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The Chartists and the Newport Rising On a cold, wet November night in 1839, crowds of people gathered on the hillsides of Monmouthshire in south east Wales. Some were scared stiff, others were in the mood for fighting, and some were just plain drunk. All of them, due to the heavy downpour of rain, were soaked. They were waiting to march to Newport and before the end of the next day, 30 of them would be dead. These people were known as Chartists. The Chartists were named after the Peoples Charter. The Charter said that all people had to obey the law. But the law was made by Members of Parliament who were voted into power by very few people who got the vote because they owned land and property. The laws made by the M.P.s were made to suit the landowners and not the rest of the people. This, said the Chartists, was unfair. In Wales at this time only 15% of males (1 man in 7) had the vote. Women were not allowed to vote.
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