Today marks the bicentenary of one of the most overlooked events in British history – and the starting flag for over a century of democratic struggle.
The meeting that turned into the Peterloo Massacre saw 60,000 protestors gather at St. Peter’s Field, Manchester – the largest meeting in British history, at that point. Ordinary working people turned out en masse to demand representation in Parliament. The peaceful assembly, largely made up of working-class families that had marched to Manchester from the surrounding towns, was met with brutal suppression. In one of the most explicit examples of class conflict in British history, a militia formed by the local gentry charged into the crowd, wreaking havoc. All in all, around 700 people were injured and 18 died.
Peterloo showed how working people understood that economic liberation could not take place without democratic representation. Manchester was suffering from a deep economic depression at the time, exacerbated by the Corn Laws. The Corn Laws placed tariffs on imported corn, greatly increasing food prices for workers whilst enriching the landed elite that dominated Parliament. At St. Peter’s field, banners reading Election by Ballot and Equal Representation or Death stood proudly next to those reading No Corn Laws and Labour is the Source of Wealth. The protestors recognised that they could not alleviate their suffering while they were unrepresented in Parliament.
