.Contents : 1. The politics of riot. -- 2. Devon's classic food riots. -- 3. Manchester, a town of strangers. -- 4. Cavalry and soup kitchens. -- 5. Entrepreneurial politics. -- 6. The mobilization of the weavers. -- 7. Reprise: 1812. -- 8. The agrarian equipoise. -- 9. Riots and community politics in historical perspective