GEOFF HOLDER

POLITICS, bigotry, bodysnatching, and wages being sharply reduced.

At first glance, nothing links them ...but they have all sparked riots in Glasgow’s past.

Riots, though mercifully less frequent nowadays, have been part of city life since 1579, when a pro-Reformation mob attempted to burn down the cathedral but were successfully repelled.

This is the reason, incidentally, why Glasgow has the only complete pre- Reformation cathedral on the Scottish mainland.

The city’s notable riots include: 1606: A local political dispute between the Elphinstones and the Stewarts of Minto brought craftsmen onto the streets, armed with bows, swords, pikes and staves. 1703: Presbyterian bigots attacked the house of Sir John Bell during a service held by the hated Episcopalians. 1725: The Malt Tax riots, prompted by the imposition of a sixpence tax per barrel of ale, saw eight people being shot by troops. 1780: A major anti-Catholic riot, sparked by the influx of immigrants from the Highlands and Ireland. 1787: Weavers rioted after their wages were slashed. Six of them were killed by soldiers - they were Scotland’s first trade union martyrs. 1822: An erroneous belief that a house on Clyde Street was being used for bodysnatching led to a riot of such scale that it had to be quelled by cavalry and infantry with drawn bayonets. Five ringleaders were transported overseas for 14 years, and one was publicly whipped. 1848: Seven people were shot by troops as thousands gathered on the street to protest hunger and destitution. In later decades, riots were caused by football (1909), tensions arising from the General Strike in 1926, pictured, and in 1931, massive unemployment, when there was violence in Glasgow Green, Jail Square and Saltmarket.