Peterloo Massacre, the name given to an incident that occurred August 16, 1819, at Manchester, England. A gathering of workers and their families, numbering about 60,000 persons, met at St. Peter's Field to declare their support for electoral reform and opposition to the Corn Laws. A body of troops charged into the crowd, killing 11 and wounding about 500. The incident aroused public indignation, but the government endorsed the action and placed further restrictions on public assembly.
The name Peterloo was given scornfully in comparing the massacre to the Battle of Waterloo.
