The end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815 brought economic depression and social unrest. In 1816 some 40,000 people attending a meeting in Glasgow Green to demand more representative government and an end to the Corn Laws which kept food prices high. The Industrial Revolution had affected hand-loom weavers who saw their wages slashed. Artisan workers sought action to reform what they saw as an uncaring government leading to demonstrations and protest. As industrial distress deepened, the demand for reform grew more insistent but the government only replied by measures of suppression. The French Revolution had produced a profound effect on political thought throughout the country - “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” was an explosive slogan - with an appeal that carried across frontiers. It was hope to the underprivileged and oppressed but terror to those in power.

Read the whole story about how this "Radical Rising" affected Johnstone in Angela Gillespie's latest story.

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