• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Colour Images from LPC Barn Riot Tableau (Model) — Riot Mount Tambora Sumbawa Indonesia RIOT AND BE HANGED Tambora's 1815 outburst The Littleport riots took place in May1816, when the participants were was the largest volcanic starving and out of work. The reputation of those men and women, that eruption in recorded histo- ry. The explosion was they were an unsavoury and drunken bunch was created by the accounts heard on Sumatra, more written by the authorities at the time. than 2,000 km (1,200 mi) An attempt to give an account of events from their perspective is the away. The eruption was book 'Bread or Blood' The desperation of those men and women is estimated to have an ejec- ta volume of 160 km3 demonstrated by the comment made by Richard Rutter, one of the (38 cu mi), That's about Littleport rioters, exclaimed “I might as well be hanged, as starve”. 480,000,000,000 tones. The riots took place in 1816, but our story starts in the previous year, Heavy volcanic ash falls were observed as far away on the 10th. April, to be precise, when Mount Tambora, in Indonesia, as Borneo, Sulawesi, Java, erupted. The eruption and the tsunamis it triggered, killed over 92 and the Maluku Islands. thousand and badly affected the World’s weather for years to come. The eruption caused cli- mate abnormalities and At Waterloo only 25% of the British troops were countered as dead, agricultural failures world wounded or missing, which meant that a lot of men returned home to an wide.... uncertain future, even dismissal from the army. Hence the families of men returning home, at a time of high unemployment, were the worst hit. The rates and taxes raised to pay for the wars had rendered farmers and other employers too poor themselves to pay very much for labour, or even employ labourers on the farms. Therefore, hundreds of people who were not just poor, but very poor, to the point of starving. It is estimated that at the beginning of the 19th Century two thirds of the population of Britain lived very near subsistence level. Matters were made worse by the passing of the Corn Laws in 1815. The Corn Laws were designed to keep the price of bread high, thus aggravating the problem. The eruption of Mount Tambora, lead in 1816 to crop failure around the world and disastrous effect on the weather, such that the year became known as 1816. the Year without Summer In the spring and summer of 1816, a persistent "dry fog" was observed in parts of the eastern U.S. Neither wind nor rainfall dispersed the "fog". The fog reddened and dimmed the sunlight. This created food shortages and famine in Europe and America, with a death toll, in Europe, of 300,000. Demonstrations, arson and looting took place in front of markets and bakeries in many cities in Europe In early 1816, 28 pounds of wheat cost 52 shillings, rising to 103 shillings in December, when the average wages for the period remained static at -8 9 shillings a week. 1 In Connecticut old farmers referred to 1816 as 'Eighteen hundred and starve to death'. In America the price of oats rose by 725 %. In 1816, the Fens there were still stretches of flat marsh or marshland that had been pumped dry of water by the engineers, and where great landowners and some local farmers had grown rich from the crops grown on the drained farmland, whilst the majority of fen people were poor. Added to which, in Cambridgeshire the Enclosure Act of 1805 with the award to large landowners, announced in 1814, meant that in almost every enclosure, the poorest section of the community suffered either directly or indirectly. Hence the anger of the poor was directed to breaking down and stealing fences, turf, wood and breaking dams. On top of which the Property Tax, imposed as a war tax, was extended in early 1816, which caused thousands to take to the streets. The weather, together with government acts and poverty, lead to The Isle of Ely being hit worse than any other area in East Anglia. Harriet Martineau, considered the first female sociologist, writing about East Anglia, at the time, 'It was somewhat like Prospero's Isle — Where there was everything advantageous to life, save means to live.' In the first months of 1816 riots took place in West Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. The local grievances were: The Speenhamland system was a form of outdoor relief intended to 1.The high price of bread. mitigate rural poverty in England at the end of the 18th century and during the early 19th century. The law was an amendment to the 2.Low wages. Elizabethan Poor Law.The system was named after a 1795 meeting 3.The Speenhamland system. at the Pelican Inn in Speenhamland, Berkshire, where a number of 4.Resentment of the rich. local magistrates devised the system as a means to alleviate the dis- tress caused by high grain prices — it didn't work! 5.Lack of work. Added to these grievances, the Fenland people hated four groups of people, great landowners, rich farmers, mil- lers and churchmen, who they considered were living very well. At Southery ex-servicemen were present. a complete battle order was drawn up. They were not the sole authors of the riots, but were at least partly responsible for the form that the riots took. At Littleport, Joseph Stibbard and Francis Waiting for the men from Torrington were identified as persons of mili- Denver and Southery tary experience. The rioters armed them- Fortified — Riot is GO! selves in a most military like manner. On Wednesday, 22nd May 1816, 56 resi- dents, mainly labourers, of Littleport, gath- ered at `The Globe pub, primarily for a meeting of the Littleport Benefits Club, to dis- cuss a call for financial help. They had become enraged at the news that three fellow labour- ers had been sacked by local farmer and land- owner Henry Martin — added to which he was not liked by the parishioners because he had been the overseer of the poor in 1814. Thus with very little encouragement the riot began—The desperation was enhanced by the fact that many of the men had families with little or no food. 2 One man went off to get a horn from Burgess, the“ Lighterman “and started blowing it, which attracted hundreds of villagers. (Owner of a flat bottomed boat used for moving materials in the marsh- es) The rioters concentrated on house in the Main Street, where Rev Vachell farm houses made up the majority. Windows were broken, furniture destroyed, money taken and resi- dents threatened. It was during this period that Rev Vachell tried to read the Riot Act and produced a gun to protect his property. Determined Rioters — depart for ELY The rioters then decided to organize an attack on Ely, choosing John Dennis as their leader. They stole a wagon and horses, from Henry Tansley for transport. Some rode in the wagon, which had a punt gun mounted on it and the rest marched beside the wagon, armed with pitchforks and shotguns. When the riot- ers were taken prisoner, 50 guns, 9 or 10 large fowling pieces were collected When they reached the Ely boundary they were met by a local magistrate Rev. William Metcalfe, who also failed to stop them. They then marched to the White Hart Pub in the Market Place. There, Metcalfe was joined by two other magistrates, Rev. Peploe Ward & Rev. Henry Law. After long talks they agreed to the demands of the rioters, includ- ing a statement that pardoned every one who had taken part in the riots — the pardon was a worthless gesture! Some of the Littleport men went home but the others, in Ely, went around threatening people until they gave them money, and made for inns, breweries and bakeries. Eventually most returned to Little- port, before the arrival of the military from Bury. A detachment of the 1st Royal Dragoons arrived from Bury, the next day, the 23rd. Then on the 24th they marched to Littleport, led by Sir Henry Bate Dudley. The troops were followed by the Royston troop of volunteer yeomanry cavalry and a militia of gentle- men and inhabitants of Ely! The rioters made a stand in the George and Dragon near the west end of Station Road. When they did not come out, when ordered to, the militia was used. Whilst the rioters were assembled out- side, Thomas Sindall attempted to take a musket from Trooper William Porter, but was not success- Sindall ful— Sindall tried to run away and when he did not stop when ordered, he was shot through the head. 3 This shooting subdued the rest of the rioters, who were then taken off to Ely goal. The concern of the government at this time is demonstrated by the fact that they had suspended Habeas Corpus in 1793 and after pleading for help from Rev. Henry Law, the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth dispatched three troops of cavalry, a 100 men, two six-pounders cannons and three companies of the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot, under Major General Byng to help capture the leading rioters.. Even after the capture of the Littleport men, rioting spread to nearby areas such as Little Downham. It took until 10th June before the areas was finally cleared of trouble and all the rioters captured. 82 people were speedily brought to trial, 73 of who were in prison and 9 on bail.

Load more

  7

Copy Link