Fear and frustration – the Liverpool cholera riots of 1832

Public mistrust in the medical profession is not new. We describe a series of street riots that took place in the city of Liverpool in north-west England in 1832 during a cholera epidemic. The disturbances were directed primarily against the local medical fraternity. The episode is of interest, since the same city has experienced  similar crises of confidence between doctors and public in the fields of end of life care, unconsented organ retention and the management of other pandemic outbreaks.