While Crawshay was partly blamed for his role in the Rising, the authorities were determined to punish the leaders to show that violence would not be allowed. By 1831, over 30,000 people lived in Merthyr as most people looked for employment in the iron works. Dic, Dic, Oh, Dic Penderyn An innocent man died while hanging. A young man of twenty-three His spirit should now be free. A murder that cost him his life in 1831, a pardon now and history is done. In Parliament, Lord Melbourne, who had advocated severe repression of all popular workers' movements as "unlawful assemblages of armed individuals," declared that South Wales was "the worst and most formidable district in the kingdom." He wrote to a friend that "The affair we had there in 1831 was the most like a fight of anything that took place." Another meeting between a crowd ranging from 12,000–20,000 and the Merthyr protesters was planned at Waun. The authorities decided to pre-empt this massive protest by sending troops.

John, Lucy (14 March 2022). "Merthyr Rising 2022 announces line-up for first time since pandemic". Wales Online . Retrieved 25 March 2022.Despite the difficult conditions, the large community was tight-knit and erudite. The level of general education was pretty high. Most people were bilingual to some extent, with English being the language of officialdom, while Welsh was used in homes, pubs, chapels and the streets. The main leader of the Rising, Lewis Lewis, was familiar enough in English to use it to insult an army captain during a confrontation. The Rising’s most-famous martyr, Dic Penderyn, was definitely educated, given the high-quality Welsh of the letter he wrote to his sister from prison. Merthyr also boasted a vibrant local culture of music, poetry and dance, culminating in the annual eisteddfod festival, which was taken very seriously. And even before legal union lodges made their way to south Wales, the Merthyr workers were renowned for their capacity for self-organisation, meeting attempts to cut wages or raise the prices of essentials with fierce collective resistance. In the 1810s and 20s, there were food revolts and strikes in Merthyr in which colliers and miners naturally assumed a leading role. This was a town destined to play an important early role in the British working-class struggle. The middle classes These displays of wealth of the ironmasters reflected the divide between the situations of the working class and the wealthy middle class. The town was enraged by this action, coupled with the grievances experienced by the people of Merthyr. However, the skilled labour required for ironworking and mining meant people often earned more money than, say, English factory hands. The parish records from before the Rising describe 35 percent of the population as “skilled workers” (as opposed to rural labourers, for example). In periods of boom, mines and colliers could earn 22 to 24 shillings a week, and puddlers up to 60 shillings – several times what a farmhand or factory worker would normally get. But theirs was a very precarious existence. During slumps (which occurred every few years), wage cuts of 40 percent were expected. Working-class families would thus be plunged immediately into debt and unemployment, made worse by the inflation of food prices that always accompanied these slumps. Starvation would then take a scythe to the population.

The crowd eventually dispersed when the soldiers violently responded, killing three of the crowd instantly when they opened fire from the windows of the Inn. Sixteen soldiers were wounded and about 24 of the crowd were killed (actual number remains unknown). of rebellion, the first time it was to be so used in Britain. On its staff was impaled a loaf of bread, the symbol of the needs of the marchers. It had a magical effect. The ‘Violent Man’ in question was Lewis Lewis. The letter warned of “ten times the number of Soldiers to protect us and our Property as were here Yesterday, and we implore you to consider the fatal effects of continuing your present unlawful proceedings…. Return to your Work and put an end to this dreadful state of things, which must and will be worse every hour it continues. YOUR FRIENDS AND MASTERS.” The following morning, crowds gathered in Cefyn in Cyfarthfa; and at the Castle Inn in Merthyr town, to draw up plans. Bands of men with banners calling for Reform marched from house to house, demanding the location of goods taken through the Court of Requests, so they might be returned to their original owners. Hundreds of houses faced this treatment, which was not always carried out politely – especially where the haughty shopkeepers were concerned. The industrialisation across England and Wales that occurred from the late 18th century brought about the rapid development of large industrial towns from the once small rural villages. Areas like Merthyr Tydfil in Wales were industrialised as coal and iron became available. Merthyr’s population increased faster than other Welsh towns.On Friday, the 5th of August, Lewis Lewis received a reprieve, together with a notification that his punishment was commuted to transportation for fourteen years (an arrangement which was also at the same time made in the cases of Hughes, Vaughan and Thomas) and on the same day a respite for Richard Lewis for a fortnight was transmitted to the sheriff. When the trial ended, petitions for mercy were sent but the Home Secretary Lord Melbourne decided to make an example of Richard Lewis to discourage dissent.

It is recorded that the last words spoken by Richard Lewis on the scaffold were "O Arglwydd, dyma gamwedd" (Oh Lord, what an injustice).There was no clear leadership to speak of, though some of those present (including Lewis Lewis) were known agitators with authority amongst the working class. A four-point programme was advanced and broadly agreed upon: Reddebrek (31 March 2015). "1831: the Merthyr Rising and Dic Penderyn". LibCom . Retrieved 25 March 2022.

The economic depression was fuelled by a fall in the demand for iron in 1829 and lasted for three years, heavily affecting the iron industry. The fact that Penderyn only became a legend after his execution actually helps explain his significance. He was an empty vessel into which a working class, that was just stirring to life as a political force, poured all its aspirations and grievances. He became a champion of the voiceless and downtrodden. Of a class whose strength arises, not from the talents or intellect of this or that individual, but from its collective power. For that reason, the Merthyr Rising and Dic Penderyn deserve their place alongside the Tolpuddle Martyrs, the Communards, the revolutionary Russian workers and all the other class fighters who risked life and limb in the fight for a decent existence. The house of Joseph Coffin, the President of the Court of Requests, became the target of the crowd. The crowd stormed the house, destroying the records of people’s debts. Merthyr had no representation in Parliament, unlike rotten boroughs that still existed. The workers in the town wanted a representation to improve their living conditions. The industrialists also supported the reform campaign that was dominating British politics at the time.Houses were of poor quality and were built of sandstone, which let in the damp and resulted in respiratory problems. Gweithiwr yn y gweithfeydd haearn oedd Die Ond aeth ar streic un diwrnod, Doedd neb yn hapus gyda'r amodau gwaith, Ac nid oedd pawb mewn undod. Gwyn A Williams (1959). "The Merthyr Riots: Settling the Account". National Library of Wales Journal. XI (2): 124 . Retrieved 2021-08-12.