{"id":1330,"date":"2017-11-19T15:14:38","date_gmt":"2017-11-19T15:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/?page_id=1330"},"modified":"2026-05-26T14:22:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T14:22:26","slug":"the-swing-riots","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/british-history\/industrial-revolution\/the-swing-riots\/","title":{"rendered":"The Swing Riots"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Swing Riots<\/h3>\n

The Swing Riots were an agricultural phenomenon. Following years of war, high taxes and low wages, farm labourers finally snapped in 1830. These farm labourers had faced unemployment for a number of years due to the widespread introduction of the threshing machine and the policy of enclosing fields. No longer were thousands of men needed to tend the crops, a few would suffice. With fewer jobs, lower wages and no prospects of things improving for these workers the threshing machine was the final straw, the object that was to place them on the brink of starvation. The Swing Rioters smashed the threshing machines and threatened farmers who had them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Swing<\/p>\n

The riots were dealt with very harshly. Nine of the rioters were hung and a further 450 were transported to Australia.<\/p>\n

Links<\/h4>\n

Protesthistory<\/a> – academic look at the Swing Riots and rural conditions.<\/p>\n

The Peel Web<\/a> – detailed overview of the Swing Riots.<\/p>\n

BBC Family History<\/a> – useful information for those wanting to research their family history and any ties it has to the Swing Riots.<\/p>\n

National Archives<\/a> – source material from the archives presented for use as an educational resource.<\/p>\n

In<\/a><\/h3>\n

Industrial Revolution<\/a><\/h3>\n

Before the Industrial Revolution<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Famous Factories<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Women and Children during the Industrial Revolution<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Migration<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Inventions and Inventors<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Workhouse<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Life in an Industrial Town<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Industrialists and Philanthropists<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Railways and Canals<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Housing in the Industrial Revolution<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Working Conditions<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Disease in the Industrial Revolution<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Chartists and the Peoples Charter<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Luddites<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Swing Riots<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Rebecca Riots<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Protests, Riots and Conspiracies of the Industrial Age<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Public Health in the Industrial Revolution<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Swing Riots The Swing Riots were an agricultural phenomenon. Following years of war, high taxes and low wages, farm labourers finally snapped in 1830. These farm labourers had faced unemployment for a number of years due to the widespread introduction of the threshing machine and the policy of enclosing fields. No longer were thousands… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1332,"parent":1233,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1330","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t