Editing Gordon Riots (section)

==Background==
[[File:LordGeorgeGordon.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[Lord George Gordon]], head of the Protestant Association]]

The stated intention of the Papists Act 1778 was, as its preamble notes, to mitigate some of the official discrimination against Roman Catholics in Great Britain. It absolved Catholics from taking the religious oath when joining the [[British Armed Forces]] as well as granting a few and limited liberties. There were strong expedient reasons for this change. British military forces at the time were stretched very thinly in what had become a global American War of Independence, with conflicts ongoing with France, Spain, and the new United States. The recruitment of Catholics would be a significant help to address this shortfall of manpower.

The 1698 anti-Catholic laws had largely been ignored for many years and were rarely enforced. Because of this, many leading Catholics were opposed to the repeal of these laws, fearing it would stir up anti-Catholic sentiment for little practical return.<ref>Hibbert pp. 24–27</ref> It was also pointed out that large numbers of Catholics, recruited in Ireland and the [[Scottish Highlands]], were already serving in the military. In spite of this, the government decided to press ahead with the Bill, and had it introduced in Parliament by [[Sir George Savile, 8th Baronet|Sir George Savile]].

===Protestant Association===
The Protestant Association of London had the support of leading Calvinist religious figures, including [[Rowland Hill (preacher)|Rowland Hill]], [[Erasmus Middleton]], and [[John Rippon]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Joanna |last=Innes |title=Inferior Politics: Social Problems and Social Policies in Eighteenth-Century Britain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e-1Q78IUE4IC&pg=PP446 |access-date=15 September 2013 |year=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-160677-9 |page=446}}</ref> [[Lord George Gordon]] became its president in 1779, in an effort to force the repeal of the Papists Act.<ref>Hibbert pp. 31–32</ref><ref>Howell, Thomas Bayly (ed.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ad6YpE1POPwC A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors from the earliest period to the year 1783, with notes and other illustrations], Vol. 21. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown (1816), p. 563</ref> An articulate propagandist, though eccentric, Gordon inflamed the mob with fears of Papism and a return to [[Absolute monarchy|absolute monarchical rule]]. He implied that Catholics in the military would, given a chance, join forces with their co-religionists on the Continent and attack Britain. He enjoyed popularity in Scotland where he took part in a successful campaign to prevent the same legislation from being introduced into [[Scots law]], although the Act continued in force in England and Wales and in Ireland. The success in obstructing the law in Scotland led Gordon to believe he could enjoy similar success in the rest of Britain and Ireland. Early in 1780 Gordon had several audiences with [[George III of the United Kingdom|King George III]] but was unable to convince him of what he saw as the dangers of the act. George III initially humoured Gordon, but grew increasingly irritated with him and eventually refused any future audiences.

The political climate deteriorated rapidly. On 29 May 1780, Gordon called a meeting of the Protestant Association, and his followers subsequently marched on the [[House of Commons]] to deliver a petition demanding the repeal of the Act.

===Other causes===
After the first march to Parliament, further riots occurred involving groups whose grievances were nationalist, economic, or political, rather than religious. Aside from the issue of Catholic emancipation, it has also been suggested that the driving force of the riots was Britain's poor economic situation: the loss of trade during the war had led to falling wages, rising prices, and periodic unemployment. As Rudé noted, there was no general attack on the Catholic community, "the victims of the riots" being distinguished by the fact they were "on the whole, persons of substance".<ref>Rudé, (1974), p. 287</ref>

Voting in parliamentary elections was restricted by a property threshold, so most Londoners were unable to vote and many hoped for reforms to make Parliament more representative of the people. However, [[Paul Monod]] has argued that "no matter how much one would like to interpret the Gordon Riots ... as economically motivated, they remain fundamentally anti-Catholic in character".<ref>Paul Kleber Monod, ''Jacobitism and the English People, 1688–1788'' (Cambridge University Press, 1993), p. 163.</ref>

Shortly after the riots had broken out, the [[Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond|Duke of Richmond]] suggested that they were directly attributable to the passing of the [[Quebec Act (1774)|Quebec Act]] six years before, which, among other provisions, removed the reference to the Protestant faith from the oath of allegiance, and guaranteed free practice of Catholicism.  This view was ridiculed by many of his colleagues.<ref>Hibbert pp. 63–64</ref>

Another suggested cause was Britain's weakened international position, which had arisen from the country's isolation in Europe and the disappointing news coming from the ongoing war.<ref>Simms p. 633</ref> Some rioters were against the continuation of the war, and many strongly supported American independence,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-gordon-riots-of-1780-london-in-flames-a-nation-in-ruins|title = The Gordon Riots of 1780: London in Flames, a Nation in Ruins}}</ref> while others were angry that Britain's war effort was being mishandled by [[Lord North]]. In many cases a mix of issues blended together and drove people to take part in the rioting.