Rebecca Riots

Rebecca Riots, disturbances that occurred briefly in 1839 and with greater violence from 1842 to 1844 in southwestern Wales. The rioting was in protest against charges at the tollgates on the public roads, but the attacks were symptomatic of a much wider disaffection caused by agrarian distress, increased tithe charges, and the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.

The rioters took as their motto words in Genesis 24:52: “And they blessed Rebecca, and said to her, ‘…may your descendants possess the gate of those who hate them!’ ” Many of the rioters were disguised as women and were on horseback; each band was under a leader called “Rebecca,” the followers being known as “her daughters.” They destroyed not only the gates but also the tollhouses, the raids being carried out suddenly and at night, usually without violence to the tollkeepers.

Emboldened by success, the Rebeccaites in 1843 turned their attention to other grievances. The government dispatched soldiers and police to South Wales, and the disorder was quelled. An act of 1844, known as Lord Cawdor’s Act, amended the turnpike trust laws in Wales and lessened the burden of the tollgate system.