Rioters attacking Newgate Gaol, 6 June 1780, during the Gordon Riots. A contemporary engraving.
The Gordon Riots took their name from Lord George Gordon, third son of the third Duke of Gordon and leader of anti-Catholic elements in England and Scotland, who touched off the riots by leading a demonstration to demand that Parliament repeal the Catholic Relief Act (18 George III, c. 60) of 1778. This act had repealed some of the constraints on Catholics – such as their ability to hold public office – which had been in place since the seventeenth century (see the Clarendon Code). Gordon was the fanatical leader of the English and Scottish Protestant Associations which were formed to resist Catholic emancipation, especially in Scotland and in Canada, and which had previously fomented mob
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Citation: Clark, Robert. "Gordon Riots". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 December 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=479, accessed 19 April 2024.]
