LIBERTY AND FRATERNITIES IN THE ENGLISH-REVOLUTION - THE POLITICS OF LONDON ARTISANS PROTESTS, 1635-1659

A series of artisan revolts in the London corporations between 1635 an d 1659 found both radical ideas of individual liberty and the guild et hos of fraternity relevant to their aims. The apparent paradox of demo cratic demands combined with calls for stricter economic regulation ca n be explained only by examining the participants' concrete grievances and specific demands. The protesters were neither rising industrial c apitalists nor a new wage-earning class, but small masters attempting to restrain competition, the use of cheap labour, and the enlargement of enterprises. Their concerns had something in common with those of t he Levellers, but the movements diverged in significant ways.