2019 marks 200 years since the Peterloo Massacre. It began as a peaceful protest of around 60,000 men, women and children, held in St Peter’s Field in Manchester on 16 August 1819. Protesters were campaigning for reform and democracy, demanding regular elections, universal male suffrage and a secret ballot. Within a climate of governmental fear over Luddism and what they saw as dangerous radicalism, local magistrates authorised troops to make arrests. A panicked yeomanry cavalry charged into the crowd killing approximately 18 people, and injuring over 600 more.
Ballads were crucial tools in the reporting and commemoration of Peterloo, cementing its place in working-class and radical history. In this episode, we hear History Workshop’s Kate Gibson talk to ballad experts – Dr Alison Morgan, Brian Peters and Pete Coe – about the radical history of Peterloo and its ballads.
This podcast was recorded by Kate Gibson, introduced by Marybeth Hamilton, and edited by Imogen Greenberg.