The Gordon Riots (Rachel Vachon)
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Outline:
Political climate of the time
Economic
crisis: cost of living was too high
Fighting
a losing war with the United States
Dissatisfaction
with the Justice system and prisons
What sparked the outrage
Catholic
Relief Act was passed in 1778
Protestant
Association blocked the Act in Scotland
Lord
George Gordon decides to petition the Act in England as well
Who is Lord George Gordon?
29-year-old
former naval lieutenant
Widely considered to
have been a little crazy
Harrassed the House
of Commons for months about the Act
Friday, June 2, 1780
Gathered
at St. Georges Fields then marched on to London; 60,00 - 120,00 people
The
House decided not to vote on the matter and refused Gordon’s petition
Widespread
violence followed; destruction of a Roman Catholic chapel
A week of terror
Sunday
up through Monday; mass-houses were looted and destroyed, church property was
set on fire in alleyways, Catholic schools and homes were invaded and
ransacked; riotors began to attack lawmakers and police officers as well
Tuesday; foot
soldiers arrive in England, but rioting continues; anger shifts from Catholics
to any and all signs of State power; burning of Newgate Gaol
‘Black Wednesday’;
The King announces that the military has the right to “shoot and kill without
the need of magistrates”; Carnage ensued - anywhere from 200 - 300 rioters were
shot dead in the streets
Thursday; all shops
shut down as rioting continued, but began to wane
By Friday, the riots
were considered to be over, but the city of London was left in absolute ruin;
“destroyed ten times more property than was destroyed in Paris during the
entire French Revolution”
The aftermath
London
remained under military occupation for months
Lord
George Gordon was tried for treason, but was found not guilty and acquitted
Many
of the rioters who were arrested were forced to serve as foot soldiers for the
military in Africa
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