ANNIVERSARIES
10 MAY 1768
Anti-royal protest turns bloody
Soldiers fire on supporters of radical John Wilkes in London
In early May 1768, crowds began to gather at St George’s Fields, London. After producing increasingly fierce criticisms of George III and his government, the radical journalist John Wilkes had been arrested and imprisoned. To his supporters, it was an outrage. And since St George’s Fields were next to the King’s Bench Prison, this was the obvious place for a protest.
By mid-morning, the crowd was 15,000 strong, chanting “Wilkes and liberty!”, “No liberty, no king!” and “Damn the king! Damn the government!” The atmosphere became steadily more aggressive. The justices of the peace called for troops, and a unit of horse grenadiers took up a position in front of the prison. Some of the mob started taunting them, with
