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Duration 24:14

Sedition, transportation and treason: the case of the London Corresponding Society

How did a small group of men discussing democracy in the coffee houses of London of 1792 lead to one of the most sensational treason trials of the eighteenth century?

Using newly catalogued Home Office correspondence Chris Barnes explores just how dangerous the activities of these ‘Democrats’ were, why these few working class Londoners were so feared and the suppression tactics employed by the Government, including detailed surveillance, undercover secret agents, the interception of mail and entrapment.