The Swing Riots and Rural Parish Relations - The 'Moral Economy' of the English Poor in Early Nineteenth-Century England (Electronic book text)

The so-called 'Swing riots' that swept southern England in the autumn of 1830 are unique in the history of English popular protest and social relations. Thousands of separate incidents of local protest, arson, machine breaking and disorder have been recorded, making the Swing risings were the most significant agrarian protests in England since the Peasants' Revolt. This book explores the nature and the meaning of Swing as a protest movement. More importantly, it takes the academic debate forward by seeking to understand the disturbances within their own local socio-economic context, examining them from the point of view of the protesters themselves. Peter Jones looks in detail at the lives of those who took part in the protests, showing how Swing only makes sense as a local phenomenon, and that each 'moment' of protest activity can only be understood within the specific local context within which it took place.