The Peterloo Massacre occurred in Manchester, England. More specifically St. Peter’s Field in Manchester. On August 16, 1819 a group of 60,000 peaceful protestors gathered together in St. Peter’s Square in Mancherster. The protesters were trying to gain representation during a time when only wealthy landowners could vote. Fewer than two percent of the population were able to vote and hunger was taking over because of the horrible corn laws that made bread extremely expensive and unaffordable for the lower class of people. 

The group gathered together peacefully to listen to Henry Hunt give a speech and present their feelings on political representation. Because of this gathering the local magistrates became nervous and decided to put a stop to this protest whether it was peaceful or not. They tried ordering the crowd to disperse without much luck mostly because a lot of the main crowd couldn’t hear them over the other sounds around them. Since their efforts were in vain they sent the local Yeomanry to arrest the protesters. The historians on the Peterloo Massacre detailed the attack by saying, “On horseback, armed with sabers and clubs, many were familiar with, and had old scores to settle with, the leading protesters. (In one instance, spotting a reporter from the radical Manchester Observer, a Yeomanry officer called out ‘There's Saxton, damn him, run him through.’ Heading for the hustings, they charged when the crowd linked arms to try and stop the arrests, and proceeded to strike down banners and people with their swords. Rumors from the period have persistently stated the Yeomanry were drunk. The panic was interpreted as the crowd attacking the yeomanry, and the Hussars (Led by Lieutenant Colonel Guy L'Estrange) were ordered in. As with the Tiananmen Square Massacre, there were unlikely heroes among the military. An unnamed cavalry officer attempted to strike up the swords of the Yeomanry, crying - ‘For shame, gentlemen: what are you about? The people cannot get away!’ But the majority joined in with the attack” (“The Peterloo Memorial Campaign''). This detailed version of the attack shows the people were defenseless and had no way to escape the Yeomanry who came to claim penance for previous debts. The name of the massacre was given to mock the soldiers who brutally and mercilessly attacked unarmed citizens because it was similar to the term “Waterloo” because the soldiers from that battle were seen as actual heroes by a lot of people. 

The protest and massacre occurred in the morning time and by two in the afternoon the carnage was over. An estimated eighteen people, including four women and a child were killed in the massacre, either from saber cuts or from being trampled by the soldiers on horseback. Along with those killed over seven hundred men, women, and children received extremely serious injuries from the attack. Journalists who were present at the attack were arrested and any others that tried to report on the details of the attack were imprisoned. John Edward Taylor went on to set up the Guardian newspaper as a reaction to what he’d witnessed and to print the truth of the massacre. The speakers and organizers of the attack were put on trial under the charge of high treason but that charge was dropped by the prosecution. The magistrates who sent the Yeomanry were sent a letter of congratulations from the Prince Regent and cleared of any wrongdoing. Nick Mansfield, the director of the People’s HIstory Museum in Manchester has said, “Peterloo is a critical event not only because of the number of people killed or injured, but because ultimately it changed public opinion to influence the extension of the right to vote and give us the democracy we enjoy today. It was critical to our freedoms'' (“The Peterloo Memorial Campaign”). Understanding the Peterloo Massacre is critical for the Romantic period because it was one of the most influential events that helped ordinary people earn the right to vote. It also led to the Chartist Movement where Trade Unions grew from, and also helped the Manchester Guardian newspaper being established into a functioning and credible newspaper. 

Percy Byssche Shelly wrote his poem “The Masque of Anarchy” in reaction to the Peterloo Massacre. He praises the protesters who didn’t use violence even when being faced with the aggression of the soldiers. He says in his poem, “Stand ye calm and resolute, Like a forest close and mute, With folded arms and looks which are Weapons of unvanquished war” (Shelley). Through words like this Shelley was able to show his reaction to the Peterloo Massacre and praise those who were involved in the attack and chose to be peaceful. 

Works Cited

Historians. “The Peterloo Memorial Campaign.” History of the Peterloo Massacre, 2014, http://www.peterloomassacre.org/history.html. 

 Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 1792-1822. The Masque of Anarchy : a Poem. New York :AMS Press, 1975. APA. Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 1792-1822. (1975).