Who Were the Luddites?
Originating in Nottingham, England, the Luddites remained identified as a group of English textile workers, who opposed societal advancement. Most importantly, Luddism directed hostility toward unemployment, as well as self-indulgent supervisors, who banished a plight of craftsmen from England's finest mills to receive a profit. Moreover, the Luddites held an array of grievances, including low wages, the usage of unapprenticed youth, as well as the existence of "wide frames", which created inexpensive, inferior quality goods. During the time period, the Luddites urged Parliament to establish laws regarding apprenticeship, the inequitable customs enforced by industrial mills, and most importantly the rise of new machines, which disregarded the needs of England's working-class.
The Luddites Take Action
In the seventeenth century, as new machinery arose, the Luddites' working conditions unfortunately declined. Following their opposition of technological advancements, the original Luddites experienced unemployment as well as starvation. Inspired by a will for change, the Luddites roamed throughout the Industrial towns of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, as well as Nottinghamshire, smashing looms, demolishing frames, and burning factories. As a matter of fact, supervisors, who installed the new machines, were unfortunately ambushed, which ultimately instilled fear throughout the Industrial community. Most importantly, in the early eighteen hundreds, the Luddites dismantled approximately one thousand pieces of newly-discovered machinery.
|