Military Intervention in Britain: From the Gordon Riots to the Gibraltar Incident

Front Cover
Routledge, Oct 5, 2015 - History - 254 pages

The military is supposed to stand aside from British society. This book illustrates that from the earliest times the British have relied on the military for the preservation of law and order. The creation of the professional police force in Britain habitually met with the stiffest opposition, and even after it came into existence in the 19th century, the military were still called in to suppress civilian disorders, often admidst the confusion and clumsiness tht led to incidents such as the notorious ‘Peterloo massacre’. In the 20th century, the unarmed police had to become more used to dealing with riots, several of which are here discussed in meticulously researched detail.

 

Contents

1 THE KINGS PEACE
1
2 THE FOURTH ESTATE
11
3 THE GORDON RIOTS
21
4 THE YEARS OF VIOLENCE
32
5 PETERLOO
46
6 THE PEACEKEEPING DILEMMA
59
7 THE WINDS OF REVOLUTION
71
8 DIFFICULTIES AND DANGERS
85
10 A DIVIDED RESPONSIBILITY
115
11 THE LAST RESORT
133
12 NORTHERN IRELAND
153
13 THE BATTLE OF THE STREETS
176
14 FACING REALITY
197
Notes
207
Bibliography
231
Index
235

9 THE CHARTIST DISORDERS
98

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2015)

Anthony Babington

Bibliographic information