Portal:Anglicanism/Selected article/7
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The Priestley Riots took place from 14 to 17 July 1791 in Birmingham, England; their main targets were religious Dissenters, most notably the religious and political controversialist, Joseph Priestley. Driven by anger over the Dissenters' attempts to gain full civil rights and their support of the French revolution, the rioters attacked or burned four Dissenting chapels, twenty-seven houses and several businesses. While the riots were not initiated by William Pitt's administration, the national government was slow to respond to the Dissenters' pleas for help and overjoyed at their plight. Local Birmingham officials seem to have been involved in the planning of the riots and were reluctant to prosecute any ringleaders after they ended.
The riots revealed that the Anglican gentlemen of the town were not averse to using violence against Dissenters who they viewed as potential revolutionaries. They had no qualms, either, about raising a potentially uncontrollable mob. Many of those attacked left Birmingham; as a result, the town became noticeably more conservative after the riots. The remaining supporters of the French revolution decided not to hold a dinner celebrating Bastille Day the following year.
