brutally in what became known as the Peterloo* Massacre and the rights they demanded were denied by the Six Acts, passed by Parliament the same year. These extended the restrictions on political activity introduced in the two Combination Acts of . But there were some gains. After Peterloo, the need to make the House of Commons more representative was recognised by liberal political groups, and the Combination Acts were repealed in - .
*This name was made up to rhyme with ‘Waterloo’; the French army had been defeated at Waterloo in . T HE I NDUSTRIAL R EVOLUTION T HEMES IN W ORLD H ISTORY