| | by admin | | posted on 7th May 2023 | Power to Protest | | Articles | | views 1691 | |
The gathering and protest that became known as the Peterloo Massacre took place in Manchester, England, on 16 August, 1819.
Unrest had been growing among working-class people in the manufacturing areas of northern England since the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1803 — 1815).
Post-war, many had hoped their lives would improve. Instead, they faced high taxes, rising food prices, and unemployment. Fewer than 2% of the population had the vote, and hunger was widespread following the disastrous Corn Laws introduced in 1815, which raised the price of food.
In Manchester, people sympathetic to reform began to organise into local clubs. They wanted less waste of public money by both the Government and the Church of England. They also called for fair taxation and an end to restrictions on trade.
In order to achieve this, they knew they needed a voice in Parliament representing workers' interests. At the time, Manchester had no representation in the House of Commons. Change was necessary.
On the morning of 16 August, 1819, a crowd of 60,000 began to gather in St Peter's Field. According to contemporary accounts, the crowd behaved with dignity and discipline — the majority dressed in their Sunday best.
The key speaker was the famed orator Henry Hunt. His platform was a simple cart located at the front of what is now the Manchester Central Conference Centre. The space filled with banners such as:
— REFORM, UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE, EQUAL REPRESENTATION, LOVE —
Many of the banner poles were topped with the red cap of liberty — a powerful symbol at the time.
Local magistrates watching from a nearby window panicked at the sight of the assembly. They read out the Riot Act, effectively ordering the crowd to disperse, though few could hear them. Arrests were attempted by the local Yeomanry — the policing force of their day. However, the crowd linked arms, preventing the arrests from taking place.
Four hundred cavalrymen were brought in and ordered to break up the crowd, supported by several hundred infantrymen and an artillery unit with two six-pounder guns.
On horseback, armed with sabres and clubs — rather than bringing the protest peacefully to an end — the cavalry charged into the mass of people.
Violence followed as the cavalry attacked the peaceful protesters. Eighteen people, including four women and a child, are known to have died from sabre cuts and trampling. Quite possibly more deaths occurred but remain unrecorded. Nearly 700 men, women, and children suffered serious injuries.
The first recorded death of the Peterloo Massacre was two-year-old William Fildes. He was flung from his mother's arms and struck the ground when a soldier, running through a nearby street to rejoin his men, collided with them.
A nearby Quaker Meeting House helped tend to the injured and provided refuge in the aftermath. However, the precise extent of Quaker involvement on the day remains unclear. A 1908 article in Friend's Journal (predecessor to The Friend) called Reminiscences of the Friends' Meeting, Manchester contains the following quote:
“.The blood from the wounds of some stained the floor for a long time, notwithstanding efforts to eradicate the marks.”
What is clear is that the events of the Peterloo Massacre led local businessman John Edward Taylor, a Quaker by Convincement, to establish the Guardian newspaper in response to what he had witnessed.
Historians acknowledge that Peterloo was highly influential in the long struggle for voting reform. It contributed to the rise of the Chartist movement, from which the trade unions later developed. The massacre also led to the founding of the Manchester Guardian newspaper.
The term ‘Peterloo’ was intended to mock the soldiers who attacked unarmed civilians by echoing the word ‘Waterloo’ — the soldiers from that battle having been regarded by many as genuine heroes.
In 2018, a commemorative plaque was unveiled for the 199th anniversary, naming the 18 known people who died.
In 2019, to mark the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre, a memorial was created by artist Jeremy Deller near the site of the original protest.
