<P> The Southern bread riots were events of civil unrest in the Confederacy, perpetrated mostly by women in March and April 1863 . During these riots, which occurred in cities throughout the South, women and men violently invaded and looted various shops and stores . </P> <P> The riots were triggered by the women's lack of money, provisions, and food . All were the result of multiple factors: </P> <Ul> <Li> Inflation had soared and incomes had not . </Li> <Li> Refugees had flooded the cities causing severe shortages of housing and overwhelming the old food supply system . Richmond tripled from 38,000 people in 1860 to over 100,000 by 1863 . </Li> <Li> Food supplies in rural areas were running short and less was exported to cities; foraging armies, both Union and Confederate, ravaged crops and killed farm animals . </Li> <Li> Many cities--especially Richmond--were at the end of long supply lines, and internal transportation became increasingly difficult . </Li> <Li> The drought of 1862 created a poor harvest that did not yield enough in a time when food was already scarce . </Li> <Li> Salt, which at the time was the only practical meat preservative, was very expensive (if available at all) because it was generally an imported item . The Union blockade prevented imports, and the capture of Avery Island, with its salt - mine, exacerbated the problem . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Inflation had soared and incomes had not . </Li>

What caused the bread riots in richmond in 1863