10 April 1848
Chartist rally in Kennington

Previous event | Timeline | Next event

After his release from prison (see 1839 Newport Rising, Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor becomes more moderate, and in 1845, he sets up the Chartist Land Company, to help Chartists settle in rural areas as smallholders. The venture fails, but Chartism continues to provide a focus for debate and protest.

In 1847, O'Connor is elected as an MP, and in 1848, a series of huge Chartist meetings in London alarm the authorities. Some 170,000 special constables are recruited to defend the city against a mass meeting at Kennington Common, south London, attended by some 15,000 Chartists. It is from here that O'Connor takes the third Chartist petition to Downing Street. Like the previous two, it is rejected. Chartism begins to decline as a political force.

Top