The ‘last’ food riots. Food riots in the 1850’s in Flanders: a case-study of Sint-Niklaas

The food crises of the mid-nineteenth century entailed a last wave of food riots across Western Europe. In this article two aspects of food riots during the dearth crisis of the 1850’s in the Belgian provinces of East- and West-Flanders are explored. Firstly, it examines the occurrence of food riots as a response to an absence of governmental intervention. Secondly, it looks at the extent to which the riots resembled the classic food riot. Based on evidence from the case study of the town of Sint-Niklaas, the article concludes that riots indeed responded to an absent government, and that they resembled typical food riots. However, the food riots of the 1850’s bear new elements as well.