May Paris 1807 – 1849
The death of the Greenwich Chartist May Paris from Asiatic Cholera at the age of 42 in the summer of
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Women played a far larger part in Chartism than is generally acknowledged. Although the Charter failed to include women in its demand for the vote, many female Chartists were active as speakers, organisers and demonstrators in support of the cause.
It can be difficult to identify many of the women who played their part. Reports in the Chartist press rarely gave their first name – usually they were not more than “Mrs Smith”, or worse, the wife, sister, or daughter of a named male Chartist.
But we know there were large and active female Chartist organisations in London, Birmingham, Yorkshire and elsewhere.
Some did come to prominence as speakers – including Susannah Inge and Mary Ann Walker, whose stories are told here. Helen Macfarlane was a respected journalist writing for the Chartist press.
Others, of course, were not as well known. Many are listed in the Chartist Ancestors Databank, a compilation of more than 10,000 known Chartists.
The death of the Greenwich Chartist May Paris from Asiatic Cholera at the age of 42 in the summer of
Read MoreWhile conservative newspapers invariably tried to belittle and undermine female Chartists, the radical press was often – though not always
Read MoreThis page briefly outlines the political activities in which Chartist women took part, examines the extent of Female Chartist Associations
Read MoreFirst translator of the Communist Manifesto, journalist and internationalist. Few knew her identity at the time, and fewer still remembered
Read MoreMary Ann Walker was a Chartist lecturer who briefly became a media sensation. This is her story. This article forms
Read MoreSusanna Inge came to fame as secretary of the City of London Female Chartist Association, but this was just one
Read MoreThis is the story of the City of London Female Charter Association and of its treatment at the hands of
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