In April 1820, a series of dramatic events exploded around Glasgow, central Scotland and Ayrshire. Demanding political reform and better living and working conditions, 60,000 weavers and other workers went on strike. It was the culmination of several years of unrest, which had seen huge mass meetings in Glasgow and Paisley. In Manchester in 1819, in what became known as Peterloo, drunken yeomanry with their sabres drawn infamously rode into a peaceful crowd calling for reform, killing fifteen people and wounding hundreds more.

In 1820, some Scottish Radicals marched under a flag emblazoned with the words ‘Scotland Free, or Scotland a Desart’ [sic]. Others armed themselves and set off for the Carron Ironworks, seeking cannons. Intercepted by Government soldiers, a bloody skirmish took place at Bonnymuir near Falkirk. Aiming to free Radical prisoners, a crowd in Greenock was attacked by the Port Glasgow militia. Eight people were killed and many more wounded. Three Radical leaders were publicly hanged while nineteen of their comrades were transported from Scotland to Australia.

Yet this part of Scottish history has been all but forgotten. One Week in April seeks to bring the Scottish Radicals of 1820 out of the shadows.