Reevaluating William Ward’s (1769–1823) Early Radicalism
An Archival Assessment of the 1797 Thelwall Riot in Derby and the Parties Responsible
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21411486 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gabrielle Adams (0000-0002-9230-214X, William Carey University, corresponding author), G Landon Adams (William Carey University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 25-35 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-02 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Midland History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0047-729X • E-ISSN: 1756-381X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0047729x.2025.2462028 |
| OpenAlex | W4408132327 |
| Language | EN |
William Ward (1769–1823) is best known as a Baptist missionary who printed the Bible into multiple Indian languages alongside the pioneering BMS missionary William Carey (1761–1834). In recent years, several researchers have fixated upon Ward’s early sociopolitical radicalism and reform. The most extreme event attributed to Ward’s radicalism has been the John Thelwall riot in Derby at the Particular Baptist chapel in 1797. This paper argues that William Ward was not involved in hosting Thelwall’s lectures in Derby. Instead, Archer Ward (1744–1800) was the Baptist host for the radical Thelwall. Based on BMS archival material, newspaper data and the eyewitness testimony of Peter Crompton (1765–1833), this paper’s central thesis is that there has been a longstanding case of mistaken identity between William Ward and Archer Ward
Criminology · Media studies · Political radicalism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · History · Law · Psychology
| Highly cited | No |
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