19. The Peterloo Massacre resulted from demands for voting reform
During the Regency period, less than 12% of adult British males held the right to vote. In the rapidly industrializing north, the percentage was considerably lower. Coupled with economic downturns, rising food costs (largely caused by the Corn Laws, which artificially increased the price of grain), and lack of employment, pressures rose for Parliament to reform voting rights. In 1817 a petition bearing over 750,000 signatures arguing for reforms received a flat rejection. In 1819 reform leaders attempted to increase the pressure on local magistrates to in turn pressure Parliament. They organized large crowds to demonstrate. The crowds became mobs after magistrates moved to arrest their leaders.
At St. Peters Field in Manchester, in August 1819, the magistrates called on the 15th Hussars Cavalry to disperse a crowd of an estimated 60,000 men, women, and children. The Hussars charged the crowd with drawn sabers, leading to the deaths of up to 19, and injuries to possibly as many as 700. Most injuries went unreported, lest they lead to arrest. The Manchester Observer labeled the tragedy the Peterloo Massacre, in a nod to the cavalry charges at the Battle of Waterloo. In response, Parliament passed a series of measures known as the Six Acts. Rather than addressing voting reform, they instead aimed at preventing such gatherings of protestors. Several leaders of the protest were arrested, tried and imprisoned, others went to the penal colonies. In the aftermath, the Prince Regent thanked the magistrates, Yeomanry, and the army for its “preservation of the public peace”.