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The London “Crimp” Riots of 1794
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2008
Extract
Though in recent years there has been a growth of interest in the subject of riot and disorder in eighteenth century England, little attention has been paid to anti-recruiting riots. These were, however, one of the most common forms of riot and disturbance in some areas; and in this study of the London riots of 1794 I hope to illustrate some of their features, particularly in the London context.
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- Copyright © Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis 1971
References
page 40 note 1 There is a discussion of riots against the Militia in Western, J. R., The English Militia in the Eighteenth Century (1965), pp. 290–303.Google Scholar
page 40 note 2 There is an excellent account of the use of the press in Lloyd, C., The British Seaman (1968)Google Scholar, especially chapters seven and eight.
page 40 note 3 J. R. Western, op. cit., pp. 245–264.
page 41 note 1 C. Lloyd, op. cit., chapter eleven.
page 41 note 2 Howard, M., Studies in War and Peace (1970), p. 51.Google Scholar
page 41 note 3 Using newspaper sources, I have been able to discover about twenty riots or affrays in London caused by the activities of the press-gangs between 1790 and 1800.
page 42 note 1 There is a description of their methods in Sydney, W. Connor, The Early Days of the Nineteenth Century (1898), pp. 134–6.Google Scholar
page 42 note 2 Place papers, British Museum, Add. Mss 35142, ff. 8–9.
page 42 note 3 C. Lloyd, op. cit., p. 263.
page 42 note 4 The New Annual Register, 1794, pp. 264–6.
page 43 note 1 The Courier, 19th July, 1794.
page 43 note 2 The City of London Court of Lieutenancy Minute Book for July 1794, Guildhall Library, London.
page 43 note 3 The New Annual Register, 1794, pp. 252–3.
page 44 note 1 The New Annual Register, 1794, pp. 264–6.
page 44 note 2 London Packet, 18th August, 1794.
page 44 note 3 J. King (Home Office) to ? (no address), 16th August, 1794, Public Record Office, HO 42.33.
page 44 note 4 Kirby to Home Office, 16th August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 44 note 5 Staples to Home Office, 16th August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 45 note 1 Gentleman's Magazine, August 1794.
page 45 note 2 St. James's Chronicle, 29th August, 1794.
page 45 note 3 St. James's Chronicle, 23rd August, 1794.
page 45 note 4 Gentleman's Magazine, op. cit.
page 45 note 5 London Packet, 19th-21st August, 1794.
page 45 note 6 General Evening Post, 19th-21st August, 1794.
page 45 note 7 Lord Mayor to Duke of Portland, 21st August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 46 note 1 Lord Mayor to Duke of Portland, 21st August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 46 note 2 Old Bailey Proceedings for 1794, pp. 955–995.
page 46 note 3 Lord Mayor to Duke of Portland, 21st August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 46 note 4 Old Bailey Proceedings, op. cit.
page 47 note 1 General Evening Post, 19th-21st August, 1794.
page 47 note 2 General Evening Post, 23rd August, 1794.
page 47 note 3 London Packet, 22nd August, 1794.
page 47 note 4 Mr Devagnes to Home Office, 20th August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 48 note 1 P. Colquhoun to Nepean, 21st August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 48 note 2 P. Colquhoun to the Duke of Portland, 21st August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 48 note 3 King to Public Offices, 21st August, 1794, HO 43.5, and Gentleman's Magazine, op. cit.
page 49 note 1 St. James's Chronicle, 20th August, 1794.
page 49 note 2 St. James's Chronicle, 23rd August, 1794.
page 49 note 3 Lord Mayor to King (10.30 a.m.), 22nd August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 49 note 4 Lord Mayor to King (11.30 a.m.), 22nd August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 49 note 5 St. James's Chronicle, 23rd August, 1794.
page 50 note 1 No precise figures are available for the authorities.
page 50 note 2 P. Colquhoun to W. Wickham, 22th August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 50 note 3 Lord Mayor to King, 22nd August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 50 note 4 Lord Mayor to King, 22nd August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 50 note 5 King to Lord Mayor, 22nd August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 51 note 1 Information to King, 22nd August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 51 note 2 Lord Mayor to King (5.00 p.m.), 24th August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 51 note 3 P. Colquhoun to King, 22nd August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 51 note 4 London Chronicle, 21st-23rd August, 1794.
page 52 note 1 Churchill to Dundas, 19th August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 52 note 2 P. Colquhoun to W. Wickham, 22nd August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 52 note 3 J. Heather to King, 20th August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 52 note 4 St. James's Chronicle, 23rd August, 1794.
page 53 note 1 Inclosure of P. Colquhoun to King, 22nd August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 53 note 2 Inclosure of Churchwarden of St Lukes to King, 22nd August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 53 note 3 Old Bailey Proceedings for 1794, pp. 1326–50.
page 53 note 4 Ibid.
page 54 note 1 Inclosure in King, W. to King, J. (Home Office), 19th August, 1794, HO 42.33.Google Scholar
page 54 note 2 The question of literacy is discussed in Webb, R. K., The British Working Class Reader, 1790–1848Google Scholar; R. D. Altick, The English Common Reader.
page 54 note 3 The kidnapping rumour often accompanyies periods of social strain, see Smelser, N. J., Theory of Collective Behaviour (1967), pp. 101–130.Google Scholar
page 54 note 4 Allport, G. W. and Postman, L., The Psychology of Rumour (1947), p. 193Google Scholar, and recognised by Rudé, G., The Crowd in History (1964), pp. 244–5.Google Scholar
page 54 note 5 Lord Mayor to the Duke of Portland, 14th August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 55 note 1 Rudé, G. has pioneered the research into the moderation of crowd behaviour in riots, a precise statement of his views is in The Crowd in History, especially pp.254–7.Google Scholar
page 55 note 2 Lord Mayor to Col. Herries, 24th August, 1794, HO 50.339.
page 56 note 1 Lord Mayor to J. King, 24th August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 56 note 2 P. Colquhoun to W. Wickham, 23rd August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 57 note 1 Lord Mayor to J. King, 24th August, 1794, HO 42.33.
page 57 note 2 Old Bailey Proceedings for 1794, pp. 955–994; Westminster Sessions, October, 1794; Middlesex Sessions, September, 1794.
page 57 note 3 Preparation of the case versus the rioters, Treasury Solicitor's Papers, TS 11.4500.
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