THE REBECCA RIOTS - RECONSIDER AS A NATIONAL SOCIAL STRUGGLE MOVEMENT: The Rebecca Riots In Northern Wales - Towards Later Tithe Wars 1888.

A feature in BBC WALES - History - Themes states there was no Rebecca activity in the North West other than a ''Joking Re-enactment'' (see quote and link below), this I fear is based on accounts of the time that sought to clear the good name of 'Gogs' and blame the Porthmadog Toll Gate attack on ''Hwntws'' from Ceredigion. I have read this up in a journal whilst passing time in Caernarfon Town Library but have lost ref regards where I read it, possibly Caernarfonshire Historical Transactions.

''The riots were mainly confined to the old counties of Pembrokeshire, Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire; there was only one incident in north Wales at Penmorfa, near Porthmadog, in Caernarfonshire and this was really a joking re-enactment of the south-west Wales incidents. Underlying the protests were the economic conditions of the time and the relationship between farmers and landlords, and the church.''

BBC Wales - History - Themes - The Rebecca Riots

- 09:43

The Rebecca Riots were a series of protests against conditions in the rural ... a surviving toll in Porthmadog in the 1990s, they named it Rebecca and gave ...
www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/.../politics_rebecca_riots.shtml -Cached - Similar

One event, joke or not might not a Rebecca Revolt in North West Wales but certainly there was Rebecca Riots taking place in central Wales, particularly at Rhaedr:

Rebecca Riots 6

The Rebecca riots 6. Aftermath. An early Victorian policeman from Mid Wales. Photograph by kind permission of Llanidloes Museum, Victorian policeman ...
history.powys.org.uk/history/rhaeadr/rebecca6.html - Cached - Similar

However, it was in North East Wales; Fflintshire and in Denbighshire that the Rebecca Revolt took off quite signifigantly, see quote and source link below:

'Meanwhile in North Wales, farmers and tradesmen had also been hit hard by the introduction of tolls and they followed the lead of their fellow Welshmen by taking action in Flintshire and Denbighshire. Around 30 farm buildings and ricks were burned in Denbighshire and greater numbers in Flintshire. They took down the toll gates at Maerdy, near Corwen, and left a note on the razed gatehouse saying that it was the work of Sister Rebecca. The Meliden area was particularly sympathetic to the cause and fighting was commonplace throughout 1844 in this part of Flintshire'.

The Rebecca Riots in North East Wales - Chester Chronicle ...

26 Jan 2011 ... The Rebecca Riots originated in West Wales in the late 1830s and spread...of people who begrudged paying church tithes to the Anglicans. ...
blogs.chesterchronicle.co.uk/.../the-rebecca-riots-in-north-eas.html - Cached - Similar

Meanwhile down South, Swansea way:

FLICK through the pages of Welsh history and somewhere along the ...

25 Oct 2010 ... The Rebecca Riots Within Ten Miles Of Swansea leans heavily on what was ... in South and Mid Wales in response to perceived unfair taxation. ...
www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/Author...Rebecca-Riots/.../article.html

The Tithe Wars of 1888, a follow up soon and to remind you:

Memorial to the Tithe Martyrs of Llangwm:: OS grid SH9944 ...

15 Mar 2007 ... The date, 27th May 1887; the setting, the Tithe riots - large mobs of ... again in any part of England or Wales, to sell for tithes. ...
www.geograph.org.uk/photo/366183 - Cached - Similar

In conclusion, North East Wales has some great examples for Gwaith Hanes Goch Cymru, Commemorative events and memorials and maybe for real some true radical Socialist Republican Rallies maybe, time to put aside Medieval Princes and focus more on Peasant and Workers struggles as some what closer to our times and more pertinent to popular struggle today.

Some associated music:

1. Dawson Smith.com - The Cordell Collection

   Rape Of The Fair Country was followed by Hosts Of Rebecca, which is set in mid Wales during the Rebecca tollgate riots, and later by Song Of The Earth, ...
   www.dawsonsmith.com/dawson/cordell_info.html - Cached - Similar
2. Carreg Ddu - Inspirational Music from Wales

   Weary Soldiers/Rebecca's Soldiers: The Rebecca Riots took place between 1839 and 1842 in South and Mid Wales. They were a protest by rural folk against the ...
   www.carregddu.co.uk/songs.html - Cached

See following, amazing?

YouTube - Rebecca Riots

Named after an mid-19th century uprising against the British government in South Wales, the Rebecca Riots is an acoustic folk trio from Berkeley, CA.
www.youtube.com/artist?a...feature=watch_video_title - Cached

Also on line: The Scotch Cattle and the Battle of Llanilleth/Crumlin. Plus continuing my 'Land and Liberty Campaign with a feature on the Dukes of Beaufort and Sir Joseph Bailey, English Lords 'Conquistadores' of the Reformation and of the Industrial Revolution. Complete with some Red Pitchfork Flag photos on Mynydd Llangynider. In a day or two or three?

Gethin Gruffydd.