From papism to vivisection: 5 interesting protests
London is a city with a rich history of immigration, changing inhabitants of Buckingham Palace and new ways of thinking. Sometimes this has led to more or less peaceful protests and here are five of them:
Wikimedia Commons
Gordon Riots, 1780
England has been ruled by kings and queens for centuries and these often came from either a "homegrown" royal family or from the royal families on the European continent. Since royals from France or Spain were Catholics, and many English royals were Protestant, the people of England had to accept that sometimes their specific type of Christianity was in and sometimes it was out. The Gordon Riots were connected to a change in the so-called Popery Act, which imposed penalties on Roman Catholics. In 1778, some of these were eliminated in the Papist Act.
Some protestants were not happy about the softening, which they saw as a threat to their country and in 1780, around 40.000 people gathered and marched to force the repeal of the Papist Act. The protests grew violent and lasted several days, with Irish immigrants' houses being burned and prisons attacked. In the end, the army was told to shoot at groups of four or more, who wouldn't dispersed when asked. This resulted in 285 dead and around 200 wounded.
Wikimedia Commons
Brown Dog Riots, 1907
Protests based on religion, gender or worker rights are somewhat normal throughout the world. The question of vivisection, not as common. The Brown Dog Riots were linked to a controversy about whether a brown dog had been vivisected or not at a lecture at University College London. Vivisection is the dissection of live animals, a procedure very frowned upon at this time. Students at the lecture allegede that the brown terrier dog had not been anaesthetised and so were in immense pain. This was in 1903 and a trial for libel followed, as the secretary of the National Anti-Vivisection Society used strong language against the professors responsible for the vivisection.
But it wasn't until 1907, where 1.000 medical students gathered, to protest against the anti-vivisectionist and their cause. A statue of a dog, commissioned by the World League Against Vivisection was attacked several times and the medical students clashed with anti-vivisections on several occasions in the winter of 1907. A new version of the Brown Dog statue can be found in Battersea Park today.
Wikimedia Commons
Black Friday, 1910
In 1910, a bill that would secure some women - wealthy and property-owning - the right to vote. The bill got to the second round, but was not allocated anymore time after that. This enraged the suffragette movement and the Women's Social and Political arranged a protest at Westminister. When 200 of the protesters tried to get through the police, they were assaulted and arrested.
Many of the women accused the police for manhandling and using force against them. The protest did put pressure on the MPs as the government was painted as the big bad wolf by the press, but it would still be eight years before women were given the right to vote in England.
Lisa Nordbo Fiil
Battle of Cable Street, 1936
Fascism was on the rise in Europe, with Franco ruling Spain and Mussolini in Italy. On 4 October, the British fascists, lead by Oswald Mosley, were marching through the predominantly Jewish neighbourhood in East London. The Metropolitan Police were put in place to protect the Blackshirts, as the fascists called themselves, against the anti-fascists. These included Jews, communists, anarchists and Irish immigrants. The Blackshirts counted 2000-3000, but the crowd marching against them counted over 250.000. Protesters were violent and threw rocks and sticks, even chamber pots, against Mosley's supporters and the police fined several anti-fascists.
In 1983, the mural above was finished, located at 16 Cable Street, commemorating the event. The plaque in front of the mural reads: "This epic mural serves to remind us of what can be achieved when communities join together against those who seek to divide them".
Wikimedia Commons
Brixton Riots, 1981
The area of Lambeth in South London was hit hard by the recession of the 1970s and 1980s and tension grew between police and members of the African-Caribbean community. Several incidents, where the police were accused of playing a part, strained the relationship even further, like when a house fire resulted in the death of a number of young, Black men and women. The authorities said it was an accident, but the community believed it was arson and that the police was not investigating the crime thoroughly enough.
On the 2 March, a protest was held, which led to confrontation between police and protesters, but the more damaging protests and riots took place in April. A young, Black man died from stab wounds and it was believed that the police at the scene did not do what was necessary to save him. This sparked outrage and 10 April, crowds slowly gathered, growing more angry and agressive. Looting ensued and it took the police almost 24 hours to subdue the riots.
