ABSTRACT
The lucifer, because of its effectiveness, portability, and cheapness, liberated would-be protesters at a moment when oppression, hatred, and poverty were most keenly felt. One senses a new spirit of anger and viciousness; crime in all its guises increased, but most notably the protest crimes of arson, animal maiming, the sending of threatening letters, and physical attacks on farmers, poor law officials, and, later, the police. Arson and animal maiming had undoubtedly existed for centuries; it had been legislated against under the Black Act of 1723, and then for the first time. Although more research on the subject is required, it is possible from the commitment figures to identify years when arson reached epidemic proportions. Arson was only the weathercock of rural protest, it was also remarkably persistent. The relationship between arson and animal maiming is an uncertain and complex one, though considerable evidence exists which suggests that arsonists displayed little concern for animal life.
