enclosure acts 1800`s

[cecily3]

My family(symonds) were tenant farmers in West Wittering in the 17/1800`s & then relocated to Hampshire where they took up other trades.Some of the family emigrated to north america.It was only recently that I read about the"enclosure laws" that must have been the reason for this.I live abroad so would appreciate any information,also perhaps your past family were involved or maybe you are even from my own family.

[stevew101]

Most of  my ancestors worked on the land, and were affected in many ways by the Enclosure laws. At one point, they were involved in rioting because they were simply starving.  Two were sentenced to be hanged and then transported to Australia instead.

It is also worth looking at the Swing Riots, which started about 1830, and involved agricultural workers in Sussex.

There is an interesting article about Enclosure below....

http://www.thelandmagazine.org.uk/articles/short-history-enclosure-britain

And on the riots ....

http://www.westsussex.info/captain-swing.shtml

Steve

[cecily3]

Many thanks for your info. Steve

[sallyyorks]

They hang the man, and flog the woman,
That steals the goose from off the common;
But let the greater villain loose,
That steals the common from the goose.

English traditional folk poem


Some links you might be I interested in

Enclosure Blog
http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/enclosure-acts-industrial-revolution/..

Bread riots and famine 1790s (particularly 1795) in England
http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/english/EU/EU06-07.html

Black Act
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Act

The Bloody Code
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Code

[Roy G]

Rather than Enclosure Acts, the fundamental cause of rioting was the industrialisation of agricultural processes.  This resulted in less workers being required to do the same task, and those in employ having to work for low wages because of a surplus of unemployed only too willing to do their jobs.  Hence many resorted to rick burning and machine breaking, suffering the inevitable retribution from landowners such as death or transportation.
Roy G