Palingoproer

The riots started when the police tried to thwart playing the forbidden game of eel pulling on the Lindengracht.

The players had to sail underneath in boats and try to grab the slippery eel, with the risk of ending up in the water.

On Sunday 25 July 1886 a game of eel-pulling had started on the Lindengracht, which had not yet been filled in, when the police intervened.

[1] The police acted harshly, but only managed to restore order at 10 that night, when most people went home.

According to The New Guide of January 1887, a sack race had been organized the previous Sunday, which the police had turned a blind eye to.