---
title: "Hunger Strikes in European History"
description: "Hunger strikes were nonviolent protests, used by British suffragettes to demand voting rights and expose prison abuse in European History, 1890 to 1945."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/europe-1890-1945/key-terms/hunger-strikes"
type: "key-term"
subject: "European History – 1890 to 1945"
unit: "Unit 2"
---

# Hunger Strikes in European History

## Definition

Hunger strikes are protests where people refuse food to force attention to a cause. In European History, 1890 to 1945, they are most often tied to British suffragettes and prison-based protest.

## What It Is

Hunger strikes are a form of nonviolent protest in which someone deliberately refuses to eat to pressure authorities, win publicity, or expose unfair treatment. In European History, 1890 to 1945, the term comes up most clearly in the British women’s suffrage movement, where imprisoned activists used self-starvation to protest being treated like criminals instead of political campaigners.

The tactic became especially visible in the early 1900s, when suffragettes were being arrested for disruptive public campaigning. Once inside prison, they could not march, speak at rallies, or distribute leaflets, so refusing food became one of the few ways to keep resisting. The hunger strike turned the prison cell into a political stage. It also forced the government to choose between letting the protest continue or intervening in a way that could look brutal.

That is why hunger strikes mattered beyond the individual protestor. They were designed to create a moral problem for the state. If officials ignored the strikers, they looked indifferent to suffering. If they responded with force-feeding, they risked public backlash because the procedure could be painful, degrading, and dangerous. For suffragettes, that publicity was part of the strategy.

The first major suffrage-related hunger strike happened in 1909, which helps place the tactic in the more militant wing of the movement. Emmeline Pankhurst and the Women’s Social and Political Union are the names most closely tied to this approach. Their supporters wanted more than polite appeals, and hunger strikes fit that sharper style of activism.

In class, this term usually shows up as part of a larger discussion of civil disobedience, prison activism, and the split between moderate and militant reform movements. It is not just about refusing food. It is about how protest, media attention, and state power collided in early 20th-century Europe.

## Why It Matters

Hunger strikes help explain how suffrage activism in Britain moved from petitioning and persuasion into direct confrontation. They show that the women’s rights movement was not a single unified campaign, but a mix of moderate constitutional pressure and more militant tactics designed to embarrass the government into action.

For European History, 1890 to 1945, the term is useful because it connects gender politics, state repression, and public opinion. A hunger strike only works if the authorities care enough to react and the public cares enough to watch. That makes it a great example of how social movements use media visibility as part of their strategy.

It also shows the limits of liberal states when faced with protest. Britain still claimed to be a constitutional democracy, but the treatment of suffragettes in prison, especially force-feeding, exposed how harsh the system could become when challenged. That contrast is the historical point students often need to explain.

Finally, hunger strikes give you a concrete way to write about the suffrage movement without making it sound abstract. Instead of saying women simply “fought for rights,” you can describe the exact tactic, the state response, and the political effect.

## Connections

### Suffragette

Hunger strikes are most closely linked to suffragettes, especially the militant British activists who used dramatic tactics to demand the vote. If you see the term in this course, it usually points to women who were willing to risk arrest, imprisonment, and bodily harm to pressure the government. That connection makes the tactic part of a broader suffrage strategy, not a separate event.

### Civil disobedience

Hunger strikes are a form of civil disobedience because they deliberately break the expected rules of obedience without using armed violence. In this period, the tactic fit campaigns that wanted to create moral pressure rather than seize power directly. It is useful to compare with marches, window smashing, and public speeches, since all of them aimed at visibility in different ways.

### Prison activism

Hunger strikes became especially powerful once activists were jailed, because prison removed many normal protest options. Refusing food let prisoners keep resisting from inside the system that was trying to silence them. In European history, this helps you see the prison not just as punishment, but as another site of political struggle.

### [Cat and Mouse Act](/europe-1890-1945/key-terms/cat-and-mouse-act)

The Cat and Mouse Act is closely connected because it was one response to suffragette hunger strikes. Authorities tried to release weakened strikers and then re-arrest them after recovery, which showed how seriously the state took the tactic. If you know both terms, you can explain the back-and-forth between protestors and the government.

## On the AP Exam

A short-answer question may ask you to identify hunger strikes as a suffrage tactic or explain why the British government feared them. In a document-based or passage analysis, look for language about imprisonment, force-feeding, publicity, or women refusing food as a way to expose injustice. In an essay, you can use the term to show how militant suffragettes pushed the women’s movement beyond peaceful lobbying. If a prompt asks how reformers pressured governments in early 20th-century Europe, hunger strikes make a strong example because they link protest, media attention, and state response in one clear case.

## hunger strikes vs Civil disobedience

Civil disobedience is the broader category, while a hunger strike is one specific tactic within it. Not every act of civil disobedience involves self-starvation, but every hunger strike in this course is a deliberate refusal to eat as political protest. If a question asks for the exact method, choose hunger strike. If it asks for the larger strategy of nonviolent law-breaking, civil disobedience is the better term.

## Key Takeaways

- Hunger strikes are nonviolent protests in which activists refuse food to pressure authorities and attract public attention.
- In European History, 1890 to 1945, the term is most closely tied to British suffragettes and the fight for women’s voting rights.
- The tactic became visible in prison, where women used their own bodies to keep protesting after arrest.
- Force-feeding and government responses like the Cat and Mouse Act show how seriously authorities treated the tactic.
- Hunger strikes are best understood as part of civil disobedience, prison activism, and the militant side of the suffrage movement.

## FAQs

### What is hunger strikes in European History, 1890 to 1945?

Hunger strikes are protests where people refuse to eat to pressure a government or expose injustice. In this course, they are most often connected to British suffragettes who used them while imprisoned for demanding women’s voting rights. The tactic turned the protestor’s body into the message.

### Why did suffragettes use hunger strikes?

Suffragettes used hunger strikes to keep resisting after arrest and to draw attention to harsh prison treatment. They wanted the government to see them as political activists, not ordinary criminals. The tactic also created public pressure when authorities responded with force-feeding or other punitive measures.

### Is a hunger strike the same as civil disobedience?

Not exactly. Civil disobedience is the larger category of intentionally breaking rules or laws to make a political point, while a hunger strike is one specific method. You can think of hunger strikes as a dramatic form of civil disobedience that works especially well when activists are already in prison or otherwise silenced.

### What happened to women who went on hunger strikes in prison?

Many were force-fed, which could be painful and dangerous. That response often backfired for the government because it made the women’s suffering visible and gave the suffrage movement more sympathy. The clash between protest and punishment is a big reason the tactic stands out in this period.

## Related Study Guides

- [2.4 Women's Rights and Suffrage Movements](/europe-1890-1945/unit-2/womens-rights-suffrage-movements/study-guide/lGN8pECdXALHSlAd)

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