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West End riots: ducking an unpopular speaker, 1886
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West End riots: ducking an unpopular speaker, 1886
Ducking an unpopular speaker at an open air meeting of unemployed East End dock workers and artisans in Trafalgar Square. The people were stirred to violence following incendiary speeches, and rioted, causing havoc in the fashionable streets of the West End. Date: 1886
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Media ID 14395862
© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans
1886 Demonstration Ducking Fountains Jun16 Meeting Riot Riots Speaker Trafalgar Unpopular Violence
EDITORS COMMENTS
In this evocative photograph from 1886, a sea of angry faces is seen in Trafalgar Square, London, as an unpopular speaker is forcibly removed from the podium during an open-air meeting of unemployed East End dock workers and artisans. The image captures the intensity and chaos of the moment as the crowd, fueled by incendiary speeches, erupts into violence, causing havoc in the fashionable streets of the West End. The scene is further enlivened by the presence of the ornate fountains in the background, which contrast starkly with the raw emotions and working-class attire of the demonstrators. The image provides a powerful snapshot of the social and political unrest that characterized late-Victorian London, as the city grappled with issues of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. The date of this photograph is significant, as it comes just a few years after the introduction of the Marconi and Dock Laborers' Strike of 1889, which saw widespread protests and rioting in the East End. The events of 1886, therefore, can be seen as a precursor to the more organized and sustained labor unrest that would come to define the late-Victorian and early-Edwardian periods. Despite the violence and disorder depicted in the photograph, it is important to remember that such events were a reflection of the deep-seated social and economic tensions that existed in Victorian society. The image serves as a poignant reminder of the complex and often volatile social landscape of the time and the role that public demonstrations and protests played in shaping the political and social fabric of London and beyond.
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