In 1629, 'Captain' Ann Carter of Maldon was hanged for her part in the Maldon grain riots of that year.

Riot and rebellion is not new to our country – we have a long history of violent protest and riots.

Yet finding a woman who led such events in centuries past is not so usual.

An economic depression had hit the Essex cloth trade, leading to widespread hardship and discontent. The decline in cloth exports meant that food which might have been purchased locally was exported at higher prices, and the loss of employment in the cloth trade reduced people's purchasing power at the same time.

Two major riots occurred in or near Maldon in 1629, both involving a woman called Ann Carter, the wife of a butcher, born and married in the town.

In the first riot, 100 women and children stormed a Flemish ship at "Burrow Hills" (probably Barrow Hill in Goldhanger) and filled their caps with grain. The authorities did not aggressively pursue the

culprits, only targeting a handful already known for their outspoken behaviour.

One of these was Ann. In an age where women were seen as not being capable of independent thought and actions, the law often left them alone, but Ann Carter had already made herself stand out. She had crossed swords with a magistrate in 1622, calling him a "bloud sucker". She had also in 1624 defended her husband with a cudgel against an attempted arrest.

But it's the second riot in 1629 where Ann really came into her own.

Between 200 and 300 men and women boarded a ship loaded with grain at Mill Beach, taking some of the cargo and distributing it to local hungry families. Ann coordinated it, calling herself 'Captain' in letters to neighbouring communities and using one John Gardner, a baker, as her secretary. The crew of the ship was assaulted according to one source, though another says they were sympathetic and actively co-operated.

Co-ordinated action on this scale could not be ignored by the authorities, and a special commission was set up to catch and prosecute the offenders.

Only eight people were tried, as courts preferred to make an example of a few rather than carry out mass punishments. Of these, five were hanged, including Ann Carter.

She was the only woman so punished, and the story goes that she refused to hide behind her sex and made it clear that she was an active participant - the 'Captain' - rather than a misled follower.