Kenny MacAskill’s Roots and Branches
The 1820 Rising ended in defeat yet it continues to inspire
The leaders of the 1820 Rising paid a bloody price, and their efforts are still remembered
APRIL sees the bi-centenary of the 1820 Rising. It goes under many names including the Radical War or Insurrection. Many myths apply to it. Some suggest it was a rebellion calling for Scottish independence, others that it was brought about by agent provocateurs.
The action has even been reduced to a minor skirmish at the Battle of Bonnymuir where the military confronted armed radicals. There’s an element of truth in all those assertions but there’s much more to it, and the heroism of those involved should not go unrecognised.
The importance of the events is shown by the British government’s brutal execution of John Baird, Andrew Hardie and James Wilson by hanging then being posthumously beheaded – the last time such a barbaric method of execution was used in Britain.
Moreover, 19 individuals were also transported to Botany Bay, Australia, for their involvement, such was the fear from the authorities over what might have been.
The best description of the 1820 Rising was given by Tom Johnston in his book A History of the Working Classes in Scotland. He described it as a general strike from which it was hoped that revolution might spring.
The movement followed the return of radicalism after the Napoleonic Wars and the anger that erupted after the Peterloo Massacre. Demand for reform had been growing not just for the vote but for economic change too. The nature of those protesting had also changed, as well as their actions.
A working class was developing and leadership was moving from radical lawyers like Thomas Muir to weavers and other artisans. It was with good reason that the archetypal radical was described as a “dissenting weaver”.
As Muir had previously discovered, the established church could almost be considered an arm of the state. The country was run through its institutions by an oligarchy and for the benefit of the landowning elite.
Long before Peterloo, a minority had decided that physical force resistance must apply. No more would they supinely be transported or attacked. Drilling had begun and with many men having military experience, there were real concerns within the establishment.
Radical Scots delegates attended a meeting in England in late 1819 and a rising was planned across both countries the following year.
As April got closer, preparations on both sides went into overdrive. The authorities had spies but the weavers were clannish and closed to outside interference.
Although the government knew something was brewing, they didn’t know what or where. That said, the wealthy began moving their families out of Glasgow, Paisley and other places, as the army moved troops and yeomanry in for garrisoning. Meanwhile working men continued to drill and weapons were made. The scene was being set for revolution.
On April 1, posters went up across much of the west of Scotland calling for a general strike on the Monday. There have been suggestions that they were put up by spies, but they were so widespread and the terms being called for were accurate, that it’s unlikely. Spies there most certainly were, but this was the real deal.
The call for strike outlined their demands for the universal franchise and economic reforms. That franchise was for the British parliament and suggestions that it was a nationalist uprising are misplaced. There may have been a few who subscribed to the Thomas Muir position of a Scottish republic, but for most that was not a priority.
This stance is understandable, given that this was a strike and the enemy were the landed gentry, many of whom were existing Scottish MPS or peers. However, the organisation was distinctively Scottish and they were confident in their own identity. What has fuelled the idea that it was a nationalist rising was the singing of Scots Wha Hae and banners proclaiming “Scotland Free or a Desert.” These proclamations and songs were reflective of their culture, however, not their demands.
For this was meant to be a pan-british Rising. The strike commenced on April 3 and in Paisley the action
“A countries” rising was planned across both
was solid with the town closed and eerily calm. Glasgow was similarly quiet but the army faced off against armed strikers in other parts of Scotland.
Much of Ayrshire was ceded by the government to the rebels. It’s reckoned that 60,000 people took part in the strike in the west, and given a population of just over two million it was almost a general strike.
“Trouble continued from the south-west Perthshire” up to
The signal for the rising, which was planned for the Tuesday, was to be the non-arrival of the mail coach in Glasgow, confirming an uprising had started in England.
Minor risings did take place in some parts of northern England, but they were sporadic and insufficient to interfere with the coach service. The reason for the lack of action was likely the detection in February of the Cato Street Conspiracy to murder all British cabinet ministers, which led to a wholesale round-up of English radicals.
Either through a failure to realise that or just a desire to rise anyway, some proceeded in the west of Scotland.
Large houses were attacked near Paisley as arms were sought. Armed men marched towards Carron Ironworks, near Falkirk, where weapons could also be obtained. However, they were intercepted by cavalry at Bonnymuir and captured after a brief skirmish.
Likewise, people began to drift back to work as they realised the strike was petering out. No doubt the strength of the military might that was being deployed against them, showed the scale of the challenge they faced.
Yet, trouble continued for days from the south-west up to Perthshire, but was ultimately crushed.
Retribution was swift and brutal. Wilson was publicly executed in Glasgow, followed by Baird and Hardie in Stirling and 19 others were transported to Australia.
Despite the defeat, the military still had to be deployed during the brutal punishments as the large crowd was supportive of the martyrs, and the events of 1820 found an enduring place in popular memory.
It might not have been a nationalist insurrection, but it was certainly a major event that shouldn’t be forgotten.