Publisher's Synopsis
Description: Rebels with a Cause. Hungry themselves, and downtrodden, their old wild ways of living from bountiful nature in their wildfowl and fish-rich marshy common lands, now stolen from them by wealthy entrepreneurial drainers; were they to stand idly by and see their Littleport children and old folk starve? In 'the year without a summer' as it became known our poor ignorant villagers were quite unaware of the environmental and agricultural consequences of the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Tambora faraway in Indonesia or the economic outcome of the 'Corn Laws'. They were all too aware they had no cash work, little relief and death from starvation looming. Others, the gentry, churchmen and magistracy in authority could afford flour and bread so they first asked and then demanded some fairness and redistribution. Theirs was indeed a rebellion with a cause. It was a reason for riot and driving the machine breaking, arson and protests widespread throughout East Anglia. Leaving the pub and liquored up with 'dutch courage' and anger they progressed to assembling in violent disorder and raw anarchy. Some took up crude weapons and with a wagon they marched to their local small city of Ely crying "Bread or Blood." Travellers on the high road were robbed, the good citizens of Ely placed in fear so the gentry tried to reason and compromise. Feeding the mob with free ale to seal the deal issued by proclamation was a bad idea, looting and shop-breaking with no local police meant help from the military was summoned. Warlike, mounted fully armed sabre-wielding dragoons and a near psychopathic 'fighting parson' resolved the situation, ending the disturbance as the Government required. What followed was debatably 'judicial murder'; a special commission replaced the local court and a senior justice came with his 'black hat' to capitally punish whoever could be labelled ringleaders. Lesser offenders among the 80 chased down and arrested were transported and gaoled. Their descendants live on around the Fens today, in this bicentenary year the village remembers. Today we have food banks and armed response policing so as famous chronicler of the times William Cobbett advised a few years later: "Fenmen, if you must starve, do it quietly."
