Analyze the Economic and Social Basis of the Food Riot and the Industrial Revolution Between 1700 and 1830

        Emma Goldman, a political activist and writer once said, “No real social change has ever been brought about without a revolution... revolution is but thought carried into action”(Freeman, 2009:547). Between the 1700s and the 1830s, Great Britain underwent many positive and negative alterations. One of the remarkable changes was the Industrial revolution, which erupted in 1760 in no other place other than the United Kingdom (UK). It was expected that the Industrial revolution  would start in the UK on the basis that the country had abundant resources such as coal, iron, steam, useable water, textile, etc (Freeman & Soete, 1997: 31). In addition, it controlled 38% of the world trade, 42% of global investment, 13.9 Britain citizens were living abroad, and the British Empire was in control of one fifth of the world (Chapman, 1992: 75). Therefore, as drawbacks occurred, protests unfolded including the Industrial revolution and the food riot. The industrial revolution took place as machines replaced hand production methods, and scalping that triggered inflation and food shortages caused the outbreak of the food riot. This essay will thus analyze the economic and social basis of the food riot and the industrial revolution between 1700 and 1830. 

        This paragraph discusses the food riot; therefore, it is essential to initially define the term ‘riot.’ A riot is an unstable violent act where there is a loss of control and ignorance of the rules (Cashmore, 2013: 83). Accordingly, a food riot is the volatile vehement act, which is caused by the finite amount of food supplied in the market (Pritchard & Pakes, 2014: 238). This has been occurring throughout history; however, the main focus will be the United Kingdom’s food riot between 1700 and 1830, which was  a result of economic and social factors. The food riot started on the basis of economic aspects, which are price increase of goods and scalping. E.P Thompson strongly argued that the shift from moral economy to political economy triggered the food riot (Thompson, 1971: 93). A moral economy reflects what is expected by the society within the economic sphere, and if anything challenges it, then it is economically unacceptable and unreasonable (Thompson, 1971: 116). Upon Thompson’s credence, people might not riot if their hunger is caused by natural disasters such as a flood; but, when it is rooted in man-made economic reasons, they will protest  (Thompson, 1971: 81). In other words, if a farm owner takes 20 kg of potatoes from his farm's harvest, it is acceptable by a farmer in a lucrative harvest season; but, it could start a riot in an unprofitable harvest season as it challenges the farmer’s moral economy. In the context of the UK’s food riot, scalping resulted in increased prices of goods and food shortages (Thompson, 1971: 109). Scalpers bought crops from farmers in large amounts before they reached the market, in which consequently, they attained the power to set prices. As a result, the cost of living boosted, causing frustration within the society, which shows that economic and social aspects are interlinked.

        As discussed, the foot riot had an economic basis to it, leading to it concurrently being based on social ground. In Edward Palmer Thompson’s book, The Moral of the English Crowd, he explained that people at the time rioted because of being hungry. He called it ‘rebellion of the belly’(Thompson, 1971: 77), which was an argument that was also supported by Alan Booth’s journal, ‘Food riots in North-West England 1790-1801’ that focused on oat supply in the West and how its decrease led to disturbance in towns(Thompson, 1971: 86). Both indicated that the 1796 March riot generated from the fact that there was a non-profitable wheat harvest that subsequently led to food shortage and price increase.The price of oats increased from 3 shillings to 8 shillings (Hearfield, 2009). There were many different food shortages throughout the United Kingdom at the time. In the North-east, the price of grain doubled. Additionally, barley’s prices increased from three to eight shillings while potatoes doubled in Stockport (Ashton, 2010:215). Furthermore, people rioted because of the bread mix. Bakers at the time added oats and rye in lieu of white wheat. In today’s context, this might seem like a minor problem; however, in the 17th century, bread was the largest part of people’s diet.

        One of the severest food shortages that led to protests is the Irish potato famine. Both the economic and social circumstances resulted in the Irish citizen’s protests . In 1739-40, the potato harvest suffered as a result of extremely cold (-12C) and rainy weather. Simultaneously, the farm owners and the government were too greedy and did not want to sell goods for a cheaper price, while in the 1740s, the Irish government continued to export food while its citizens were dying from starvation (O’Neil, 2009: 7). Along with the potatoes’ shortage, there was also a deficiency in milk supply and a drawback in grain harvest (O’Neil, 2009: 28). This led to the death of nearly one million citizens and the immigration of another million with the purpose of seeking food, noting that if the government stopped its exports, 20% of the one million people who died would have survived (O’Neil, 2009: 101) . Therefore, a food riot took place on Saturday and Sunday in Dublin, in which citizens snatched food from markets as some paid and others did not (O’Neil, 2009: 99). They also ran into bakeries bagging for bread and took whatever was available (O’Neil, 2009:100). A famous incident was the Oat meal’s shipping that was on its way to Scotland, when the Irish citizens removed the ruder and sails, and seized the shipment, resulting from the fact that the Irish government was exporting large amounts of oatmeal while its citizens were in shortage (Grada, 2000:113). People later on supplied oats  to the market for a cheaper price (Grada, 2000:116). Nonetheless, the Irish police (Royal Barracks) intervened and killed many rioters. Regardless of those incidents, the Irish government did not handle the situation well nor took rehabilitating measures upon its belief that the economy would eventually boost(Kinealy, 1997: 100). Overall, the food riots in general and the Irish potato riot specifically were triggered by a combination of economic and social reasons.