In light of many mass uprisings over the last decade political theorists are increasingly questioning the illegitimacy of the riot. In this discussion, Jonathan Havercroft asks a more fundamental question: how did rioting become illegitimate? Using a genealogical approach, he traces the emergence of what he calls the riot taboo—the idea that riots, because they are violent protests, are illegitimate—from 16th century England to the present. He focuses on four discrete moments: 1. Early articulations of riot in English common law from 1500-1700; 2. The passage of the Riot Act in 1715 3.