John Francis Bray (1809–1897)

The third and fourth decades of the nineteenth century were a period of unprecedented social instability in which a vigorous and increasingly radical working-class movement confronted both the institutions and the ideology of the capitalist order. During the deep depression which followed the peace of 1815 there emerged a great popular movement for political reform, which was halted only temporarily by legal repression and military force. The ideals of democracy and working-class self-government survived Peterloo, and towards the end of the 1820s resurfaced in dozens of local political associations and unions, serviced by a hard-hitting and often illegal (because unstamped) weekly press. The trade unions continued to grow, despite many setbacks and in the face of criminalisation under both the Combination Acts (in force between 1799 and 1825) and the common law. More and more voices were heard urging the formation of a general union bringing together members of all trades and of none. Robert Owen preached socialism to an increasingly receptive audience, proclaiming the virtues of co-operation in place of competition. If his communistic colonies failed, his ideas found a home in the ‘labour exchanges’ or ‘bazaars’ of the early 1830s.