A contemporary cartoon by George Cruikshank of the Peterloo massacre in 1819. Photograph: Granger/Rex/Shutterstock - uniformed cavalry riding to a crowd of peasantry dressed in their Sunday best, and attacking them with sabres.
An illustration of the Peterloo Massacre by Peter Carlile, published 1819
Portrait of Henry "Orator" Hunt (6 November 1773 – 13 February 1835), the key speaker at the gathering at St Peter’s Field on the day of the massacre.
Hunt was an English radical speaker and agitator remembered as a pioneer of working-class radicalism and an important influence on the later Chartist movement. He advocated parliamentary reform and the repeal of the Corn Laws. He was the first member of parliament to advocate for women's suffrage; in 1832 he presented a petition to parliament from a woman asking for the right to vote.
On this day in 1819, cavalry cut down a peaceful assembly of working men, women and children at St Peter’s Field, Manchester. 15 killed, 600+ injured, simply for demanding bread & a vote. The #PeterlooMassacre reminds us that every right the working class has was won in blood, not gifted from above.
