Maldon grain riots

The Maldon grain riots took place in January 1629, during the industrial depression and poor harvests.[1] The export demand relied heavily on agriculture, due to the slump in the English cloth trade in January.[1] Starvation and high food prices in Essex further increased the strain on the agrarian economy.[1] The people starving in Essex found themselves discontent watching grain being loaded on to ships to be exported to Europe. In March of that year, a 100- to 140-strong group of rioters[2] led by one "Captain" Ann Carter, the wife of a butcher,[3] boarded a Flemish grain ship and removed grain by filling their caps and gowns. This was encouraged by the common belief at the time that women were beyond the law, and any prosecution could only be made against a male behind a crime. It was common for a husband to be held legally accountable for the actions of his wife (refer to Legal rights of women in history).

The success of the rioting shook the local magistracy. The court finally granted a lower purchase price of corn after a fortnight's efforts of prosecuting the rioters.[4] Rioting caused by high food prices was one of the defining issues of early modern English society, and Maldon was no different. The rioters disputed the price of grain, demanding instead for the just price. For those living at the time, it was believed that prices should only fluctuate within defined limits. This could be done only manipulation of free market forces, which bears the idea of a moral economy.

Captain Ann, seemingly emboldened by her success, toured the local area to raise local support from clothing workers. A further riot took place on 22 May, which was taken much more seriously by the authorities and attracted the attention of the Privy Council.[5] A special commission was established and Captain Ann was hanged. The sentence was attributed to the riot being a threat to the social order. We can set Ann's hanging within its tendency to make vivid examples of what happened to those who posed a serious threat to the harmony of the status quo.

The style of Captain was adopted by a number of other activists during the seventeenth century. "Captain" Dorothy Dawson,[6] who organised a protest at Thorpe Moor, and "Captain" Kate, who was recorded at an election meeting in Coventry,[7] are two female examples.