Rumour, Riots, Feasts and Famines

Abstract

“Rumour, Riots, Feast and Famine”, explores the relationship between rumour and crowd activity. Many crowd disturbances took place in market places or in bread queues: the combination of large numbers of people, anxious about the provision—or lack—of food, drawn together because of rumours about shortages or plenty, allows scope for the examination of crowd behaviour and the authorities’ understanding of it. It also reveals common prejudices and fears: about hoarding, about elite corruption, and about other food-related tropes, such as rumoured plots to starve or to poison the capital. Concerns about food were rarely absent from popular discussions and, because of the increasing politicisation of the public, these concerns reflected larger political questions about Revolutionary integrity.