Gordon Riots

GORDON RIOTS. 2-9 June 1780. The Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1778 in Britain removed restrictions on Catholics. In violent objection to this act, the eccentric Lord George Gordon (1751–1793) headed a Protestant Association in the presentation of a petition to Parliament on 2 June calling for its repeal. That night the mob took control of London, attacking Catholic churches and the houses of well-known Catholics. It took more than twelve thousand British troops ten days to restore order in the bloodiest riots in British history. Similar riots had already occurred in Glasgow and Edinburgh, but the London riots claimed between seven hundred and a thousand lives. Whereas twenty-one leaders of the crowd were executed and the Lord Mayor of London fined £1,000 for negligence, Gordon was acquitted of treason on the grounds of insanity.

Once generally seen as a curious footnote to the period, the Gordon Riots are now regarded by most historians as extremely important. They put an end to the emerging reform movement in Britain that had been born in response to the failures of the government's policies toward America. The British elite consolidated their support behind the crown, and the general public appears to have rallied to George III at a time when he had broached the idea of abdication with Lord North. As a consequence, the potential impact of the American Revolution was greatly lessened by this renewed support for the king and his government.

SEE ALSO North, Sir Frederick.

                              revised by Michael Bellesiles