Evil May Day

Beginning of the Riot in Cheapside

Evil May Day or Ill May Day is the name of a xenophobic riot which took place on 1 May 1517 as a protest against foreigners (called "strangers"[1]) living in London. Apprentices attacked foreign residents ranging from "Flemish cobblers" to "French royal courtiers".[2] Some of the rioters were later hanged,[3] although King Henry VIII granted a pardon for the remainder following public pleadings from his wife Catherine of Aragon.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Jones was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Our Migration Story: The Making of Britain". www.ourmigrationstory.org.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  3. ^ John D. Bareham Tudor History, The Mastermind Quiz Book (Editor: Richard Morgale)
  4. ^ Sybil M. Jack, ‘Wolsey, Thomas (1470/71–1530)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2012.