Riot Act
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The Riot Act, sometimes called the Riot Act 1714 or the Riot Act 1715, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which authorised local authorities to declare any group of 12 or more people to be
First page of the Riot Act 1714, first edition (London, 1715), with heading (caption title) "An Act for Preventing Tumults and Riotous Assemblies, and for the more speedy and effectual Punishing the Rioters", one of six copies known; English Short-Title Catalogue (ESTC.BL.uk) no. N53655
The full Riot Act 1714. The lower part contains the proclamation that was to be read aloud.
The Massacre of St George's Fields occurred on 10 May 1768 when government soldiers opened fire on demonstrators that had gathered at St George's Fields, Southwark, in south London. The protest was ag
Riot Act
…At times, it was unclear to both rioters and authorities as to whether the reading of the Riot Act had occurred. One example of this is evident in the massacre of St George's Fields of 1768. At the trials following the incident, there was confusion among witnesses as to when the Riot Act had actually been read. In the 1768 massacre…
1769 cartoon criticising the Grafton ministry's reaction to the massacre
c. 1751 painting of a Horse Grenadier Guards trooper