The Rebecca Riots were a series of disturbances generated by bands of Welshmen who from 1842 to 1844 gave violent expression to the popular demand for the abolition of tolls and turnpike gates. The rioters were dressed in women's clothes, and in allusion to Isaac's bride the leader and his followers were known as 'Rebecca and her daughters'. The rioters destroyed turnpike gates and tollhouses at night, generally without harming the toll keepers, and were very successful. In 1844 Lord Cawdor's Act was passed which amended the turnpike trust laws in South Wales and reduced the burden of the tollgate system. Research Rebecca Riots
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