A Brief History Of London In Riots | Londonist

A Brief History Of London In Riots | Londonist
... By the 19th century, Londoners had clearly had enough of religious rioting, and decided to revolt over the price of theatre tickets instead; which sounds like something that would happen at the Old Vic in 2017. The Old Price Riots of 1809 were a series of disturbances in Covent Garden Theatre, every night for two months, until ticket prices were reduced. The 19th century was, on the whole, much less violent, and most protests in London were peaceful. One of the largest was the Great Chartist Meeting which took place on Kennington Common in 1848. An estimated 150,000 people gathered to demand universal suffrage and fair voting practices. The Reform League Protest, in 1866, was a rowdier gathering with the same motivations. Soldiers were called in to prevent people from breaking into Hyde Park, but the only serious casualty was the park's iron railings. ... One of the last big disturbances in the city before 2011 was the 1990 Poll Tax Riot. Responding to the introduction of a tax which disproportionately affected poorer people, 200,000 people gathered on Kennington Common (again) and marched to Trafalgar Square to protest. The march grew violent as it reached the square, and the crowd was charged on by mounted police. The reaction against the tax helped to oust Margaret Thatcher from power, and it was scrapped in favour of council tax. ...