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The rural war: Captain Swing and the politics of protest

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posted on 2023-06-08, 15:33 authored by Carl GriffinCarl Griffin
Beginning in Kent in the summer of 1830 before spreading throughout the country, the Swing Riots were the most dramatic and widespread rising of the English rural poor. Seeking an end to their immiseration, the protestors destroyed machines, demanded higher wages and more generous poor relief, and even frequently resorted to incendiarism to enforce their modest demands. But occurring against a backdrop of revolutions in continental Europe and a political crisis, Swing to many represented a genuine challenge to the existing ruling order, provoking a bitter and bloody repression. The rural war offers a vivid new account of this defining moment in British history. It is shown that the protests were more organised, intensive and politically motivated than has hitherto been thought, representing complex statements about the nature of authority, gender and the politics of rural life.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Publisher

Manchester University Press

Pages

360.0

Place of publication

Manchester

ISBN

9780719086267

Department affiliated with

  • Geography Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2013-09-02

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