‘Rural War’ and the July Revolution

Abstract

Soon after the collected edition of Rural Rides appeared, a widespread campaign of machine-breaking, arson and threatening letters took place across southern England. Historians have described these events as the Captain Swing riots, after the mythical leader of the uprising, but at the time Cobbett described it as a ‘Rural War’. This phrase suggests a broad continuity between his Rural Rides and the events that were now taking place, and Cobbett emphasized that he had predicted unrest in warnings to farmers and landlords throughout the 1820s.1 He also interpreted this rural uprising in terms of contemporary events in France, viewing the Swing riots and the July Revolution as part of a long revolutionary era. In 1831, Cobbett was charged with seditious libel for his ‘Rural War’ articles, and subpoenaed the entire Cabinet as witnesses in his defence. His writings on the July Revolution, Captain Swing and the Reform crisis represent a late, neglected chapter of his career, and one that challenges any nostalgic reading of his legacy.KeywordsAttorney GeneralNational GuardRural LabourerPolitical RegisterHard ParishThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.