poor laws, query

rc-am rcollins at netlink.com.au
Sat Mar 18 05:52:19 PST 2000


Does anyone know of any more info/references on the Rebecca Riots in South Wales between 1842-44?

snippet from some encyclopaedia:

<start> Rebecca Riots Disturbances in southwest Wales 1842–44. They were primarily a protest against toll charges on public roads, but were also a symptom of general unrest following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, which made obtaining poor relief much harder. The rioters, many disguised as women, destroyed the tollhouses and gates. Each leader was known as 'Rebecca' and followers were 'her daughters'. They took their name from the biblical prophecy that the seed of Rebekah would 'possess the gate of those which hate them' (Genesis 24,60). <end>

Angela _________



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