The London Mob: Violence and Disorder in an Eighteenth-Century England

By 1700, London was the largest city in the world with over 500,000 inhabitants. Weakly policed, its streets saw regular outbreaks of rioting by a mob easily stirred by economic grievances, politics or religion. In this world, fisticuffs, duels, footpads, pickpockets and tricksters abounded. Detection and prosecution of crime was the business of the citizen, and punishment, whether by the pillory, whipping or hanging, was public and endorsed by the crowd. The London Mob draws a fascinating portrait of the public life of the modern world's first great city, its struggles and, throughout the century, its growth and development in values and policing leading to a less volatile society.