The conspirators wanted to bring down the government, but the government was watching
The England of 1820 was a nervous, disordered country on the brink of revolt. Peace with Europe, secured with the end of the NapoleonicWars five years earlier at Waterloo, ought to have ushered in a period of growing prosperity and progress at home. But when King George III died on 29 January after 60 years on the throne, he bequeathed a nation – to a dissolute son and a repressive government – stricken by austerity and riven by political turmoil.
Britain edged tosowladriderssrteuvronlet dafotenr the crowds at the Peterloo Massacre