Porteous Riots in Edinburgh

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.3: Scottish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), J. Derrick McClure (University of Aberdeen), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Domains

Riots and violent protests

Dates

Date of occurrence 1736-09-07

Places

Scotland (Location)

Resources

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The Porteous Riots break out in Edinburgh. John Porteus, the captain of the town guard, orders troops to fire on a mob demonstrating at the arrest of smugglers. He is sentenced to death by Edinburgh magistrates for murder, and although he is reprieved by Queen Caroline, the sentence is still carried out.

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52 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Porteous Riots in Edinburgh". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 April 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=17399, accessed 26 April 2024.]

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