A Special Métier

In mid-October 1737 Cornish tin miners rose up in arms to prevent the exportation of corn. Cornish tinners were premier food rioters. 'Foods riots seemed their special métier, perhaps because their isolated semi-rural settlements suffered supply-breakdowns and exploitation by truck shops and corn dealers and also fostered a virile solidarity vis-à-vis their alien neighbours. A miner born in 1725 could have remembered from his boyhood the riots of 1729 and 1737, and could have taken part in riots in 1748, 1757, 1766 and 1773.'

John Bohstedt, The Politics of Provisions. Food Riots, Moral Economy and Market Transition in England....(2010) p 135