History of London minor crimes. Public hangings were common in London, and were popular public events. In 1780, London was rocked by the Gordon Riots, an uprising by Protestants against Roman Catholic emancipation led by Lord George Gordon. Severe damage was caused to Catholic churches and homes, and 285 rioters were killed. In the year 1787, freed slaves from London, America, and many of Britain's colonies founded Freetown in modern-day Sierra Leone. Up until 1750, London Bridge was the only crossing over the Thames, but in that year Westminster Bridge was opened and, for the first time in history, London Bridge, in a
Catholic Church in Romania took the Transylvanian throne in succession to Zápolya (who had since become King of Hungary). During that age, Catholics were recognized an autonomous structure, which allowed clerics and laity to organize teaching and administrate community schools. A particular compromise was the Saxon citadel of Biertan ("Birthälm"), where the fortified church was taken over by the majority Lutheran community, and Catholic worship was still allowed to take place in the "Catholic Tower", located just south of the religious building. The Counter-Reformation itself had an impact, with members of the Jesuit religious order being called into the region as early as 1579