Preview
Identifier
KD 371 .P6 H53 1817
Creation Date
1817
Description
High-Treason: The Trials at Large of Arthur Thistlewood, James Watson, Thomas Preston, and John Hooper. London: W. Lewis, 1817.
In December 1816, a group of revolutionaries from the Society of Spencean Philanthropists led a section of the crowd to riot at a mass meeting with the radical speaker Henry Hunt. They intended to seize control of the Bank of England and the Tower of London. After the rioters dispersed, four of the leaders, John Hooper, Thomas Preston, Arthur Thistlewood, and James Watson, were arrested and charged with high treason. The prosecution's principal witness, Castle, was accused of being an agent provocateur and discredited, and all four of the men were acquitted of the charges.