The 1780 Gordon Riots: Black Participation in English Protests
Abstract
The 1780 Gordon Riots were the most substantial riots in English history. The black participation was very small, but we can explicate some features of their experience during this revolutionary tumult and investigate the actions of some during those fateful days of June 1780. The three individual blacks who were part of the Gordon Riots were Benjamin Bowsey, John Glover, and Charlotte Gardiner. Their experiences enrich the understanding of the black presence in England and broaden the historical overview of blacks in European history. Additionally, there exists the opportunity to reconstruct some early class formations in the forgotten black English community. Ignatius Sancho, a free educated black expressed his anti-mob views about the rioters from a privileged position in British society following the event. This study employs an array of different sources including the Old Bailey court sessions, newspapers, autobiographies, political magazines, and state papers to interpret the black involvement in the Gordon Riots.