1766 was a bad year for farmers in Europe. As crops failed across the continent, prices of foodstuffs such as wheat, flour, corn skyrocketed. This sparked protests everywhere, and there were food riots in England, where people seized goods by force.
But despite this turmoil happening in the country, the annual Nottingham Goose Fair, which was famous for its excellent cheese, still was held on October 2 that year. The annual livestock and trade event on Old Market Square always attracted thousands of merchants, traders, peasants, and geese farmers from all over the country. This year wasn’t so different, it seemed, until the cheese was brought out to the market at nearly twice its usual price.
The locals became angry at the excessive price because it put the cheese beyond their reach. The day progressed without disturbance, but in the evening events apparently became tense when ‘some rude lads’ intercepted several Lincolnshire traders who had purchased several hundred pounds of cheese. The lads threatened the traders that they could not take the cheese away until the town was served first. An altercation followed. Eventually violence broke out, and the mob started looting hundreds of wheels of cheese and rolled them away.
Learn more about the Nottingham Cheese Riot over at Amusing Planet.
(Image Credit: Jon Sullivan/ Wikimedia Commons)