Eighteenth Century Price Riots and Public Policy in England

R. B. Rose

doi:10.1017/S0020859000001863

Eighteenth Century Price Riots and Public Policy in England

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2008

R. B. Rose

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In an earlier article in these pages I examined the origins of the price-control legislation of the Jacobin phase of the French Revolution, suggesting that it ought, most properly, to be regarded not as a revolutionary innovation, but rather as the re-emergence in a new environment of an old and well-established tradition of popular action to fix fair market prices, and thus maintain living standards, by riot and demonstration. At the same time, and in passing, I indicated briefly that a similar tradition existed in 18th-century England, if anything more strongly marked and more widespread than in France itself. The present article will be concerned with a discussion of the significance of this English tradition.

Type: Research Article
Information: International Review of Social History , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , August 1961 , pp. 277 - 292

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859000001863 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis 1961

References

^{page 277 note 1} Rose, Robert Barrie, 18th-century price-riots, the French Revolution and the Jacobin Maximum, in: International Review of Social History, vol. IV (1959), Part 3, pp. 432–445.CrossRef Google Scholar

^{page 277 note 2} Wearmouth, Robert Featherstone, Methodism and the Common People of the 18th Century, London 1945.Google Scholar

^{page 277 note 3} Beloff, Max, Public Order and Popular Disturbances, 1660–1714, Oxford 1938.Google Scholar

^{page 277 note 4} Darvall, Frank Ongley, Popular Disturbances and Public Order in Regency England, Oxford 1934.Google Scholar

^{page 278 note 1} E.g., Wadsworth, Alfred P. and Mann, J. De Lacy, The Cotton Trade and Industrial Lancashire, Manchester 1931Google Scholar; Ashton, Thomas Southcliffe and Sykes, Julia, The Coal Industry of the Eighteenth Century, Manchester 1929Google Scholar; Jenkin, Alfred Kenneth Hamilton, The Cornish Miner, London 1948Google Scholar; Rowe, John [William], Cornwall in the Age of the Industrial Revolution, Liverpool 1953.Google Scholar

^{page 278 note 2} Barnes, Donald Grove, A History of the English Corn Laws, 1660–1846, London 1930.Google Scholar

^{page 278 note 3} Ibid., preface, pp. xiv–xv.

^{page 278 note 4} Ashton, T. S. and Sykes, J., The Coal Industry of the Eighteenth Century (op. cit), p. 126.Google Scholar

^{page 278 note 5} Cf., for example, Rudé, George, The London “Mob” of the Eighteenth Century, in The Historical Journal, II, 1 (1959), pp. 1–18CrossRef Google Scholar; Rudé, George, The Gordon Riots: A Study of the Rioters and their Victims, in: Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5th Series, vol. 6 (1956)CrossRef Google Scholar; Rudé, George, Wilkes and Liberty 1768–9, in: Guildhall Miscellany, no. 8, 07 1957.Google Scholar

My own studies of the Liverpool riots of 1775 and the Birmingham riots of 1791 also bear on similar topics: Rose, R.B.: A Liverpool Sailors' Strike in the Eighteenth Century, in: Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, vol. LXVIII, 1958Google Scholar; Rose, R. B., The “Priestley” Riots of 1791, in: Past and Present, no. 18, 11 1960.Google Scholar

^{page 279 note 1} Cf., Hobsbawm, Eric, The Machine-breakers, in: Past and Present, no. 1, 02 1952.CrossRef Google Scholar

^{page 279 note 2} For the indication by Rudé, see Rudé, G., The Crowd in the French Revolution, Oxford, 1959, chapter XVGoogle Scholar, “The Revolutionary Crowd in History”, esp. pp. 236–7.Google Scholar

^{page 280 note 1} Beloff, M., Public Order and Popular Disturbances (op. cit.), pp. 62–4.Google Scholar

^{page 280 note 2} Barnes, D. G., op. cit., preface, pp. xiv–xv.Google Scholar

^{page 280 note 3} Supple, Barry E., Commercial Crisis and Change in England, 1600–1642, Cambridge 1959. p. 244.Google Scholar

^{page 281 note 1} Ibid., p. 245.

^{page 281 note 2} Barnes, D. G., op. cit., preface, pp. xiv–xv.Google Scholar

^{page 281 note 3} Ibid., p. 21, no. 20; cf. Beloff, M., op. cit., pp. 63–4.Google Scholar

^{page 282 note 1} Darvall, F. O., Popular Disturbances and Public Order (op. cit.), p. 95.Google Scholar

^{page 282 note 2} Ibid., p. 99.

^{page 282 note 3} Ibid., p. 100.

^{page 282 note 4} Langford, John Alfred, A Century of Birmingham Life, or A Chronicle of Local Events from 1741 to 1841, London 1868, Vol. II, p. 322.Google Scholar

^{page 282 note 5} Hill, Frederic, Autobiography of Fifty Years in Times of Reform (edited by Constance Hill), London 1893, p. 37.Google Scholar

^{page 282 note 6} Mather, Frederick Clare, Public Order in the Age of the Chartists, Manchester 1959.Google Scholar

^{page 283 note 1} Rowe, J., Cornwall in the Age of the Industrial Revolution (op. cit.), pp. 160–1.Google Scholar

^{page 283 note 2} Using The Times, The Annual Register, and local journals.

^{page 283 note 3} Ashton, T. S. and Sykes, J., Coal Industry of the 18th Century, p. 125.Google Scholar

^{page 283 note 4} Barnes, D. G., English Corn Laws, pp. 12, 28 sqq.Google Scholar

^{page 283 note 5} Ibid., p. 71.

^{page 284 note 1} Ashton, Thomas Southcliffe, Economic Fluctuations in England, 1700–1800, Oxford 1959.Google Scholar

^{page 284 note 2} Cf. ibid., pp. 172–3, cf. D. G. Barnes, English Corn Laws, passim.

^{page 284 note 3} In most cases further indications for these riots are supplied below.

^{page 284 note 4} Rostow, Walt Whitman, Business Cycles, Harvests and Politics, 1790–1850, in: Journal of Economic History, vol. I, 11 1941, no. 2.Google Scholar

^{page 284 note 5} See below.

^{page 284 note 6} Darvall, F. O., Popular Disturbances and Public Order, p. 100.Google Scholar

^{page 284 note 7} Jenkin, A. K. Hamilton, The Cornish Miner (op. cit.), pp. 151–3.Google Scholar

^{page 284 note 8} See above.

^{page 284 note 9} Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People (op. cit.), pp. 33–4.Google Scholar

^{page 284 note 10} Ibid.

^{page 284 note 11} See below.

^{page 284 note 12} Annual Register, vol. X, p. 148.Google Scholar

^{page 284 note 13} Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, p. 37.Google Scholar

^{page 284 note 14} See below.

^{page 284 note 15} Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, pp. 36 sqq.Google Scholar

^{page 284 note 16} Ibid., p. 48.

^{page 284 note 17} See above and below.

^{page 284 note 18} Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, pp. 33–5.Google Scholar

^{page 285 note 1} See below.

^{page 285 note 2} Annual Register, Vol. IX, pp. 120 sqq.Google Scholar

^{page 285 note 3} See below.

^{page 285 note 4} See below.

^{page 285 note 5} Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, pp. 33–5.Google Scholar

^{page 285 note 6} Annual Register, vol. IX, pp. 137–40.Google Scholar

^{page 285 note 7} Ibid., vol. XI, p. 118.

^{page 285 note 8} Ibid., vol. XV, pp. 90–91.

^{page 285 note 9} Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, p. 33.Google Scholar

^{page 285 note 10} Annual Register, vol. IX, pp. 120 sqq.Google Scholar

^{page 285 note 11} See below.

^{page 285 note 12} See below.

^{page 285 note 13} Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, p. 34.Google Scholar

^{page 285 note 14} See above.

^{page 285 note 15} See below.

^{page 285 note 16} See below.

^{page 286 note 1} Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, p. 21.Google Scholar

^{page 286 note 2} See below.

^{page 286 note 3} Cf. Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, pp. 36–48.Google Scholar

^{page 286 note 4} Wadsworth, A. P. and Mann, J. De Lacy, The Cotton Trade and Industrial Lancashire (op. cit), p. 360.Google Scholar

^{page 286 note 5} Public Record Office, SP 36/136/25Google Scholar; Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, pp. 27, 59.Google Scholar

^{page 287 note 1} Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, pp. 33–35Google Scholar; Jaffray, James, “Hints for a History of Birmingham”, chapter IX (unpaginated item in Birmingham Reference Library)Google Scholar; Annual Register, vol. IX, p. 140Google Scholar; Freeth, John, The Political Songster, or a Touch on the Times, on various subjects, 6th edition with additions, Birmingham, 1790Google Scholar, note to “The Dudley Riot” on p. 28Google Scholar; Hutton, William, History of Birmingham, 3rd edition, Birmingham 1806, p. 388.Google Scholar

^{page 287 note 2} Darvall, F. O., Popular Disturbances and Public Order, p. 99.Google Scholar

^{page 287 note 3} Annual Register, vol. IX, p. 119.Google Scholar

^{page 287 note 4} Rowe, J., Cornwall in the Age of the Industrial Revolution, 160–1.Google Scholar

^{page 287 note 5} Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, p. 35.Google Scholar

^{page 287 note 6} Public Record Office, SP 36/135/59.Google Scholar

^{page 287 note 7} See below.

^{page 287 note 8} Rowe, J., Cornwall in the Age of the Industrial Revolution, 160–1.Google Scholar

^{page 287 note 9} Ashton, T. S. and Sykes, J., Coal Industry of the 18th century, p. 119.Google Scholar

^{page 288 note 1} Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, p. 36.Google Scholar

^{page 288 note 2} Ward, John, The Borough of Stoke-upon-Trent, London, 1845, pp. 444–6.Google Scholar

^{page 288 note 3} Lindsay, Jack, 1764, London 1959, p. 271.Google Scholar

^{page 288 note 4} Beloff, M., Public Order and Popular Disturbances, p. 68Google Scholar. Cf. Barnett, William, History and Antiquities of the City of Bristol, Bristol 1789, p. 696Google Scholar, which dates the riots 1708.

^{page 288 note 5} Wadsworth, A. P. and Mann, J. De Lacy, The Cotton Trade and Industrial Lancashire, 359–60Google Scholar; Redford, Arthur, A History of Local Government in Manchester, Manchester 1939–1940, vol. I, pp. 143–6.Google Scholar

^{page 289 note 1} Langford, J. A., A Century of Birmingham Life (op. cit.), vol. II, p. 311Google Scholar; Freeth, J., The Political Songster, Birmingham 1790, p. 29.Google Scholar

^{page 289 note 2} Annual Register, vol. XXXV, p. 21.Google Scholar

^{page 289 note 3} Mercury, Jopson's Coventry, 8 09, 1800, 15 09, 1800Google Scholar. At this date Coventry was a separate county in its own right and not part of Warwickshire.

^{page 289 note 4} Rowe, J., Cornwall in the Age of the Industrial Revolution, 160–61.Google Scholar

^{page 289 note 5} Wadsworth, A. P. and Mann, J. De Lacy, The Cotton Trade, p. 359.Google Scholar

^{page 290 note 1} White, William, Coventry Directory, Coventry 1850, p. 500.Google Scholar

^{page 290 note 2} Barnes, D. G., History of the English Corn Laws, pp. 39–45.Google Scholar

^{page 290 note 3} Ibid., pp. 80–81. As if as a sequel to the case there occurred in December 1800 the only important recorded example of a price-fixing riot in London. Ibid.

^{page 290 note 4} Ibid., p. 59.

^{page 290 note 5} Ibid., passim.

^{page 290 note 6} Ibid., p. 16.

^{page 291 note 1} Annual Register, vol. XXXV, p. 21.Google Scholar

^{page 291 note 2} Wearmouth, R. F., Methodism and the Common People, p. 36.Google Scholar

^{page 292 note 1} Beloff, M., Public Order and Popular Disturbances, p. 68.Google Scholar

^{page 292 note 2} Ashton, T. S. and Sykes, J., Coal Industry of the 18th Century, p. 123.Google Scholar

^{page 292 note 3} Reader, William, History and Antiquities of Coventry, Coventry [1824?], p. 9 (giving date as 09 1765).Google Scholar

^{page 292 note 4} Annual Register, vol. X, p. 148.Google Scholar

^{page 292 note 5} Ibid., vol. XI, p. 118.

^{page 292 note 6} Rowe, J., Cornwall in the Age of the Industrial Revolution, pp. 160–61.Google Scholar

^{page 292 note 7} Ashton, T. S. and Sykes, J., Coal Industry of the 18th Century, p. 121.Google Scholar

^{page 292 note 8} Jenkin, A. K. Hamilton, The Cornish Miner, p. 152.Google Scholar

^{page 292 note 9} Freeth, J., The Political Songster, Birmingham, 1790, pp. 28Google Scholar: “The Dudley Riot”, and 29: “The Colliers' March”.Google Scholar

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