4 November 1839: the Newport Rising leaves 22 dead

On this day in 1839, 22 Chartists were killed in the Newport Rising as they stormed the town’s Westgate Hotel to free their comrades who had been imprisoned by the authorities.

Newport Rising
A possibly unrepresentative depiction of events.
(Image credit: © Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The mid-19th century was a time of great social change. It was also a time of huge inequality – only 18% of the adult male population could vote, for example and the propertied classes lorded it over the vast majority of the country's unwashed, underprivileged, and under-represented masses.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.