The Luddites (1811-1816)
The Luddite Movement came about during the onset of the industrial revolution, in the early Nineteenth Century. The Luddites were groups of discontented skilled workers, who set about destroying new machinery, which they perceived to be a threat to their livelihood. During the years the Luddites were active, thousands upon thousands of pieces of industrial machinery was destroyed. The government eventually succeeded in suppressing the Luddites with a series of legislation that prohibited the malicious damage of factory machinery. This culminated in the introduction of ‘The Frame Breaking Act’ of 1812, which made the destruction of factory machinery a capital offence.
The industrial revolution brought about the mechanisation of many jobs that had previously been carried out by skilled artisans. The land closures had caused a surplus of unskilled labour, where people who could no longer make a living from the land, sought alternative employment in the factories and mills of the growing towns. Consequently, production became faster and cheaper, and the skills and the wages of the skilled workers were seriously undermined. At the same time, Britain was suffering from a harsh economic climate. The Napoleonic wars, and a series of bad harvests, increased the cost of living. Unemployment meant destitution and starvation for many families, and even before the Luddites began their own violent campaign there had already been many aggravated protests; such as the food riots in northern England.
The Luddite movement began in Arnold in Nottingham on 11 March 1811, amongst the framework knitters (or stockingers). They were mainly outworkers who produced cloth on handlooms in their homes, and they were paid piece work. They managed to maintain a modest standard of living that was bolstered by other forms of subsistence, such as a small vegetable garden. They had strong community bonds, which adhered to an ethic of mutual help. The new, large mechanised innovations threatened their whole way of life, and without the structure of a union, machine-breaking was the only way the workers could exert any power over their employers. The Luddites took their name from a Ned Ludd, allegedly an apprentice who smashed two stocking frames in 1779. This is thought to be a wholly fictitious creation, however. Over time, the character gained mythological stature as ‘General Ludd’ or ‘King Ludd’, leader of the Luddites, who apparently shared the same habitat as Robin Hood - Sherwood Forest.
Over the following two years, Luddite activity quickly spread further afield, throughout the regions of West Riding, and then Lancashire by March 1813. The Luddites would ask their employers to remove the new machinery, and if they did not comply the Luddites would then destroy it in nocturnal raids. They smashed stocking frames and cropping frames. Hand loom weavers burned mills and factory equipment. Textile workers destroyed industrial equipment. Death threats were sent to magistrates and food merchants.
The recent French Revolution was a warning to all of the power of the lower classes if they were united in their cause. The British Government was quick to clamp down on any signs of revolutionary activity, and they did their utmost to suppress the Luddite Movement. The British army was brought in on several occasions to quell Luddite attacks. In an attack on Cartwright mill in Yorkshire over 60 men were charged and arrested. Some were merely bystanders and were not involved. Even though there was little evidence, the subsequent trial was meant as a warning to deter others, and harsh punishments were given.
In Feb 1812, the Government passed ‘The Frame Breaking Act’. Apart from penal transportation to Australia, this Act specifically introduced the death penalty. It is during the Parliamentary debates concerning this that Lord Byron, a Nottinghamshire landowner himself, made his famous speech in defence of the Luddites:
‘I have been in some of the most oppressed provinces of Turkey but never, under the most despotic of infidel governments, did I behold such squalid wretchedness as I have seen since my return, in the very heart of a Christian country.’
[The full text of Byron’s speech can be read by following this link]
The Government eventually managed to suppress the Luddite Movement. Organised attacks, apart from sporadic outbreaks had fizzled out by the end of 1816. Perhaps the Luddites were effective for a while in that the mill owners delayed the installation of new mechanisation, and wage levels were maintained. But, in the end, the march of progress could not be halted. In the ensuing years the factory system with all its horrors fledged into the titan force it was destined to become, subjecting thousands of men, women and children to horrendous working conditions, long hours and poor pay.
Nowadays, the term ‘Luddite’ is used to mean one who is opposed to the advancement of technology.
The industrial revolution brought about the mechanisation of many jobs that had previously been carried out by skilled artisans. The land closures had caused a surplus of unskilled labour, where people who could no longer make a living from the land, sought alternative employment in the factories and mills of the growing towns. Consequently, production became faster and cheaper, and the skills and the wages of the skilled workers were seriously undermined. At the same time, Britain was suffering from a harsh economic climate. The Napoleonic wars, and a series of bad harvests, increased the cost of living. Unemployment meant destitution and starvation for many families, and even before the Luddites began their own violent campaign there had already been many aggravated protests; such as the food riots in northern England.
The Luddite movement began in Arnold in Nottingham on 11 March 1811, amongst the framework knitters (or stockingers). They were mainly outworkers who produced cloth on handlooms in their homes, and they were paid piece work. They managed to maintain a modest standard of living that was bolstered by other forms of subsistence, such as a small vegetable garden. They had strong community bonds, which adhered to an ethic of mutual help. The new, large mechanised innovations threatened their whole way of life, and without the structure of a union, machine-breaking was the only way the workers could exert any power over their employers. The Luddites took their name from a Ned Ludd, allegedly an apprentice who smashed two stocking frames in 1779. This is thought to be a wholly fictitious creation, however. Over time, the character gained mythological stature as ‘General Ludd’ or ‘King Ludd’, leader of the Luddites, who apparently shared the same habitat as Robin Hood - Sherwood Forest.
Over the following two years, Luddite activity quickly spread further afield, throughout the regions of West Riding, and then Lancashire by March 1813. The Luddites would ask their employers to remove the new machinery, and if they did not comply the Luddites would then destroy it in nocturnal raids. They smashed stocking frames and cropping frames. Hand loom weavers burned mills and factory equipment. Textile workers destroyed industrial equipment. Death threats were sent to magistrates and food merchants.
The recent French Revolution was a warning to all of the power of the lower classes if they were united in their cause. The British Government was quick to clamp down on any signs of revolutionary activity, and they did their utmost to suppress the Luddite Movement. The British army was brought in on several occasions to quell Luddite attacks. In an attack on Cartwright mill in Yorkshire over 60 men were charged and arrested. Some were merely bystanders and were not involved. Even though there was little evidence, the subsequent trial was meant as a warning to deter others, and harsh punishments were given.
In Feb 1812, the Government passed ‘The Frame Breaking Act’. Apart from penal transportation to Australia, this Act specifically introduced the death penalty. It is during the Parliamentary debates concerning this that Lord Byron, a Nottinghamshire landowner himself, made his famous speech in defence of the Luddites:
‘I have been in some of the most oppressed provinces of Turkey but never, under the most despotic of infidel governments, did I behold such squalid wretchedness as I have seen since my return, in the very heart of a Christian country.’
[The full text of Byron’s speech can be read by following this link]
The Government eventually managed to suppress the Luddite Movement. Organised attacks, apart from sporadic outbreaks had fizzled out by the end of 1816. Perhaps the Luddites were effective for a while in that the mill owners delayed the installation of new mechanisation, and wage levels were maintained. But, in the end, the march of progress could not be halted. In the ensuing years the factory system with all its horrors fledged into the titan force it was destined to become, subjecting thousands of men, women and children to horrendous working conditions, long hours and poor pay.
Nowadays, the term ‘Luddite’ is used to mean one who is opposed to the advancement of technology.
