Porteous riots

Riots in Edinburgh, Scotland on 14 April 1736, after Lieutenant John Porteous, captain of the Edinburgh militia, ordered his men to open fire on a crowd rioting in protest at the execution of smugglers. Six members of the crowd were killed and Porteous was sentenced to death but was later reprieved. The prison in which Porteous was being held was stormed on 8 September by an angry mob which dragged him out and lynched him. The city was fined £2,000 and the Lord Provost was dismissed. As a result of the affair Walpole lost the crucial support of the Duke of Argyll, who led Scottish peers in the House of Lords.