Editing Gordon Riots (section)

===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.