Gordon Riots Burn London
June 2, 1780
Lord George Gordon led a Protestant mob against mild Catholic relief legislation. For a week London burned - Newgate Prison stormed, distilleries drained into the gutters, troops firing into crowds. Nearly 300 died. Dickens would set Barnaby Rudge in the chaos. Britain glimpsed what an urban revolution might look like.
In context
Also in 1780 (3 other events on record)
- Túpac Amaru II Rebellion Begins · South America · Politics
- Maria Theresa Dies · Europe · Politics
- Jewish Enlightenment in Berlin · Europe · Religion
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Politics
Era
Enlightenment (1651–1800), one of 696 events from that era on Saeculum.
Sources