ePetition details
Re-name St. Peter’s Square as PETERLOO SQUARE
Background
On August 16th 1819 an infamous event took place on St. Peter's
Field, Manchester, when the local yeomanry, along with a British
cavalry regiment, attacked a large peaceful pro-democracy meeting,
which had gathered to protest in favour of parliamentary reforms.
An attempt was made to arrest "Orator Hunt", and then the yeomanry
and the 15th King's Hussars waded into the crowd with sabres drawn.
Fifteen people were murdered, and many hundreds injured. In the
aftermath, it was dubbed the "Peterloo Massacre" in mocking
reference to the Battle of Waterloo, four years earlier. The 200th
anniversary occurs next year (2019).
Rationale:
Renaming the tram stop "Peterloo Square" would serve to commemorate
permanently those who were killed or injured, and it would signal
Mancunian pride in our history of radical politics and the labour
movement (the protest was attended by textile workers, including
many women - indeed, there is evidence that women were targeted
deliberately during the massacre). This would put Peterloo
literally on the map, and it would generate tourist traffic into
Manchester city centre.
It would be a fitting way to make permanent our recognition of the
event which gave rise to these words by Percy Shelley (in the
Masque of Anarchy):
"Rise, like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number!
Shake your chains to earth, like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you:
Ye are many—they are few!"
Started by: Nigel Woodcock
This ePetition ran from 13/11/2018 to 30/06/2019 and has now finished.
58 people signed this ePetition.