Description
Written by Maggie Craig
In April 1820, a series of dramatic events exploded around Glasgow, central Scotland and Ayrshire. revolution was in the air. Demanding political reform and better living and working conditions, some 60,000 weavers and other workers went on strike. Radicals marched whilst others armed themselves and set off for the Carron Ironworks seeking cannons.
When they were intercepted by Government soldiers, a bloody skirmish took place at Bonnymuir, near Falkirk. A curfew was imposed on Glasgow and Paisley. Aiming to free Radical prisoners, a crowd in Greenock was attacked by the Port Glasgow militia. Among the dead and wounded were a 65-year-old woman and a young boy. In the recriminations that followed, three men were hanged and nineteen were transported to Australia.
The book is based on extensive research in original documents, contemporary newspapers and eye-witness accounts