In contrast to the Hammond's 1911 analysis of the events, the historian G. E. Mingay noted in his 1997 book that when the Swing riots broke out in 1830, the heavily-enclosed Midlands remained almost entirely quiet, but the riots were concentrated in the southern and south-eastern counties, little affected by enclosure. Some historians have posited a reason for this, for example in the West Midlands, the rapid expansion of the Potteries, and the coal and iron industries provided an alternative range of employment to agricultural workers.