839 Violence in Wales
In Wales before 1839 there had been a long history of violence, David Evans in his book "A History Of Wales" says "There were frequent disturbances in rural Wales, which involved sheep stealing and poaching. Some of this violence was a protest against the harsh attitudes of some landowners."
There were many forms of violence at this time. These forms of violence consisted of: - Arson, We can see evidence of arson attacks in source A3 where it states, "Enclosures by Act of Parliament led to the destruction of hedges at Marloes, Pembrokeshire, in 1816. Trouble had followed enclosures at St Clears in 1809 and at Maenclochog in 1820 when a large mob burned fences, gates and a house on what had been common land." This form of violence was against property, it was well researched and is mostly fact which is supported by sources A1/A2 & A5 as they all show disorder in some way.
Another form of violence at this time was Theft I can see evidence of theft in source A1 where it says: There were frequent disturbances in rural Wales, which involved sheep stealing and poaching. Some of this violence was a protest against the harsh attitudes of some landowners." The theft was against property as people's sheep were being stolen, it is well-researched evidence by an historian called David Evans, which is mostly facts and is backed up by Gwyn A Williams in his book "When Was Wales".
Another form of violence at this time was rioting; I can see evidence of rioting in source A2 as it says: "Carmarthen had a history of disorder in the 19th century. In 1801 and 1818 there were riots because of shortages of food. In 1831, there were riots during the reform crisis." The Rioting was against property and against the people. This evidence is well researched and is mostly facts as the historian is able to refer to many sources of evidence to find out what's most likely to be fact. The source is supported by the extract from "The Rebecca Riots"(Dyfed County Council) as it describes rioting in large mobs; it is also backed up by source A1 that describes disorder.
Another form of violence at this time was Cefyl Pren I can see evidence of Cefyl Pren in source A4 where it states; "There is a custom in this part of the country called "Cefyl Pren", whereby people, who have angered the community are carried about on a wooden horse and humiliated. They carried me round the village of Pill and through the town of Milford followed by a great number of men in disguise...The constables failed to stop the mob." Cefyl Pren was a form of violence against people as they were carried around on a wooden horse. The people carried around on wooden horses would have this done to them if they had gone against the rioters, caused the rioters problems or insulted the rioters. The rioters did this as a way of carrying out their own vigilante justice for crimes against the community. It is not well researched as it is an eyewitness account and is not factual as the source says that it is an eyewitness account from Daniel Williams who was giving evidence in court, this evidence is biased and Daniel Williams could have made a deal with the authorities which may have got him a lighter sentence. It is not backed up by any other sources.
These sources illustrate concern about life in rural Wales prior to the Rebecca Riots and a certain lack of respect for the authorities as in source A4; the mobs do not stop when requested by the police and just run. This would explain the number of riots and also the tradition of people carrying out their own vigilante justice through Cefyl Pren.
The evidence in section A shows us that violence existed in west Wales before 1839, but it then got worse, for example, source B1, a constabulary report on the forces is useful because it shows that there were more incidents of Cefyl Pren and tells us what was done and for what reasons.
Sources B2, 3, 5 and 7 are useful because they tell us about the first attacks on tollgates and what happened later on. The picture from The Illustrated London News shows us that there were a lot of riots in rural and deserted areas, the rioters were in large groups and were disguised. (As women in women's clothes) They used axes and hammers to destroy gates. Some people were possibly coerced into participating, as if they didn't the rioters could have turned against them too.
The extracts from the Carmarthen Journal, a newspaper, explain how people were ...
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Sources B2, 3, 5 and 7 are useful because they tell us about the first attacks on tollgates and what happened later on. The picture from The Illustrated London News shows us that there were a lot of riots in rural and deserted areas, the rioters were in large groups and were disguised. (As women in women's clothes) They used axes and hammers to destroy gates. Some people were possibly coerced into participating, as if they didn't the rioters could have turned against them too.
The extracts from the Carmarthen Journal, a newspaper, explain how people were terrorised and how the attacks were becoming much worse and more criminal, as shown in source B3 where it says "Everybody was in their houses behind locked doors, not daring to show a light in their windows". This shows how scared people were or the rioters as they wouldn't even come out of their homes. Source B4 also shows how people were terrorised by the rioters as it states, "When the master of the workhouse saw the door almost giving way, he opened it. Hundreds of rioters burst into the workhouse and assaulted the matron Mrs. Evans. All the people in the workhouse, children included, were ordered outside. The rioters threw beds, blankets and pillows out of the windows". This shows that the people were terrorised as the rioters broke into their workhouses and trashed their beds and blankets. Source B5 also shows how the people were terrorised as it states; "People living in Cardigan were terrorized on Friday evening by Rebecca and her daughters who gathered at the Pensarn tollgate. About 11p.m. six horsemen led a large group. They were all disguised with faces painted black and wearing women's clothes. They were carrying swords, guns, pitchforks and other weapons. They demolished the tollgate". This also shows that the people were terrorised as would any person be if they saw gangs with guns, swords and pitchforks. David Egan explains how these attacks on tollgates became more violent e.g. in September 1843 a tollgate keeper named Sarah Williams was murdered. "Within two days of the Pontarddulis attack, another serious incident took place at Hendy tollhouse. During the destruction of the tollgate and the tollhouse, the toll keeper, a 75 year old woman called Sarah Williams was killed". This source shows how the people would be terrorised, as the attacks are now getting more serious as the rioters have killed someone.
Finally, two other events show how widespread the violence had become. In B4, an attack on the workhouse shows that the rioters were not just speaking about causing trouble, but were actually carrying out their vicious attacks; whilst attacking the workhouse as described in B4, the rioters were carrying out physical assaults on people and were also carrying out destruction towards the master of the workhouses' property. Also in source B7 the rioters show how they use means of destruction when they trash the tollgate at Hendy tollhouse, they also did not care about who was injured in the process as you can see from the fact that a 75 year old toll keeper was murdered.
I think that the information in these sources is fairly reliable as they are taken from sources such as "The constabulary force of England and Wales 1839" but on the other hand, evidence in the sources showing that people supported Rebecca out of fear is in B6. B6 is evidence of Thomas Phillips of Topsail to Magistrates, 12th December 1843. The man involved says that he had a conversation with Dai'r Cantwr, as he was coming up Gellyglwynog field arm in arm with him after burning Mr. Chambers, (a local landowner an magistrate) haystacks. He only went with the group as they called him over to, he was just a bystander and they told him to go with him and he of course did as he would have been too scared of the terrorisation he would have received if he did not. This effects the reliability of the evidence given as he may have been too scared to grass on them as he would be terrorised and may have had Cefyl Pren carried out on him so we cannot trust the reliability of this source as he may just be trying to save his own back. This might be evidence as the man was involved in crimes with the rioters, when caught he informs the police of Rebecca as he may feel safe in the hands of the authorities. B1 may too show evidence of this, as the people caught may have been worried about having Cefyl Pren carried out on them. Source B6 is not reliable as it is an opinion of one-person giving evidence; it's also biased as the evidence could have just been given in order to secure a shorter sentence for the rioter caught. This evidence is not supported by anything else. Maybe it is wrong to assume things, but I need to make an assumption that the person giving evidence could of in order to give him a shorter sentence.
The Rebecca Riots did not simply begin out of nowhere. For many years before 1839, the reasons for the violence in rural Wales were already there. There were many long-term reasons for the Rebecca Riots, which were in existence well before 1839. The whole of west Wales was like a time bomb waiting to go off.
The long-term reasons for the riots were shown in Rev.J.Evans' letters written on a tour through south Wales, 1804 and extracts from the times newspaper in 1843.
Source c2, Rev.J.Evans' letters identify a reason for people to be annoyed, this cause was the fact that the farming conditions were poor in Wales as said in the source; "Wheat is not often grown, usually the same crop is planted year after year, which ruins the soil. Marl (clay used as fertilizer) is successfully used in England but rarely used by the Welsh." This was because Welsh farmers could not understand English, which was the language that the farming techniques were written in, therefore the Welsh farmers could not advance technologically, There is little evidence of drainage of the land. The land was poor and there was no crop rotation so the land did not have time to increase its nutrients. Source C3 also shows a sense of a long-term cause of rioting is shown in source C3, The extracts from the times newspaper, 1843. The source says, "I found several farm labourers cottages to be nothing more than mud hovels, without furniture. Beds were nothing more but loose straw and filthy rags. Their diet consisted mainly of potatoes. The tenant farmers diet was a little better... but fresh meat is rarely seen on the farmers table". The cause in this source is the fact of the really poor living conditions, how the people lived in mud hovels and couldn't even afford to eat meat when they were breeding animals for other people to eat. Both of these pieces of evidence would be reliable as they were from the same period of time that are also eyewitness accounts and they could observe and identify what is there. The Rev J Evans could have only been there to gather information to put in history, to write a book about it, so his evidence would be true.
The long-term reasons shown in the Dyfed County Council, source C4 show yet again another reason for the people to be angry. "A small number of landowners owned more than ninety percent of the cultivated land, and then rented out parts of their estates to tenants. The landowners spoke English and were educated. The Welsh farmer often spoke only welsh and was uneducated. The landowners controlled local government; many were also magistrates and M.P's. Much of their leisure time was spent hunting. This would spark a fuse as the Welsh were seen as undereducated by the English and were used to farm while the landlords were out hunting and enjoying themselves. The times, correspondent report of a Rebecca meeting, 1843 source C7 show another cause of the riots, this was the fact that the farmers thought that they were being treated like dogs, which they were and they were told to keep quite or leave the room, this shows that they were seriously fed up and angry with the magistrates. This was fighting talk, the farmers may have been making things up to help there case against the magistrates so this evidence may not be entirely reliable although parts of it are, source C4 is reliable as it is an account from the Dyfed County council.
In source C6 "Dyfed county council", the long term reason shown for the riots is the game laws. The poorer farmers hated the game laws. The animals they kept were for market, not for eating at home. The only way that they could get meat was by poaching. This was considered a most serious crime by the land owning magistrates. The farmers believed they should have the right to kill animals, which damaged their crops. Landowners were in favour of the game laws as they made them and they liked to control the people, the landowners were not worried about the law as it was their land. The tenant farmers were breeding animals and couldn't even afford the meat for their own table. The only people who were allowed to poach for fun were the rich; the poor would get in trouble for it. Source C6 is reliable as the farmers did hate the laws and the information is from Dyfed county council who would have no reason to bend the truth.
Source C1, a graph about people's occupations in West Wales in 1801 and 1851 is useful as it shows us that there were too many people living in West Wales who wanted to e farmers. Source C8 shows this. Rents were higher in Wales as a whole than in England. Some landowners put up rents to take advantage of the number of people waiting to rent land. The land often went to the highest bidder. Leases were also becoming shorter which was putting more pressure on the rural community. This source, when used with C1 creates a reliable piece of evidence.
Source C5 identifies tollgates as another long-term cause of the riots as it said that taking the whole county of Carmarthen; on average there are not more than three miles of road without a toll bar. From Pontarddulis Bridge at the boundary of the county, to Carmarthen, a distance of nineteen miles there were no less than eleven tollgates counted.
In conclusion to my summary of the long term causes of the rioting the main points were landowners controlling the community in courts, as M.P's and in government. The increase in population. Poverty, bad diet and the poor housing. The fact that 90% of the cultivated land was owned by a few wealthy landowners. The shorter leases for tenants, undereducated farmers that could not adopt new farming techniques from England, injustice in courts, game laws and poaching, the lack of food, the number of tollgates and tolls, the increase in demand for work, housing, food, land and farms and the static society and high rents.
The short term causes of the Rebecca riots covered three main areas. These three were linked.
The poor law was a reason for the riots. Before 1834, parishes looked after the poor, old and sick in the area, by giving them food, shelter and eve money. This was costing a lot. In 1834 Amendment ACT was passed. The poor were now to go into workhouses to receive help. The conditions inside were to be worse than for the lowest paid worker. Families were split up and made deliberately worse than the poorest house in order to discourage people from going to them.
The farmers also hated tithe and were angry against the Anglican Church, which was the church of the landowners. Two reasons why many farmers in Wales were opposed to the tithe commutation act so much were as; the people paying the tithes were non-conformists whereas the money was going to the Anglican Church. Secondly, the tithe became a fixed cash amount and not a percentage, which therefore did not respond to the harvests. Source D4 is also useful for finding out about attitudes towards the tithe payments in West Wales as it is fairly useful information that can be used to emphasise the peoples feelings. "Before 1836, a tenth of the farmers crop was taken by the church. If the crop was a good one, the vicar took less. After 1836, the amount paid was fixed whether or not the farmer had a good year or a bad one.
The tolls on lime also had a part to play in the bomb waiting to go off, as the evidence in D6 about local attitudes towards the tolls on lime is very reliable as it is a few questions towards a farmer who is there at the time of the tolls and has gone through the tollgates. The person questioning him would tell the truth, as it is part of an enquiry. "Question - You think the amount of the tolls has been an obstruction in the way of liming? Answer Yes, they pay more for the tolls than the lime. Question - What is the price of lime? Answer - From 2/6 to 3/ - according to the size of the cart, and the tolls would be 5/ - or 6/ -. Question - In travelling, what distance would the tolls come to 6/-? Answer - In travelling 8 miles. Question - Is the profit large? Answer - I think so. The generally get rich by them." The farmers resented the tolls on lime as by the time they had paid their tolls to transport it, the price of the lime almost doubles, it would therefore not e using the lime in the first place as it would be far too expensive.
"At first turnpike trusts were a great help for farmers in West Wales who were trying to improve their land as they did not charge a toll on lime. Eventually, however, a toll on lime was introduced".
The evidence in the sources in section D are factual as they are mainly enquiries, which had to be true, the sources support each other. For example source D5 supports D6 as they both claim the tolls are too high. Source D1 is supported by D2 as they both they both disagree with the tithes that were paid even by people that were not part of that church. The sources are all fairly well researched pieces of evidence too.
In my opinion the Rebecca riots were pathetic and pitiful. I can see where the majority of farmers were coming from as they stood up for what they believed was right as they were suffering whilst the English had new farming techniques and better technology but the part with the men dressing up as women terrorising people and smashing tollgates is a bit pathetic. I think that the whole situation could have been prevented if everyone had got together and thought of a way in which everyone could be happy.
