Nineteenth Century South Wales was a tinderbox of revolt. Industrialists were making fortunes in coal and steel but their workers were treated terribly. Living conditions were inhospitable to people but a breeding ground for cholera and other killer diseases. High rents and low pay which was issued in tokens which could only be spent in the shops owned by their employers made these people little more than slaves. And outside the industrialised areas things were no better.
Welsh farmers and people living in rural areas were being bled by taxes, tythes and tolls and on the back of several poor harvests found themselves on the brink of starvation.
Something had to give. And the birth of new political ideas fuelled a number of uprisings. The Merthyr Rising in 1831, the Rebecca Riots and the Newport Chartist Rising both starting in 1839. But what caused the rebellions? How did they start? Who was behind them? How did the establishment react? What has been their legacy?
In conversation, Graham Loveluck-Edwards and Mark Lawson-Jones pull back the layers of these events and their consequences. And as ever, especially for viewers in the Vale of Glamorgan, there is a tenuous local link. Watch on the find out what it is.
This video is an episode from the History of Wales series. Written, presented and published by Welsh author and historian; Graham Loveluck-Edwards. Author of the "Legends and Folklore of Glamorgan' Series and 'Historic Pubs of Wales' published by Candy Jar Books LTD (Cardiff). In this series of short videos, I examine a moment in Welsh history with a guest expert and discuss how it came about, what happened to those concerned and what the long term impact has been. I hope you enjoy them. And if you do, please subscribe to this channel and share them on social media.
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