From Dreadnought Books The riots of 1831 gripped the city of Bristol for three days at the end of October. Most general histories of the city include some reference to this infamous event. ‘This lively row gave Bristol the biggest advertisement in its history’ (Columbus p. 16, 1893), yet it has rarely received more considerable attention. There appear to be only four book-length histories: ‘A Citizen’ (John Eagles) produced his assessment in the following year, The Bristol Riots, Their Causes, […]
Not A BRHG Event
Bread or Batons? The Old Market 'Riots' of February 1932 Since the 'Wall Street Crash' of 1929 joblessness in Bristol had risen to unprecedented levels; by February 1932 the situation was critical with whole districts blighted by the effects of mass unemployment. Jobless Bristolians rallied round the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement (NUWM), the main organisation opposing mass unemployment and Government 'means test'. The NUWM responded to the proposed austerity measures by organising a […]
The idea is simple enough: to investigate the area of London known as Alsatia, and other similar ‘outlaw’ areas, their history, context and meanings. There are many tantalising references, but nothing substantial on the subject, so it offers challenges and rewards. Of course, I could just do some searching, some reading, and perhaps write an article or suchlike. But keeping track of all the fragments, questions and resonances requires some organization, and that in turn requires some tools. ... […]
Autumn 1892 in Bristol saw a violent class war between employers, strike-breaking labour and police on one side and strikers and their mass of working-class supporters on the other; picketing, mass marches and public meetings of thousands of ‘new’ industrial unionists were common. The strike-wave culminated in the use of military and police by the local state to break up a pre-Christmas parade which had been organised to collect money for strikers and their families. This event, which popularly […]
From Bristol with Love
Two good interviews. First one is an interview with Noel in 2011 just after the August Riots. He talks about his involvement in the Hartcliffe Riots, 1981 Riots and football hooliganism. The second is an interview with Dean Forest from the Forest of Dean. He talks about local history, 'Who killed the Bears?', Hands Off Our Forest, Squatting, the Wilderness Centre and much more.
Downlaod this article as a PDF file. The Spitalfields Silk Weavers: London’s Luddites? Pretty much everyone has heard of the Luddites, although many people still have a misconception about the reasons why they destroyed machinery. The weavers of Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lancashire and Leicestershire smashed machine looms not because they were blindly opposed to progress, or afraid of new technology, but because the introduction of machinery was undermining the livelihoods of themselves and […]
The Hold Out 2313 San Pablo Ave, Oakland CA, USA The August ‘riots’ in Britain last summer were portrayed by the media and politicians as the actions of ‘greedy feral youth’ or ‘gangs’ within a ‘criminal underclass’. Most of these politically loaded explanations were presented before what had happened was even known. Using hard research and the voices of participants, this event will provide an analysis of the ‘riots’ of August, considering what (actually) happened, who was involved and how they […]
