Large groups of women petitioned Parliament at Westminster for peace during August 1643 as war disrupted households, food supplies and employment. A demonstration on 9 August became violent when soldiers dispersed the crowd with gunfire. Several women were killed and many were arrested or imprisoned.

The protest revealed women's active participation in the petitioning and print culture of the war. Pamphlets often mocked female political speech, but the women's own appeals articulated suffering, household authority and a claim to public judgement.