The Luddites

Blackleaf

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Oct 9, 2004
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A child worker at a 19th Century Liverpool cotton spinning mill. Children as young as 9 and 10 worked in British cotton spinning mills during the Victorian era - jobs that were very dangerous and often resulted in the loss of limbs.


England at the Turn of the Century
At the beginning of the 1800's England was still largely an agricultural country. Frank Ongley Durvall in his text, Popular Disturbances and Public Order in Regency England, states that "over half the population [was] living in the country"(12). In London there were over one million dwellers. Nevertheless, this city's population comprised only one-tenth of the entire population of England. Aside from London, most cities and towns contained only several thousand people, where the average household size was between five to six persons.

The transportation of products and people around the nation was limited in part by the fact that the English population was still predominantly dispersed throughout the countryside and that most goods were still being made locally. However another factor that limited transportation was its relative lack of modernization. At the turn of the century England had yet to establish a railroad system. The primary means of shipping goods was either by boat using canals or by horse-drawn cart on roadways. Meanwhile, travelers depended upon either their feet or horse-drawn carriage to get them where ever they wished.

As I briefly mentioned above during this period most industry was located in the country, with the majority of work taking place in the home work-shops of craftsmen. Any manufacturing plants that did exist at that time were water powered. These factories were usually small and only employed a handful of workers. The major industries at the beginning of the 1800's were textiles, hosiery, lace, iron mining and manufacture, ship building, and coal mining.

Yet, agriculture was still the number one business, with some 35 percent, or more, of the populace of the island working in it(14). In many villages craftsmen would not only work making goods but would also cultivate small private lots. From these household plots they would harvest crops for their family's consumption and for trade. If these craftsmen did not own their own plot they would join others in tending to a communal field from which all members of the community could partake of the harvest.

Because of this agriculturally powered economy most businesses remained predominantly local. Business owners were usually residents of the town where their businesses were located, so that they had a material interest in the prosperity and success of the town. This localization of business, along with industry, allowed for a harmonious connection to develop between the owners and their workers. And as such, a strong sense of community was fostered by these two groups working along side each other, towards a common goal.
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Changes in Economy and Society
Tens years into the new century things had begun to change. The English economy was suffering due to the war in Europe with the French. France's military leader, Napoleon, enacted the Continental System, which prohibited English goods from entering the continent. The blockade led to a drop in England's exports of some 33 1/3 percent by 1811(20). In due course, the decline in exports induced a widespread financial panic which ended in many bankruptcies and bank failures. These two events had the net effect of lowering wages about 50 percent in 1811. While on the average the prices of goods, which had been continuously rising from 1790, were 87 percent higher.

At the same time that the economy was failing so was the productivity of the farms. There were crop failures in 1809, 1810, 1811, and 1812. With the farms in such ill health it was becoming much more difficult for England to provide the food stuffs needed to feed a growing population. These events culminated in England purchasing wheat and other grains from Russia, which caused prices grain prices at home to sharply rise. Then, just when they believed that their dilemma could get no worse, America declared war on England closing off exports to the new world.

As these events were unfolding they contributed to the conflict which was appearing between the classes. This discord was also being fueled by circumstances such as the enclosure of land, which led to small farmers being squeezed out by bigger competitors. In most instances these displaced farmers had to move to the towns and cities where they could find employment in the emerging industrial workplace. In these factories the former farmers and their coworkers found that they no longer constituted a community which the employer was a member of.

Another contributing factor was that for some time the working classes had been aware that if business was allowed to progress the way it was there would be terrible inequalities between them and the wealthier classes. Between 1789 through 1832 they tried to pass legislation to protect workers and craftsmen. In 1778 the hosiery makers of Northlands and Midlands appealed for the regulation of the hosiery industry, and from 1803 to 1806 there was a lobby for the passing of anti-machine laws. But in both these instances, Parliament refused to pass such measures. On several occasions when such reform bills were rejected the supporters of these proposed laws rioted.
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Luddite Revolts
The Luddite uprisings appeared and were based in the Midlands--Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester, and the Northlands--Yorkshire, Lancishire, Cheshire. While in the Midlands framework knitting was the primary trade, in the North the weaving and cropping of wool and cotton employed most people. In 1810's the people of these regions were primarily working at home in their trade.

By 1811 The frameknitters of the Midlands were being forced to rent the frames they worked on by the manufactures, hosiers. A year later mass production was being introduced by the use of wide knitting frames. These frames made the work less labor intensive, because the stockings were made of a one cut piece of material, which was called a "cut-up." Consequently, stockings were cheaper to manufacture. The knitters felt that these methods of manufacturing were displacing skilled labor and that the deterioration in quality, due to the cheaper production practices, was producing the decline in the purchase of stockings. There were many manufactures who agreed with the knitters but the practice was becoming so common that the only way for them to compete was to follow their competitors lead.

The weavers and croppers of the Northlands were facing similar problems. The manufactures had been employing gig-mills and shearing frames, which like their wide-frame counterparts were labor saving, thus reducing cost. At the same time new methods were developed which enabled the manufactures to produce thinner wool and cotton cloth. The workers objected to these thinner materials because they did not have the quality and durability of the thicker types. Nevertheless, just like many of the hosiers, the woolen and cotton manufactures were forced to use these methods in order to stay in business.

The manufacturers, having found profit saving methods, began to employ various methods to either lower or to defraud the knitters, weavers, and croppers of their earnings. They were able to do this because there were no laws in place to control the amount or method of payment for wages. Many manufacturers would just simply not display schedules of prices for work, this way they could pay their workers whatever they felt like paying them. In some instances workers were paid with store credit, which was only good for purchasing items at a company store. This was tough on the workers because most of the items were over priced. If a manufacture did not use either one or both of these methods to cheat their workers he would pay them in "truck" payments. By adopting this practice they could pay the workers with goods instead of money.

At that time petitions, from the cotton districts, began to pour into Parliament for relief of the unjust practices of the manufacturers. But Parliament dismissed their pleas and the workers knew that any continued political outcry would be met either with death or with banishment to one of the colonies. As Duvall noted in his text:

"Most people in 1811 and 1812 found it difficult to appreciate the value of new machinery economizing labour at a time when goods were a glut upon the market and when there was, in any case, a surplus of labour available."(62)

With such thoughts in their minds the working classes were becoming very discontent during 1811.

That same year in the town of Arnold, outside Nottingham, knitters stole the jack wires out of the knitting frames during the months of February and March. The Jack wires were deposited in the churches as "hostages" for the good behavior of their owners. But the owners did not cave into the demands of the "hostage" takers. On March 11th a crowd of framework knitters gathered in the market place at Nottingham. The crowd was so large and volatile that town officials called in the militia to disperse them. That same day during the evening some 60 knitting frames were broken in Arnold. The frames which were broken were only those that belonged to hated manufacturers. For weeks after this knitting frames continued to be broken and the attacks became more widespread. The incidents did not cease until April by which point there were over 200 broken frames.


Luddites smashing a loom.

Later that same year, in November, the disturbances began once again. On the night of November 4th six frames were destroyed in the village of Bulwell. All six machines were wide frames. A few days later a mob, led by someone calling himself Ned Lud, broke into the knitting shop of Edward Hollingsworth--a notorious and hated hosier--and broke several of his frames. Shortly after this attack, On the 13th of November, a great mob was formed by workers from Hucknall, Kirby, and Bulwell. Together they proceeded to destroy many of the knitting frames at Bett's Workshop. By the end of the month the attackers had become so emboldened, by their success and support, that they were even breaking machines in broad daylight. The initial success of the Luds led E. P. Thompson to write, "'[w]e have an impression of active moral sanction given by the community to all Luddite activities short of actual assassination'"(Duvall, 26). Other writers of the time saw the attacks as "collective bargaining by riot." In March of 1812 a letter was sent to a hated manufacturer saying that "machinery [was] hurtful to commonality"(Reid, 40). However, one of the most poignant examples of one of the reasons that may have motivated these people to revolt is from an anonymous man from Manchester speaking of his plight:

"I have five children and a wife. The children all under 8 years of age, I get 9d. clear(per week)... I work sixteen hours a day to get that.... It will take 2d. per week coals, 1d. per week candles. My family live on potatoes chiefly and we have one pint of milk per day."(Duvall, 36).

We can see from this excerpt a part of the motivation for the Luddite revolts. Another part of that motivation was to restore the working conditions to that of the previous 60 years. In many cases Luddites were also motivated by their unhappiness with the quality of the products which were being produced. And in some cases Luddite attacks were to some degree motivated by the food shortages which were occurring in certain communities.
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Ned Lud
In the November 10th attack the mob had been led by a Ned Lud. This name would surface throughout the period of the rebellions in various forms. There were references to a General Lud and there were letters sent to hated manufacturers by someone identifying himself as Edward Lud. There were even groups of workers who pledged their allegiance to King Ludd.

However who he was not exactly known. One story told of a feeble boy who lived in the county of Leicestershire in 1797. This child was constantly taunted by the other boys in the town until one day he pursued one of his tormentors into a frame knitting shop. Once in the shop he lost track of the boy he was chasing. He became so enraged by this that he damaged one of the frames. In another account, Ned Lud was the son of a weaver. By this account the young Lud was being lazy in his work, when he was admonished by his father. He then became so furious due his father's castigation that he broke the frame he was working on. Both of these tales were quite comical, but whether they were based on fact was an entirely different matter. It became evident sometime after the Luddite Revolts began that there were several individuals calling themselves Ned Lud. It may even have been that the name functioned as a title for the leaders of the various groups operating throughout Midlands and the North.
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Organization of Luddite Groups
The Luddite members would gather, in the darkness of the night, in the surrounding forests of the towns and villages that they attacked. The attacks were well organized as well. Armed men were placed at the front of the group, so that as they entered the victim's shop the show of force and weapons would discouraging the owner from interfering. While these men were occupied with restraining the owner another group with hammers would begin breaking the machines. During the attack several others members were stationed around the outside of the shop, keeping watch for the authorities. Once they accomplished what they sought to do they would disappear back into the woods before the authorities could even give chase.

Members of these Luddite groups did not identify themselves to each other with names but used numbers instead. On the occasion a group's member was sent into an unfamiliar town to locate other Luddites he would walk the streets occasionally raising his right hand over his right eye. If someone was a Luddite the proper response was for them to gesture likewise except they would do it with their left hand and eye. However most groups operated independently only occasionally enlisting the help of neighboring Luds.
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Consequences of Revolt
Eventually the attacks drew the attention of Parliament, which decided to send a squadron of Dragons to assist the local militias. However even the presence of the Dragons did not deter the attackers. By December 15, 1811 there was an army of some 900 cavalry and 1,000 infantry being led by General Dyott. General Dyott's army along with the local militias began to chase the Luddites, but this did not deter the Luds. By 1812 Parliament became so distressed by the situation, especially when they looked at what had been occurring in Europe since the French Revolution, that they placed Lieutenant General Thomas Maitland in charge of a force of some 35,000 men to stop the Luddite attacks. Maitland followed his directive and by the following December the revolts were stopped. Those Luddites who were caught were tried and hanged. In the town of York, alone, 17 Luds were hanged, 7 were acquitted of their charges, and the remaining members were exiled to the colonies.

http://www.gober.net/victorian/reports/luddites.html
 

Finder

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Dec 18, 2005
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I just briefly read over this while studing for my course at UoT. The main thing about them was they were not ever going succeed in stoping the indestrial revolution but the fact that the british sent so many troops to find them and had no success shows how the local people protected them and sypathized with them. Thats all you can really get from this attack on the indestrial revolution which was totally changing the lives for better or for worse for all Europeans and people of the world in time.