1831 'considered the first incident of organised workers' unrest against low wages etc . . . in the world'. Not true; there are numerous examples before 1831, not least the riots in Merthyr in 1800 and 1816 and the South Wales coalfield strike of 1822, not to mention many cases in England.
What happened to Dic Penderyn 'went on to influence the rise of the trade union movement and the Chartists'. Not true; trade unionism and Chartism were British movements that had their beginnings long before 1831. Many trade unionists and Chartists would never have heard of Dic Penderyn. It is therefore quite wrong to talk about 'his legacy'.
Merthyr's political history is of Welsh national importance and to some extent of British importance too. Therefore it is all the more important to get it right. To understand that history it is valuable to remember that there was no more violence in Merthyr after 1831 and that Merthyr's most famous MPs - Henry Richard and Keir Hardie - were both pacifists.
My personal interpretation of 1831, for which there is much evidence, is that it was the first example of what a few years later became known as 'Physical Force Chartism'. The insurrection in 1831 was about REFORM so that life would be better. It therefore pre-dates and is more significant than the 1839 march on Newport.
Joe England
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