Civil rioters? Citizens' restrained violence in Britain around 1800

Abstract

The essay will show the fragility of civility in nineteenth century London. It uses newspapers as the main source to explore what happened in the city. Many political events such as campaigns, elections, polls, and celebration were accompanied by physical violence or rowdiness. There were, however, certain limits to the use of violence at such events. From the 1840s onwards the rioting declined. At this point, civic participation became possible for larger strata of the population. Thus, the author argues, civic strife and debate in parliament became more legitimate and the street as the sphere of political conflict less important. Changes of the political system stipulated changes in the ‘moral economy’ (E. P. Thompson) of the urban crowd. In comparative perspective the role of crowds in French history is of great interest. In contrast to Britain, the French society does not establish a moral order of the public sphere. In times of crises, crowds in Paris and other cities often got out of control and order was restored by repressive means.