Peterloo

This chapter examines the Parliamentary reform meeting held at St Peter’s Field in Manchester on 16 August 1819. It ended in the violent dispersal of the men, women, and children who had gathered there, leaving an estimated 17 dead and more than 650 injured. Utilizing the Flashpoint Model of Public Disorder, this chapter analyses important aspects relating to the political, economic, and cultural history of what came to be known as Peterloo, incorporating the events that preceded it and the actions of the reformers and the authorities. The massacre is placed within its contemporary context which included the economic distress and poverty felt by those in Manchester’s cotton industry, the lack of political representation they had in Parliament, the poor communication between the authorities and the reformers, and the suspicions held by the magistrates concerning the intentions of the meeting. In 1819, there was no legally defined right to public assembly in Britain and the legacy of Peterloo continues to act as a warning against the violent suppression of peaceful assemblies.