Define the Swing movement.

The wave of rural protest across southern and eastern England in 1830 and 1831, in which labourers destroyed threshing machines, burned ricks and demanded higher wages, under letters signed Captain Swing.

What caused the Swing disturbances?

Low winter wages, unemployment worsened by threshing machines, harsh administration of poor relief and resentment at tithes and rents.

How did the authorities deal with the Swing rioters?

Special commissions tried them in large numbers, nineteen were hanged and several hundred transported, in a punishment far heavier than the damage to property warranted.

Why did Swing frighten the propertied classes so much?

It spread rapidly across many counties at the very moment revolution had broken out in France, and it came from the supposedly docile agricultural labourers.

What happened at Merthyr Tydfil in June 1831?

Crowds took control of the town for several days, seized back distrained goods and burned the debt court's records, and troops firing from the Castle Inn killed a number of people in the street.

WJEC A-Level History 601-5817-7

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Reform and Protest in Wales and England c.1783-1848

The Merthyr rising, Captain Swing and the Reform Bill crisis

3 things to know
AS Unit 2 and A2 Unit 4

Overview

Recall questions on the ironworks town in revolt and the man hanged for it, the rick-burning across the southern counties, and the three bills and the crisis they caused.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What were the causes of the Merthyr rising of 1831?

Key term

Describe the Days of May of 1832.

Key term

How close did Britain come to revolution in 1831 and 1832?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
Define the Swing movement.
Model answer
The wave of rural protest across southern and eastern England in 1830 and 1831, in which labourers destroyed threshing machines, burned ricks and demanded higher wages, under letters signed Captain Swing.
2
What caused the Swing disturbances?
Model answer
Low winter wages, unemployment worsened by threshing machines, harsh administration of poor relief and resentment at tithes and rents.
3
How did the authorities deal with the Swing rioters?
Model answer
Special commissions tried them in large numbers, nineteen were hanged and several hundred transported, in a punishment far heavier than the damage to property warranted.
4
Why did Swing frighten the propertied classes so much?
Model answer
It spread rapidly across many counties at the very moment revolution had broken out in France, and it came from the supposedly docile agricultural labourers.
5
What were the causes of the Merthyr rising of 1831?
Model answer
Wage cuts in the ironworks, unemployment, and above all the Court of Requests, which seized the goods of workers in debt at a time of falling earnings.
6
What happened at Merthyr Tydfil in June 1831?
Model answer
Crowds took control of the town for several days, seized back distrained goods and burned the debt court's records, and troops firing from the Castle Inn killed a number of people in the street.

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Government, Rebellion and Society in Wales and England c.1485-1603

Government, Revolution and Society in Wales and England c.1603-1715

Politics, Protest and Reform in Wales and England c.1780-1880

Politics, People and Progress: Wales and England c.1880-1980

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