Exactly 500 years ago this month, the apprentices of London rose up, angry with Flemish immigrants and the bankers of Lombard Street. The race riot was quelled only when a couple of dukes sent in their private armies. Hundreds of looters were arrested and some were hanged, drawn and quartered. But some rioters were as young as 13 and the city’s residents felt sorry for them.
Henry VIII wanted to look magnanimous, but not weak. And so, at the trial in Westminster Hall on 7 May, Cardinal Wolsey first asked for mercy on the youngsters’ behalf. He was refused.
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