Chronology
Table of (alleged / planned) unrest
Different forms of unrest in the British Isles as well as the British colonies pointed to strong cultural and political exchanges between the different parts of the Empire. In a a fully searchable data table, I have assembled events of (alleged / planned) conflicts in the British Empire and the independent United States between 1513 and 1819. The table is work in progress -- information on agents and outcomes may be missing or dubitable. The information given is based on SPARQL queries in the Wikidata Query Service as well as abstracts of archival items found in the National Archives of the UK online catalogue. The relevant Wikidata IDs and archival signatures have been added.
The thematic classification of the events on the right-hand side of the table gives a general overview of the different motivations that could drive 18th-century uprisings although the factors mentioned are by no means exclusive. There were, in fact, many overlaps between religious, cultural, social, economic and political aims. Therefore, the data table is meant as a starting point for further research.
The selected events listed below are mentioned in my publications on political violence in the 18th century. The hyperlinks lead to external resources provoding preliminary background information. Articles in the Encyclopedia Britannica, (local) government websites or academic e-publications have been linked alongside Wikipedia entries.
Selected events between the Monmouth Rebellion and the Peterloo Massacre
| START | END | EVENT | AGENTS | OUTCOME | PLACE (hist.) | PLACE (geocoded) | CATEGORY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1685 | 1685 | Monmouth Rebellion | Duke of Monmouth against royal forces | Royalist victory | South West England | South West England | government |
| 1688 | 1689 | Glorious Revolution | opposition to King James II/VII | Protestant Succession established | Britain / Ireland / North America | Britain / Ireland / North America | government |
| 1700 | # | Riot on the Pretender's Birthday | supporters of the Stuart dynasty | # | Clerkenwell and Whitechapel / England, Bristol / England, Dublin / Ireland | Clerkenwell and Whitechapel / England, Bristol / England, Dublin / Ireland | government |
| 1706 | 1707 | Union Act Riots | civil unrest and disorder in Scottish towns in reaction to the English-Scottish union | # | Scotland / Britain | Scotland / Britain | government |
| 1708 | # | Planned Invasion of 1708 | Jacobites in France / French supporters of the Stuart dynasty | British victory over the Jacobites / France unable to disembark troops / strategic gains for France as the British had to divert troops away to Scotland |
Scotland | Scotland | government |
| 1709 | 1710 | Food Riots | uprising of the poor | # | British Isles | Great Britain | economic / social |
| 1710 | 1713 | Boston Bread Riots | series of three riots by the poor | # | Boston / MA | Boston / MA | economic / social |
| 1710 | # | Sacheverell Riots | support for oppositional (high Church) preacher Henry Sacheverell / attacks on the homes and meeting-houses of Dissenters | one of the riots that led to the passing of the Riot Act | London / England, Barnstaple / Devon / England, Wrexham / Wales, Gainsborough / Lincolnshire / England | London / England, Barnstaple / Devon / England, Wrexham / Wales, Gainsborough / Lincolnshire / England | religion / cultural identity |
| 1711 | # | Cary's Rebellion | against the government in North Carolina, fuelled also by religious division | # | North Carolina / North America | North Carolina / USA | government |
| 1712 | # | (intended) Queen's Birthday Riot | # | # | [London and Oxford] | London and Oxford / England | alleged / planned |
| 1712 | # | (unsuccessful) New York Slave Revolt of 1712 | slaves | # | New York | New York | slavery / rights of freed slaves |
| 1713 | 1713 | Dublin election riot | # | # | Dublin / Kingdom of Ireland | Dublin / Ireland | government |
| 1714 | # | Coronation Riots | protest against the coronation of the first Hanoverian king of Great Britain / George I | # | England / Britain | England / Britain | government |
| 1714 | # | Prince's birthday riots | Tory riots on the occasion of the Prince of Wales's birthday | # | Oxford / England | Oxford / England | government |
| 1715 | # | Jacobite Rebellion / the '15 | attempted restoration of the Stuart monarchy | failed | England and Scotland | England and Scotland | government |
| 1715 | # | 1715 England Riots / Rebellion Riots | High Church adherents attacked Dissenting meeting-houses | # | England | England | religion / cultural identity |
| 1715 | # | Jacobite Riots | local risings in support of the Jacobite cause | # | Manchester / cities in northern England and Scotland | Manchester and Scotland | government |
| 1716 | # | Prince's Birthday Riot | Heads of University and Mayor "neglected to make public rejoicings" | "crowd broke the windows of those who were celebrating and provoked the rioting by soldiers / scholars and townsmen" | Oxford / England | Oxford / England | political freedoms / personal rights |
| 1719 | # | ‘The Nineteen’ / Jacobite rising of 1719 | attempt to restore the exiled James Francis Edward Stuart | failed | Spain / Scotland | Spain / Scotland | government |
| 1719 | 1720 | Calico Riots | London weavers protest against cotton imports from India | # | London / England | London / England | economic / social |
| 1721 | # | Atterbury Plot | conspiracy led by Francis Atterbury / Bishop of Rochester and Dean of Westminster / aimed at the restoration of the House of Stuart | failed | London / England | London / England | government |
| 1725 | # | Malt Tax Riot | taxation riot | # | Glasgow, Scotland | Glasgow, Scotland | economic / social |
| 1726 | 1726 | Lincoln Riot | local riot against the removal of the spires on the cathedral of Lincoln | # | Lincoln / England | Lincoln / England | religion / cultural identity |
| 1727 | 1729 | Food Riot | uprising of the poor | # | Falmouth / England | Falmouth / England | economic / social |
| 1736 | # | Porteous Riots | local population opposing Captain Porteous, sparked by the hanging of a smuggler | # | Edinburgh / Scotland | Edinburgh / Scotland | law enforcement |
| 1736 | # | (Rumoured) Gin Act Riots | one of several 18th-century riots opposing legislation meant to reduce gin consumption among the lower classes | # | England | England | economic / social |
| 1740 | 1741 | Food Riots / Irish Famine | hungry townspeople "vented their frustration on grain dealers / meal-mongers and bakers / and when they turned to direct action the most likely flashpoints were markets or warehouses" | permanent change in the country's demographic and economic landscape | Ireland (e.g. Drogheda and other parts of the Empire | Drogheda / Ireland | economic / social |
| 1741 | # | New York Conspiracy | purported plot by slaves (and poor whites) to depose the colonial government | trials followed but the plot could never be proven | New York / United States | New York / United States | alleged / planned |
| 1742 | # | Philadelphia Election Riot | inhabitants of Philadelphia in British America | # | Philadelphia / United States | Philadelphia / United States | political freedoms / personal rights |
| 1743 | # | London Gin Riots (London / England) | one of several 18th-century riots opposing legislation meant to reduce gin consumption among the lower classes | # | London / England | London / England | economic / social |
| 1744 | # | Planned French Invasion of Britain | Jacobites in exile and their supporters | # | Normandy / France | Normandy / France | government |
| 1745 | 1746 | Jacobite Rebellion / the '45 | Jacobite attempt to re-institute the Stuart monarchy (opposing the Hanoverian dynasty) | Government victory / end of Jacobitism as a significant political force | Scotland and Northern England | Scotland | government |
| 1745 | 1746 | Jacobite Rebellion / the '45 | Jacobite attempt to re-institute the Stuart monarchy (opposing the Hanoverian dynasty) | Government victory / end of Jacobitism as a significant political force | Scotland and Northern England | Northern England | government |
| 1747 | # | Knowles Riot / Impressment Riot | protest against navy impressment | # | Boston / Massachusetts | Boston / Massachusetts | military regulations / peace-keeping |
| 1751 | # | Tring Witch Hunt | local inhabitants attack an alleged witch who is also accused of Jacobite sympathies | # | Tring / Hertfordshire / England | Tring / Hertfordshire / England | politically influenced witch hunt |
| 1754 | 1754 | Taunton by-election | over 700 rejected votes / result caused rioting | two people killed | Taunton / England | Taunton / England | elections |
| 1756 | # | Sheffield Food Riot | social / economic grievances | # | Yorkshire / England | Yorkshire / England | economic / social |
| 1759 | Dublin riot | rioting outside houses of parliament / response to rumours of a union between Ireland and Britain | # | # | Dublin / Ireland | Dublin / Ireland | government |
| 1759 | # | Planned French Invasion of Britain | presumed Jacobites (in exile) | # | Normandy / France | Normandy / France | alleged / planned |
| 1760 | # | Tacky's War / Tacky's Rebellion | uprising of enslaved Akan people against British colonists | # | Colony of Jamaica | Jamaica | slavery / rights of freed slaves |
| 1761 | # | Beginning of the Whiteboy Movement | secret agrarian organisation violently defends tenant farmer land rights | # | Munster / Ireland | Munster / Ireland | economic / social |
| 1761 | # | Durham Riot | opposition to the new ballotting system for militia recruitment | # | Durham / England | Durham / England | military regulations / peace-keeping |
| 1761 | # | Hexham Riot | riot against new militia regulations | # | Hexham / Yorkshire | Hexham / Yorkshire | military regulations / peace-keeping |
| 1763 | # | Oakboy / Hearts of Oak | agrarian disturbances by rural population, involving many Ulster Presbyterians | # | Ulster / Ireland | Ulster / Ireland | economic / social |
| 1765 | 1783 | American Revolution | American colonists ("patriots") oppose taxation and colonial administration | American independence / establishment of republican government | Lexington / Massachussetts | Lexington / Massachussetts | government |
| 1765 | # | Stamp Act Riots | taxation protest | property damage and harassment of officials | Boston / Massachusetts | Boston / Massachusetts | economic / social |
| 1768 | # | St. George's Fields Massacre | protest in favour of politician John Wilkes / intervention by Horse Grenadier Guards 3rd regiment of Foot guards | seven people killed during armed intervention | St George's Fields / Southwark / in South London | Southwark / South London / England | military regulations / peace-keeping |
| 1769 | # | Steelboy / Hearts of Steel disturbances | exclusively Protestant movement to address grievances about the sharp rise of rent and evictions | # | County Antrim / Ulster / Ireland | County Antrim / Ulster | economic / social |
| 1770 | # | Boston Massacre | anti-British / patriot riot resulting in military intervention | # | Boston / Massachusetts | Boston / Massachusetts | political freedoms / personal rights |
| 1770 | # | Petition of the Freeholders of the Co. of York | protest against "inadequate" representation in Parliament | # | York / England | York / England | political freedoms / personal rights |
| 1770 | # | Petition of the Livery of London | conflicts relating to the Middlesex election | # | London / England | London / England | elections |
| 1772 | 1773 | Food Riots | uprising of the poor | # | British Isles | Great Britain | economic / social |
| 1773 | # | Boston Tea Party | conflict over trade and taxation | # | Boston / Province of Massachusetts Bay | Boston / Massachusetts | economic / social |
| 1775 | # | Battle of Lexington and Concord (American War of Independence till 1783) | first skirmish of the American Revolution | # | Lexington / New England | Lexington / New England | military regulations / peace-keeping |
| 1775 | # | Seamen's revolt | public protest / sabotage and prison escapes in Liverpool led by seamen | # | Liverpool / England | Liverpool / England | economic / social |
| 1776 | # | Arsonist attacks on British seaports | acts of sabotage / arson committed by craftsman James Aitken (known as "John the Painter"), supposedly committed in favour of the American cause | conviction and death sentence | Bristol and Plymouth / England | Plymouth / England | government |
| 1776 | # | Nottingham Cheese Riot | local citizens opposing merchants | military intervention | Nottingham / Northern England | Nottingham / England / Britian | economic / social |
| 1778 | 1778 | Catholic Relief Act Riots | citizens protesting against Catholic Emancipation | property of local Catholics destroyed, armed intervention but debates whether authorities had acted early enough | Glasgow / Scotland | Glasgow / Scotland | religion / cultural identity |
| 1779 | 1779 | Catholic Relief Act Riots | citizens protesting against Catholic Emancipation | # | Edinburgh / Scotland | Edinburgh / Scotland | religion / cultural identity |
| 1779 | # | Irish Volunteers parade | Irish Volunteers demanding removal of restrictions on Irish trade | # | College Green / Dublin / Ireland | College Green / Dublin / Ireland | economic / social |
| 1780 | # | Gordon Riots | citizens of London protesting against Catholic Emancipaton | estimated 300 deaths / damaged reputation of John Wilkes and the British monarchy | London / England | London / England | religion / cultural identity |
| 1781 | # | Pennsylvania Line Mutiny / Pennsylvania Winter Mutiny | mutiny in the American army | # | Pennsylvania / North America | Pennsylvania / USA | military regulations / peace-keeping |
| 1781 | # | Treason of Benedict Arnold | American general Arnold defects to British side | Arnold eventually leaves America | West Point and New York / North America | New York / United States | supplementary conflict |
| 1782 | # | Ulster Volunteer Convention | Volunteer support for Patriot demands that the Irish parliament be granted greater autonomy | delegates from Ulster Volunteer units adopt resolutions | Dugannon / Ireland | Dugannon / Ireland | government |
| 1784 | # | Formation of (Protestant) Peep O'Day Boys and (Catholic) Defenders | sectarian conflict between agrarian Protestant association and local Catholics | # | Co. Armagh / Ireland | Co. Armagh / Ireland | economic / social |
| 1785 | # | Whiteboy / Rightboy disturbances | agrarian conflict | # | Munster / Ireland | Munster / Ireland | economic / social |
| 1786 | # | Margeret Nicholson's assault on King George III | knife attack on the king (political motives debated) | attacker was certified insane and confined in a hospital | London / Engand | London / Engand | mental illness |
| 1786 | 1787 | Shays' Rebellion | privately-funded local militia in Massachusetts against court proceedings collecting taxes and debts | rebellion put down | Western Massachusetts | Massachusetts / USA | economic / social |
| 1791 | # | Bastille Day Commemorations on July 14 | public support for the French Revolution | # | Dublin / Belfast and other larger cities in Ireland and Britain | Dublin / Ireland | political freedoms / personal rights |
| 1791 | # | Bastille Day Commemorations on July 14 | public support for the French Revolution | # | Dublin / Belfast and other larger cities in Ireland and Britain | Belfast / Ireland | political freedoms / personal rights |
| 1791 | # | Priestley Riots | local inhabitants protesting against alleged celebration of the French Revolution | # | Birmingham / England | Birmingham / England | political freedoms / personal rights |
| 1791 | # | Sheffield Riot / Broomhall Riots | violence against the debtors' goal and the residence of Vicar Wilkinson during a protest against enclosure of 6,000 acres of common land and the widening of a road at the expense of the local graveyard | furniture belonging to Wilkinson burnt | Sheffield / England | Sheffield / England | economic / social |
| 1792 | # | King's Birthday Riot | planned protest against the Lord Advocate / Dundas, connected to rising food prices and the unpopular Corn Law | # | Edinburgh / Scotland | Edinburgh / Scotland | economic / social |
| 1793 | # | Bristol Riots / Bristol Bridge Massacre | taxation riot against bridge toll, suspected political (revolutionary) motives | violently quelled, eleven people killed and 45 injured | Bristol / England | Bristol / England | economic / social |
| 1794 | # | Alleged French Invasion | fear of invasion by revolutionary France | # | [Great Britain] | [Great Britain] | government |
| 1794 | # | High Treason Trial of Thomas Hardy (London Corresponding Society) | accusations of planned violence and treason against John Hardy and other members of the London Corresponding Society | # | London / England | London / England | government |
| 1794 | # | High Treason Trials of David Downie and Robert Watt (Friends of the People / British Convention) | allegations of treasonous proceedings | # | Edinburgh / Scotland | Edinburgh / Scotland | government |
| 1794 | # | High Treason Trials of James Coigly and Arthur O'Connor | treason charges related to unrest in Ireland | # | London / England | London / England / Britain | government |
| 1791 | 1794 | Whiskey Rebellion / Whiskey Insurrection | Protests over taxes in Pittsburgh and the Monongahela Valley | President George Washington invokes martial law and crushes insurrection with 13 /000 men. | Western Pennsylvania and Monongahela Valley / USA | Western Pennsylvania and Monongahela Valley / USA | economic / social |
| 1794 | # | Pop-Gun-Plot | alleged conspirary to muder King George III | # | London / England | London / England | alleged / planned |
| 1795 | # | Battle of the Diamond / Foundation of the Orange Society | planned confrontation between the Catholic Defenders and the Protestant Peep o' Day Boys | The Peep o' Day Boys were the victors / killing some 6 Defenders / with some wounded Peep o day boys in return. | Loughgall / Co. Armagh / Ireland | Loughgall / Co. Armagh / Ireland | economic / social |
| 1795 | # | Food Riots / Bread Riots (cf. "Revolt of the Housewives") | regional protest against price rises | # | England and Scotland | England and Scotland | economic / social |
| 1795 | 1795 | Opening of Parliament Riots | popular uprising in the City of London / including an attack on the king's coach, linked with political tension upon the opening of a new session in Parliament | # | London / England | London / England | government |
| 1795 | 1795 | "Revolt of the housewives" | food riots with prominent role of women / linked with land enclosures | # | England | England | economic / social |
| 1795 | 1795 | Snow Hill Riot | high cost of corn and every kind of provision led local people to assemble and protest, attack on Pickard's Mill | magistrates not able to quell riot, armed intervention, 2 people shot and several arrested,"inflammatory and seditious handbills" distributed after the riot, reward of £100 to discover the authors | Birmingham / England | Birmingham / England | economic / social |
| 1796 | 1796 | (alleged) Jacobin Plot | accusation against Irish military staff to have plotted a French revolutionary invasion | # | [Great Britain] | [Great Britain] | alleged / planned |
| 1796 | 1796 | John Hartland Riot | riot instigated by journeyman brush-maker John Hartland / attack on a "crimping house" (where men are bribed into sailing or army enlistments for drink) | John Hartland tried | St. George's-Fields / Southwark / England | Southwark / England | military regulations / peace-keeping |
| 1797 | 1802 | United Scotsmen Movement (fears of Scottish rebellion) | authorities fear that United Scotsmen engage in national and international conspiracy | Illegal Oaths Act passed in 1797 hindered the society's further growth | Scotland | Scotland | government |
| 1797 | 1797 | Spithead and Nore mutinies | mutiny by sailors of the British Royal Navy | comparatively lenient treatment of men involved in both cases, crews in Spithead received a pay raise | Spithead and Nore / Britain | Spithead and Nore / Britain | military regulations / peace-keeping |
| 1797 | 1797 | Tranent militia riot / Massacre of Tranent | proclamation by local people to object to the conscription of Scots into the British Militia | # | Tranent / East Lothian / Scotland | Tranent / East Lothian / Scotland | military regulations / peace-keeping |
| 1798 | # | Irish Rebellion / United Irish Rising | launched by the United Irishmen / aimed at severing the connection with Great Britain and establishing an Irish Republic | failed | Ireland (in particular Leinster and Ulster | Leinster / Ireland | government |
| 1799 | # | Freeing Arthur O'Connor | alleged design by Sackville Earl of Thanet and others to free United Irishman Arthur O'Connor from custody | # | England / Britain | England / Britain | alleged / planned |
| 1803 | # | 1803 rebellion / Rising of Robert Emmet | Robert Emmet and Irish Republicans attempt to seize the seat of British government in Ireland / Dublin Castle / and trigger a nation-wide insurrection | principal leader / Robert Emmet / executed, others exiled | Dublin / Ireland | Dublin / Ireland | government |
| 1804 | # | Castle Hill convict rebellion | Irish convicts | Rebellion crushed violently: many rioters killed | Castle Hill / Colony of New South Wales | Castle Hill / New South Wales / Australia | political freedoms / personal rights |
| 1808 | 1810 | Rum Rebellion | New South Wales Corps arrest local governor | Deposition and arrest of NSW Governor William Bligh. Imposition of martial law. Withdrawal and disbandment of NSW Corps in disgrace. Appointment of Lachlan Macquarie as governor. |
Sydney / New South Wales | Sydney / New South Wales / Australia | government |
| 1809 | # | Old Price Riots | local protest against rising price of threatre tickets | # | Covent Garden / London / England | Covent Garden / London / England | economic / social |
| 1816 | # | Ely and Littleport riots | reaction to unemployment and price rises | # | Littleport / Cambridgeshire / England | Littleport / Cambridgeshire / England | economic / social |
| 1816 | # | Spa Fields riots | riots developing from political mass meetings in opposition to government policy | # | Islington / England | Islington / England | political freedoms / personal rights |
| 1819 | # | Peterloo Massacre | riot for parliamentary reform | # | Manchester / England | Manchester / England | political freedoms / personal rights |