The riots ceased prior to 1844 due to several factors, including increased troop levels, a desire by the protestors to avoid violence, and the appearance of criminal groups using the guise of the biblical character Rebecca for their own purposes.

[3] In 1837 and 1838 the whole country suffered from poor harvests, worse in the south west, where atrocious seasons of rain forced farmers to buy corn at famine prices to feed themselves, their animals and their families, which further eroded what little capital they had.

[3] In 1842, the harvest was one of the most successful in years, and that, combined with the contraction in demand from the Glamorgan ironworks, led to a slump in corn prices.

[3] The farmers' economic position had therefore shifted from that of dire grain harvests with life supported by sheep and butter sales, to one where the price of their corn, when the weather was favourable, was very low.

The diminution of the Glamorgan ironworks, coupled with the new tariff, also had an adverse effect on the prices of butter, cheese, pigs, horses, sheep and lean cattle, impacting harshly on the Welsh pastoral farmer.

[4] These side-bars dramatically increased the cost of farmers' carting lime to their fields to fertilize or to reduce acidity in the soil.

Although this precedes the economic events of 1842, the early appearances of Rebecca were sporadic isolated outbursts, with the true body of rioting not beginning until the winter of 1842.

[7] The accepted leader of the first protests, Thomas Rees (Twm Carnabwth), wore women's clothes when leading attacks.

[8] Local records do not bear this out—and the wearing of women's clothes was an established part of traditional Welsh justice (the Ceffyl Pren, 'wooden horse'), of which Twm Carnabwth is remembered as a notoriously enthusiastic participant.

[9] The Ceffyl Pren bears many similarities to the Rebeccas, with men wearing female clothing, blackening their faces and conducting mock trials; and was on a significant increase in the late 1830s in Wales.

[7] The Ceffyl Pren was a way of frightening and punishing members of a community, of whom wrongdoing was suspected, but little will or evidence existed to bring the person to justice.

[7] Other examples of rebels cross-dressing, destroying toll booths, and adopting shared pseudonyms can be found in British history going back at least as far as the Western Rising.

[12] The next time the Rebeccas assembled was roughly three years later, when Tom Bullin was allowed to raise a toll-gate by the Mermaid Tavern near St Clears.

[15] The riots resulted in at least one murder, in the small village of Hendy on 7 September 1843, in which a young woman and gate keeper named Sarah Williams was killed.

Another major factor that saw the riots reduce were the activities of a group of petty criminals masquerading as Rebecca operating from Five Roads near Llanelli.

This group, led by known trouble-maker John Jones (Shoni Sguborfawr) and his associate David Davies (Dai'r Cantwr), who were eventually convicted and transported to Australia,[19] turned more respectable people away from Rebecca.

Although Rebecca had failed to produce an immediate effect on the lives of the farmers she had sought to serve, the very nature of a leaderless uprising of the downtrodden peasantry in an attempt to obtain justice from an unfair system, was an important socio-political event within Wales.

These included opposition to the privatisation of salmon reserves on the River Wye in the 1860s and 70s, which became known as 'the second Rebecca riots', and the formation in the 1970s of the radical arts collective known as the Beca group.

[20] As late as December 1910, the historic horn used to gather the Rebeccaites was sounded during the general election campaign to signify the arrival of the car carrying Liberal candidate John Hinds for a meeting at Bethania Chapel, Talog.

In April 1978 the rights were purchased by a local body called the Rebecca Trust, which continued to levy a 5p toll per vehicle for 25 years.

ISBN 1870206436 The Rebecca Riots play an important part in the plot of the novel The Sheep-stealers by Violet Jacob, first published in 1902.

Her story is told from the perspective of residents of one small community but references the poverty, violence and punishments associated with this movement.

[23] The name Rebecca is also mentioned in the context of the Merthyr Rising of 1831 in the song "Ironmasters" by the British folkpunk band The Men They Couldn't Hang on their album Night of a Thousand Candles.