle such as had never before been witnessed in England."[4] Instructions were given to the various committees forming the contingents that "Cleanliness, Sobriety, Order and Peace" and a "prohibition of all weapons of offence or defence" were to be observed throughout the demonstration A demonstration is a form of nonviolent action by groups of people in favor of a political or other cause, normally consisting of walking in a march and a meeting to hear speakers. Actions such as blockades and sit-ins may also be referred to as demonstrations.[15] Each contingent was drilled and rehearsed in the fields of the townships around Manchester, further adding to the concerns of the authorities.[12] One spy reported that "seven hundred men drilled at Tandle Hill as well as any army regiment would".[12] A royal proclamation forbidding the practice of drilling was posted in Manchester on 3 August.[13]

Assembly

Contingents sent to St Peter's Field[16] Use a cursor to explore this imagemap.
Altrincham Ashton-under-Lyne (sent 2,000) Atherton Bolton Bury (sent 3,000) Chadderton Crompton Eccles Failsworth Gee Cross Heywood Irlam Lees Leigh Middleton (sent 3,000) Mossley Oldham (sent 6-10,000) Rochdale (sent 3,000) Royton Saddleworth Salford Stalybridge Stretford Stockport (sent 1,500-5,000) Urmston Westhoughton Whitefield Wigan scale - Five miles St. Peter's Field Greater Manchester today use button to enlarge or cursor to explore
Altrincham Altrincham (pronounced /ˈɒltrɪŋəm/ , OL-tring-əm) is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on flat ground south of the River Mersey about 8 miles (12.9 km) southwest of Manchester city centre, 3 miles (4.8 km) south-southwest of Sale and 10 miles (16 km) east of Warrington. As of Middleton Middleton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Irk, 4.7 miles south-southeast of Rochdale, and 5.1 miles (8.2 km) north-northeast of the city of Manchester. At the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001, Middleton had a population of 45,580 3,000[17]
Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines. Ashton (as it is often shortened to) is 3.8 miles (6.1 km) south-southeast of Oldham, 6.1 miles (9.8 km) north- 2,000[17] Mossley Mossley is a small town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. The town is located in the upper section of the Tame valley in the foothills of the Pennines, 3 miles northeast of Ashton-under-Lyne and 8.9 miles (14.3 km) east of Manchester
Atherton Oldham 6,000–10,000[17][18]
Bolton Rochdale 3,000[17]
Bury 3,000[17] Royton
Chadderton Saddleworth
Crompton Salford
Eccles Stalybridge
Failsworth Stretford
Gee Cross Stockport 1,500–5,000[17][19]
Heywood Urmston
Irlam Westhoughton
Lees Whitefield
Leigh Wigan

Preparations

St Peter's Field was a croft (an open piece of land) alongside Mount Street which was being cleared to enable the last section of Peter Street to be constructed. Piles of brushwood had been placed at the end of the field nearest to the Friends Meeting House, but the remainder of the field was clear.[20] Thomas Worrell, Manchester's Assistant Surveyor of Paving, arrived to inspect the field at 7:00 am. His job was to remove anything that might be used as a weapon, and he duly had "about a quarter of a load" of stones carted away.[21]

Monday, 16 August 1819, was a hot summer's day, with a cloudless blue sky. The fine weather almost certainly increased the size of the crowd significantly; marching from the outer townships in the cold and rain would have been a much less attractive prospect.[22]

The Manchester magistrates met at 9:00 am, to breakfast at the Star Inn on Deansgate and to consider what action they should take on Henry Hunt's arrival at the meeting. By 10:30 am they had come to no conclusions, and moved to a house on the southeastern corner of St Peter's Field, from where they planned to observe the meeting.[23] They were concerned that it would end in a riot, or even a rebellion, and had arranged for a substantial number of regular troops and militia yeomanry to be deployed. The military presence comprised 600 men of the 15th Hussars; several hundred infantrymen; a Royal Horse Artillery unit with two six-pounder (2.7 kg) guns; 400 men of the Cheshire Yeomanry; 400 special constables; and 120 cavalry of the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry, relatively inexperienced militia recruited from among local shopkeepers and tradesmen, the most numerous of which were publicans.[24] The Yeomanry were variously described as "younger members of the Tory party in arms",[25] and as "hot-headed young men, who had volunteered into that service from their intense hatred of Radicalism".[26]

The British Army in the north was under the overall command of General Sir John Byng. When he had initially learned that the meeting was scheduled for 2 August he had written to the Home Office stating that he hoped the Manchester magistrates would show firmness on the day:

I will be prepared to go there, and will have in that neighbourhood, that is within an easy day's march, 8 squadron of cavalry, 18 companies of infantry and the guns. I am sure I can add to the Yeomanry if requisite. I hope therefore the civil authorities will not be deterred from doing their duty.[27]

The revised meeting date of 16 August, however, coincided with the horse races at York, a fashionable event at which Byng had entries in two races. He once again wrote to the Home Office, saying that although he would still be prepared to be in command in Manchester on the day of the meeting if it was thought really necessary, he had absolute confidence in his deputy commander, Lieutenant Colonel Guy L'Estrange.[28]

Meeting

The crowd that gathered in St Peter's Field arrived in disciplined and organised contingents. Each village or chapelry was given a time and a place to meet, from where its members were to proceed to assembly points in the larger towns or townships, and from there on to Manchester.[29] Contingents were sent from all around the region, the largest and "best dressed"[18] of which was a group of 10,000 who had travelled from Oldham Green, comprising people from Oldham, Royton (which included a sizable female section), Crompton, Lees, Saddleworth and Mossley.[18] Other sizable contingents marched from Middleton and Rochdale (6,000 strong) and Stockport (1,500–5,000 strong).[19] Reports of the size of the crowd at the meeting vary substantially. Contemporaries estimated it from 30,000 to as many as 150,000; modern estimates are 60,000–80,000.[30] Scholar Joyce Marlow describes the event as "The most numerous meeting that ever took place in Great Britain" and elaborates that the generally accepted figure of 60,000 would have been 6% of the population of Lancashire, or half the population of the immediate area around Manchester.[18]

The assembly was intended by its organisers and participants to be a peaceful meeting; Henry Hunt had exhorted everyone attending to come "armed with no other weapon but that of a self-approving conscience",[31] and many were wearing their "Sunday best" clothes.[20] Samuel Bamford recounts the following incident, which occurred as the Middleton contingent reached the outskirts of Manchester:

On the bank of an open field on our left I perceived a gentleman observing us attentively. He beckoned me, and I went to him. He was one of my late employers. He took my hand, and rather concernedly, but kindly, said he hoped no harm was intended by all those people who were coming in. I said "I would pledge my life for their entire peaceableness." I asked him to notice them, "did they look like persons wishing to outrage the law? were they not, on the contrary, evidently heads of decent working families? or members of such families?" "No, no," I said, "my dear sir, and old respected master, if any wrong or violence take place, they will be committed by men of a different stamp from these." He said he was very glad to hear me say so; he was happy he had seen me, and gratified by the manner in which I had expressed myself. I asked, did he think we should be interrupted at the meeting? he said he did not believe we should; "then," I replied, "all will be well"; and shaking hands, with mutual good wishes, I left him, and took my station as before.[32]

Although some observers, like the Rev. W. R. Hay, chairman of the Salford Quarter Sessions, claimed that "The active part of the meeting may be said to have come in wholly from the country",[16] others such as John Shuttleworth, a local cotton manufacturer, estimated that most were from Manchester, a view that would subsequently be supported by the casualty lists. Of the casualties whose residence was recorded, 61% lived within a three-mile radius of the centre of Manchester.[33] Some groups carried banners with texts like "No Corn Laws", "Annual Parliaments", "Universal suffrage" and "Vote By Ballot". The only banner known to have survived is in Middleton Public Library. It was carried by Thomas Redford, who was injured by a yeomanry sabre. Made of green silk embossed with gold lettering, one side of the banner is inscribed "Liberty and Fraternity" and the other "Unity and Strength".[34]

A print published on 27 August 1819 depicting Hunt's arrest by the constables

At about noon, several hundred special constables were led onto the field. They formed two lines in the crowd a few yards apart, in an attempt to form a corridor through the crowd between the house where the magistrates were watching and the hustings, two waggons lashed together. Believing that this might be intended as the route by which the magistrates would later send their representatives to arrest the speakers, some members of the crowd pushed the waggons away from the constables, and pressed around the hustings to form a human barrier.[35]

Hunt's carriage arrived at the meeting shortly after 1:00 pm, and he made his way to the hustings. Alongside Hunt on the speakers' stand were John Knight, a cotton manufacturer and reformer, Joseph Johnson, the organiser of the meeting, John Thacker Saxton, managing editor of the Manchester Observer, the publisher Richard Carlile, and George Swift, reformer and shoemaker. There were also a number of reporters, including John Tyas of The Times, John Smith of the Liverpool Echo and Edward Baines Jr, the son of the editor of the Leeds Mercury.[36] By this time St Peter's Field, an area of 14,000 square yards (11,706 m2), was packed with tens of thousands of men, women and children. The crowd around the speakers was so dense that "their hats seemed to touch"; large groups of curious spectators gathered on the outskirts of the crowd. The rest of Manchester was like a ghost town, the streets and shops were empty.[37]

Charge

When I wrote these two letters, I considered at that moment that the lives and properties of all the persons in Manchester were in the greatest possible danger. I took this into consideration, that the meeting was part of a great scheme, carrying on throughout the country.[38]

“ ” William Hulton

William Hulton, the chairman of the magistrates watching from the house on the edge of St Peter's Field, saw the enthusiastic reception that Hunt received on his arrival at the assembly, and it encouraged him to action. He issued an arrest warrant for Henry Hunt, Joseph Johnson, John Knight, and James Moorhouse. On being handed the warrant the Chief Constable, Jonathan Andrews, offered his opinion that the press of the crowd surrounding the hustings would make military assistance necessary for its execution. Hulton then wrote two letters, one to Major Thomas Trafford, the commanding officer of the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry Cavalry, and the other to the overall military commander in Manchester, Lieutenant Colonel Guy L'Estrange. The contents of both notes were similar:[39]

Sir, as chairman of the select committee of magistrates, I request you to proceed immediately to no. 6 Mount Street, where the magistrates are assembled. They consider the Civil Power wholly inadequate to preserve the peace. I have the honour, & c. Wm. Hulton.[38] — Letter sent by William Hulton to Major Trafford of the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry Cavalry

The notes were handed to two horsemen who were standing by. The Manchester and Salford Yeomanry were stationed just a short distance away in Portland Street, and so received their note first. They immediately drew their swords and galloped towards St Peter's Field. One trooper, in a frantic attempt to catch up, knocked down a woman in Cooper Street, causing the death of her child when he was thrown from her arms;[40] two-year-old William Fildes was the first casualty of Peterloo.[41]

Sixty cavalrymen of the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry, led by Captain Hugh Hornby Birley, a local factory owner, arrived at the house from where the magistrates were watching; some reports allege that they were drunk.[42] Andrews, the Chief Constable, instructed Birley that he had an arrest warrant which he needed assistance to execute. Birley was asked to take his cavalry to the hustings to allow the speakers to be removed; it was by then about 1:40 pm.[43]

A map of St Peter's Field and surrounding area on 16 August 1819

The route towards the hustings between the special constables was narrow, and as the inexperienced horses were thrust further and further into the crowd they reared and plunged as people tried to get out of their way.[40] The arrest warrant had been given to the Deputy Constable, Joseph Nadin, who followed behind the yeomanry. As the cavalry pushed towards the speakers' stand they became stuck in the crowd, and in panic started to hack about them with their sabres.[44] On his arrival at the stand Nadin arrested Hunt, Johnson and a number of others including John Tyas, the reporter from The Times.[45] According to Tyas the yeomanry's progress through the crowd had provoked a hail of bricks and stones, and caused them to lose "all command of temper".[46] Their mission to execute the arrest warrant having been achieved, they then set about destroying the banners and flags carried by the crowd.[46]

From his vantage point William Hulton perceived the unfolding events as an assault on the yeomanry, and on L'Estrange's arrival at 1:50 pm, at the head of his hussars, he ordered them into the field to disperse the crowd with the words: "Good God, Sir, don't you see they are attacking the Yeomanry; disperse the meeting!"[47] The 15th Hussars formed themselves into a line stretching across the eastern end of St Peter's Field, and charged into the crowd. At about the same time the Cheshire Yeomanry charged from the southern edge of the field.[48] At first the crowd had some difficulty in dispersing, as the main exit route into Peter Street was blocked by the 88th Regiment of Foot, standing with bayonets fixed. One officer of the 15th Hussars was heard trying to restrain the by now out of control Manchester and Salford Yeomanry, who were "cutting at every one they could reach": "For shame! For shame! Gentlemen: forbear, forbear! The people cannot get away!"[49]

However, within ten minutes the crowd had been dispersed, at the cost of 11 dead and over 600 injured. Only the wounded, their helpers, and the dead were left behind. A woman living nearby said she saw "a very great deal of blood".[12] For some time afterwards there was rioting in the streets, most seriously at New Cross, where troops fired on a crowd attacking a shop belonging to someone rumoured to have taken one of the women reformers' flags as a souvenir. Peace was not restored in Manchester until the next morning, and in Stockport and Macclesfield rioting continued on the 17th.[50] There was also a major riot in Oldham that day, during which one person was shot and wounded.[12]

Victims

A caricature by George Cruikshank depicting the charge upon the rally; text reads: "Down with 'em! Chop em down my brave boys: give them no quarter they want to take our Beef & Pudding from us! ---- & remember the more you kill the less poor rates you'll have to pay so go at it Lads show your courage & your Loyalty!"

The exact number of those killed and injured at Peterloo has never been established with certainty.[51] Sources claim 11–15 killed and 400–700 injured. The Manchester Relief Committee, a body set up to provide relief for the victims of Peterloo, gave the number of injured as 420, while Radical sources listed 500.[51] The true number is difficult to estimate, as many of the wounded hid their injuries for fear of retribution by the authorities.[52] Three of William Marsh's six children worked in the factory belonging to Captain Hugh Birley of the Manchester Yeomanry, and lost their jobs because their father had attended the meeting.[53] James Lees was admitted to Manchester Infirmary with two severe sabre wounds to the head, but was refused treatment and sent home after refusing to agree with the surgeon's insistence that "he had had enough of Manchester meetings".[53]

A particular feature of the meeting at Peterloo was the number of women present. Female reform societies had been formed in north west England during June and July 1819, the first in Britain. Many of them were dressed distinctively in white, and some formed all-female contingents, carrying their own flags.[54] Of the 654 recorded casualties, at least 168 were women, four of whom died either at St Peter's Field or later as a result of their wounds. It has been estimated that less than 12% of the crowd was made up of females, suggesting that women were at significantly greater risk of injury than men by a factor of almost 3:1. Richard Carlile claimed that the women were especially targeted, a view apparently supported by the large number who suffered from wounds caused by weapons.[55]

Eleven of the fatalities listed occurred on St Peter's Field. Some, like John Lees of Oldham, died later of their wounds, and others like Joshua Whitworth were killed in the rioting that followed the crowd's dispersal from the field.

Fatalities resulting from Peterloo
Name Abode Date of death Cause Notes Ref(s).
John Ashton Cowhill, Oldham 16 August Sabred and trampled on by crowd Carried the black flag of the Saddleworth, Lees and Mossley Union, inscribed "Taxation without representation is unjust and tyrannical. NO CORN LAWS". The inquest jury returned a verdict of accidental death. His son, Samuel, received 20 shillings in relief. [51][56]
John Ashworth Bulls Head, Manchester Sabred and trampled Ashworth was a Special Constable, presumably attacked unintentionally by the cavalry. [51]
William Bradshaw Lily-hill, Bury Shot by musket [57][51][58]
Thomas Buckley Baretrees, Chadderton Sabred and stabbed by bayonet [51][59]
Robert Campbell Miller Street, Salford 18 August Killed by a mob in Newton Lane Campbell was a Special Constable [60]
James Crompton Barton-upon-Irwell Trampled on by the cavalry Buried 1 September [51][61]
Edmund Dawson Saddleworth Died of sabre wounds at the Manchester Royal Infirmary. [51]
William Dawson Saddleworth Sabred, crushed and killed on the spot. [51]
Margaret Downes Manchester Sabred [62]
William Evans Hulme Trampled by cavalry Evans was a Special Constable [63]
William Fildes Kennedy St, Manchester 16 August Ridden over by cavalry Two years old, he was first victim of the massacre. His mother was carrying him across the road when she was struck by a trooper of the Manchester Yeomanry, galloping towards St Peters Field. [51]
Mary Heys Oxford Rd, Manchester 17 December Ridden over by cavalry Mother of six children, and pregnant at the time of the meeting. Disabled and suffering from almost daily fits following her injuries, the premature birth of her seven-month-old child resulted in her death. [51][64]
Sarah Jones 96 Silk St, Salford No cause given by Marlow but listed as "bruised in the head" by Frow. Mother of seven children. Beaten on the head by a Special Constable's truncheon. [51][65][66]
John Lees Oldham 9 September Sabred Lees was an ex-soldier who had fought in the Battle of Waterloo. [51]
Arthur Neil Pidgeon St, Manchester Inwardly crushed [51]
Martha Partington Eccles Thrown into a cellar and killed on the spot. [51]
John Rhodes Pits, Hopwood 18 or 19 November Sabre wound to the head Rhodes's body was dissected by order of magistrates wishing to prove his death was not a result of Peterloo. The coroner's inquest found that he had died from natural causes. [51][67]
Joshua Whitworth 20 August Shot at New Cross. [51]
In her 1969 book, The Peterloo Massacre, Joyce Marlow suggests that William and Edmund Dawson of Saddleworth may have been the same individual.[51]

Reaction and aftermath

Public

“ PETER LOO MASSACRE ! ! ! Just published No. 1 price twopence of PETER LOO MASSACRE Containing a full, true and faithful account of the inhuman murders, woundings and other monstous Cruelties exercised by a set of INFERNALS (miscalled Soldiers) upon unarmed and distressed People.[68] ”
— 28 August 1819, Manchester Observer
“ As the 'Peterloo Massacre' cannot be otherwise than grossly libellous you will probably deem it right to proceed by arresting the publishers.[68] ”
— 25 August 1819, Letter from the Home Office to Magistrate Norris

The Peterloo Massacre has been called one of the defining moments of its age.[69] Many of those present at the massacre, including local masters, employers and owners, were horrified by the carnage. One of the casualties, Oldham cloth-worker and ex-soldier John Lees, who died from his wounds on 7 September, had been present at the Battle of Waterloo.[12] Shortly before his death he said to a friend that he had never been in such danger as at Peterloo: "At Waterloo there was man to man but there it was downright murder."[70] When news of the massacre began to spread, the population of Manchester and surrounding districts were horrified and outraged.[71] This was the first public meeting at which journalists from a number of important, distant newspapers were present and, within a day or so of the event, accounts were published as far away as London, Leeds and Liverpool.[40] The London and national papers shared the horror felt in the Manchester region, and the feeling of indignation throughout the country became intense. The name "Peterloo" was coined immediately by the radical Manchester Observer, combining the name of the meeting place, St Peter's Field, with the Battle of Waterloo fought four years earlier.

The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was living in Italy at the time and did not hear of the massacre until 5 September. He immediately wrote a poem entitled The Masque of Anarchy, subtitled Written on the Occasion of the Massacre at Manchester, and sent it for publication in the radical periodical The Examiner. However, due to restrictions on the radical press the poem was not published until 1832.[72] Many commemorative items such as plates, jugs, handkerchiefs and medals were produced, all with the iconic image of Peterloo; cavalrymen with swords drawn riding down and slashing at defenceless women and girls.[73]

Political

The immediate effect of Peterloo was a crackdown on reform. Hunt and eight others were tried at York Assizes on 16 March 1820, charged with sedition. After a two-week trial, five of the ten defendants were found guilty. Hunt was sentenced to 30 months in Ilchester Jail; Bamford, Johnson, and Healey were given one year each, and Knight was jailed for two years on a subsequent charge. A test case was brought against four members of the Manchester Yeomanry at Lancaster Assizes, on 4 April 1822: Captain Birley, Captain Withington, Trumpeter Meagher, and Private Oliver. All were acquitted, as the court ruled that their actions had been justified to disperse an illegal gathering.[74]

Notice "to the inhabitants of the Hundred of Salford", published by the magistrates the day after the massacre

The government declared its support for the actions taken by the magistrates and the army. The Manchester magistrates held a supposedly public meeting on 19 August, so that resolutions supporting the action they had taken three days before could be published. Archibald Prentice, a radical manufacturer later to become editor of The Manchester Times, organised a petition of protest against the violence at St Peter's Field and the validity of the magistrate's meeting. Within a few days it had collected 4,800 signatures.[75] Nevertheless the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth, on 27 August conveyed to the magistrates the thanks of the Prince Regent for their action in the "preservation of the public peace".[6] That public exoneration was met with fierce anger and criticism. During a debate at Hopkins Street Robert Wedderburn declared "The Prince is a fool with his Wonderful letters of thanks ... What is the Prince Regent or King to us, we want no King – he is no use to us."[76] In an open letter, Richard Carlile said:

Unless the Prince calls his ministers to account and relieved his people, he would surely be deposed and make them all REPUBLICANS, despite all adherence to ancient and established institutions.[76]

For a few months following Peterloo it seemed to the authorities that the country was heading towards an armed rebellion. Encouraging them in that belief were two abortive uprisings, in Huddersfield and Burnley, during the autumn of 1819, and the discovery and foiling of the Cato Street Conspiracy to blow up the cabinet that winter.[77] By the end of the year, the government had introduced legislation, later known as the Six Acts, to suppress radical meetings and publications, and by the end of 1820 every significant working-class radical reformer was in jail; civil liberties had declined to an even lower level than they were before Peterloo. Historian Robert Reid has written that "it is not fanciful to compare the restricted freedoms of the British worker in the post-Peterloo period in the early nineteenth century with those of the black South African in the post-Sharpeville period of the late twentieth century".[78]

One direct consequence of Peterloo was the foundation of The Manchester Guardian newspaper in 1821 by a group of non-conformist Manchester businessmen headed by John Edward Taylor, a witness to the massacre.[25] The prospectus announcing the new publication proclaimed that it would "zealously enforce the principles of civil and religious Liberty ... warmly advocate the cause of Reform ... endeavour to assist in the diffusion of just principles of Political Economy and ... support, without reference to the party from which they emanate, all serviceable measures".[79]

Events such as the Pentridge Rising, the March of the Blanketeers and the Spa Fields meeting, all serve to indicate the breadth, diversity and widespread geographical scale of the demand for economic and political reform at the time.[80] Peterloo had no effect on the speed of reform, but in due course all but one of the reformer's demands, annual parliaments, were met.[81] Following the Great Reform Act of 1832, the newly created Manchester parliamentary borough elected its first two MPs. Five candidates including William Cobbett stood, and the Whigs, Charles Poulett Thomson and Mark Philips, were elected.[82] Manchester became a Municipal Borough in 1837, and what remained of the manorial rights were subsequently purchased by the borough council.

Commemoration

Original blue plaque commemorating the Peterloo Massacre The replacement red plaque, unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Manchester on 10 December 2007

The Free Trade Hall, home of the Anti-Corn Law League, was built partly as a "cenotaph raised on the shades of the victims" of Peterloo.[83] Until 2007 the massacre was commemorated by a blue plaque on the wall of the present building, the third to occupy the site, now the Radisson Hotel. It was regarded as a less than appropriate memorial because it under reported the incident as a dispersal, and the deaths were omitted completely.[25] In a 2006 survey conducted by The Guardian, Peterloo came second to St. Mary's Church, Putney, the venue for the Putney Debates, as the event from British history that most deserved a proper monument.[84] A Peterloo Massacre Memorial Campaign was set up to lobby for a more prominent monument to an event that has been described as Manchester's Tiananmen Square.[85]

In 2007, Manchester City Council replaced the original blue plaque with a red one, giving a fuller account of the events of 1819. It was unveiled on 10 December 2007 by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Glynn Evans.[86] Under the heading "St. Peter's Fields: The Peterloo Massacre", the new plaque reads:

On 16 August 1819 a peaceful rally of 60,000 pro-democracy reformers, men, women and children, was attacked by armed cavalry resulting in 15 deaths and over 600 injuries.[87]

In 1968 the Trades Union Congress commissioned British composer Sir Malcolm Arnold to write the Peterloo Overture, in celebration of its centenary.[88] Other 20th-century musical commemorations include "Ned Ludd Part 5" on electric folk group Steeleye Span's 2006 album Bloody Men, and Rochdale rock band Tractor's suite of five songs written and recorded in 1973, later included on their 1992 release Worst Enemies.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Currency converter". The National Archives. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
  2. ^ a b Reid (1989), p. 28.
  3. ^ "The Great reform Act". BBC News. 19 May 1998. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/talking_politics/95699.stm. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  4. ^ a b c Frangopulo (1977), p. 30.
  5. ^ a b Hernon (2006), p. 22.
  6. ^ a b Farrer, William; Brownbill, John (2003–2006) [1911]. "The city and parish of Manchester: Introduction". The Victoria history of the county of Lancaster. - Lancashire. Vol.4. University of London & History of Parliament Trust. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41404. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
  7. ^ Glen, Robert (1984). Urban workers in the early Industrial Revolution. London: Croom Helm. pp. 194–252. ISBN 0-7099-1103-3.
  8. ^ Reid (1989), p. 115.
  9. ^ Reid (1989), p. 116.
  10. ^ Reid (1989), p. 122.
  11. ^ Reid (1989), p. 118.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g McPhillips (1997), pp. 22–23.
  13. ^ a b Reid (1989), p. 125.
  14. ^ Reid (1989), p. 123.
  15. ^ Frangopulo (1977), p. 31.
  16. ^ a b Frangopulo (1977), p. 33.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Bush (2005), p. 11.
  18. ^ a b c d Marlow (1969), p. 118.
  19. ^ a b Marlow (1969), pp. 120–121.
  20. ^ a b Frow (1984), p. 7.
  21. ^ Reid (1989), p. 145.
  22. ^ Marlow (1969), p. 119.
  23. ^ Reid (1989), pp. 152–153.
  24. ^ Reid (1989), p. 88.
  25. ^ a b c Wainwright, Martin (13 August 2007). "Battle for the memory of Peterloo: Campaigners demand fitting tribute". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Ltd.. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/aug/13/britishidentity.artnews. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  26. ^ Prentice (1851), p. 160.
  27. ^ Reid (1989), p. 136.
  28. ^ Reid (1989), p. 138.
  29. ^ Marlow (1969), p. 95.
  30. ^ Marlow (1969), p. 125.
  31. ^ Reid (1989), p. 148.
  32. ^ Bamford (1841) Chapter XXV
  33. ^ Bush (2005), p. 19.
  34. ^ Marlow (1969), pp. 119–120.
  35. ^ Reid (1989), p. 161.
  36. ^ Reid (1989), pp. 162–163.
  37. ^ Marlow (1969), p. 129.
  38. ^ a b Reid (1989), p. 167.
  39. ^ Reid (1989), p. 166–167.
  40. ^ a b c Frow (1984), p. 8.
  41. ^ Reid (1989), p. 168.
  42. ^ Reid (1989), p. 156.
  43. ^ Reid (1989), p. 170.
  44. ^ Poole (2006), p. 262.
  45. ^ Reid (1989), p. 185.
  46. ^ a b Reid (1989), p 180.
  47. ^ Walmsley (1969), p. 214.
  48. ^ Reid (1989), p. 175.
  49. ^ Reid (1989), p. 181.
  50. ^ Reid (1989), pp. 186–187.
  51. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Marlow (1969), pp. 150–151.
  52. ^ Reid (1989), p. 187.
  53. ^ a b Bush (2005), p. 12.
  54. ^ Bush (2005), p. 1.
  55. ^ Bush (2005), p. 31.
  56. ^ Bush (2005), p. 65.
  57. ^ In 1816 Lily-hill lay within the parish of Bury. In 1866 it was incorporated into the new town of Whitefield. See: Bury Metropolitan Borough Council. "Whitefield & Unsworth Local Area Partnership". bury.gov.uk. http://www.bury.gov.uk/LocalAreaPartnerships/WhitefieldUnsworth/default.htm. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
  58. ^ Bush (2005), p. 74.
  59. ^ Bush (2005), p. 77.
  60. ^ Bush (2005), p. 79.
  61. ^ Bush (2005), p. 86.
  62. ^ Bush (2005), p. 90.
  63. ^ Bush (2005), p. 92.
  64. ^ Bush (2005), p. 105.
  65. ^ Frow (1984), p. 8 lists Jones as injured, not that she died.
  66. ^ Bush (2005), p. 115.
  67. ^ Bush (2005), p. 139.
  68. ^ a b Marlow (1969), p. 6.
  69. ^ Poole (2006), p. 254.
  70. ^ Reid (1989), p. 201.
  71. ^ Donald, Diana (1989). "The power of print: graphic images of Peterloo" (PDF). Manchester Region History Review 3: 21–30. http://www.mcrh.mmu.ac.uk/pubs/pdf/mrhr_03i_marlow.pdf.
  72. ^ Sandy, Mark (20 September 2002). "The Mask of Anarchy". The Literary Encyclopedia. The Literary Dictionary Company Ltd. http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=213. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
  73. ^ Bush (2005), pp. 30, 35.
  74. ^ Reid (1989), pp. 203–204.
  75. ^ Reid (1989), p. 195.
  76. ^ a b Poole (2000), p. 154.
  77. ^ Poole (2006), p. 272.
  78. ^ Reid (1989), p. 211.
  79. ^ "The Scott Trust: History". Guardian Media Group. http://www.gmgplc.co.uk/ScottTrust/History/tabid/193/Default.aspx. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  80. ^ Davis (1993), pp. 32–33
  81. ^ Reid (1989), p. 218.
  82. ^ Prentice (1853), p. 25.
  83. ^ Pickering and Tyrrell (2000), p. 204.
  84. ^ Hunt, Tristram; Fraser, Giles (16 October 2006). "And the winner is ...". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Ltd.. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2006/oct/16/heritage.britishidentity. Retrieved 25 March 2008.
  85. ^ Hobson, Judy (17 August 2007). "Remember the Peterloo massacre?". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6950666.stm. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  86. ^ Manchester City Council (10 December 2007). "Peterloo memorial plaque unveiled". manchester.gov.uk. http://web.archive.org/web/20080314191448/http://www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/news_article.php?newsID=3246. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  87. ^ Ward, David (27 December 2007). "New plaque tells truth of Peterloo killings 188 years on". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Ltd.. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/dec/27/past.politics. Retrieved 25 March 2008.
  88. ^ Jackson (2003), pp. 133–134.

Bibliography

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