Peterloo: Protest and Repression in 1819

After the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, Britain faced unemployment, high bread prices due to the Corn Laws, and demands for political reform, since industrial towns like Manchester had no MPs of their own. On 16 August 1819, a crowd of perhaps 60,000 gathered peacefully at St Peter's Field in Manchester to hear radical speaker Henry Hunt call for parliamentary reform. Local magistrates ordered the yeomanry, a volunteer cavalry, to arrest Hunt; they charged into the crowd, followed by regular cavalry.

About 15 to 18 people were killed and hundreds injured. Journalists nicknamed the event 'Peterloo', mocking the victory at Waterloo. The government praised the magistrates and passed the repressive Six Acts, restricting meetings and the press. In the long term, Peterloo became a powerful symbol in the struggle for democratic rights and inspired the founding of the Manchester Guardian in 1821.