WHO WERE THE LUDDITES?
G'day folks,
Are you a Luddite? Know what they are? If you don't, check these ....
“Luddite” is
now a blanket term used to describe people who dislike new technology, but its
origins date back to a 19th century labour movement that railed against the
economic fallout of the Industrial Revolution. The original Luddites were
British weavers and textile workers who objected to the increased use of
automated looms and knitting frames. Most were trained artisans who had spent
years learning their craft, and they feared that unskilled machine operators
were robbing them of their livelihood. When their appeals for government aid
and assistance were ignored, a few desperate weavers began breaking into
factories and smashing textile machines.
They called themselves “Luddites”
after Ned Ludd, a young apprentice who was rumored to have wrecked a textile
apparatus in the late-18th century. There’s no evidence Ludd actually
existed—like Robin Hood, he was said to reside in Sherwood Forest—but he
eventually became the mythical leader of the movement. The vandals claimed to
be following orders from “General Ludd,” and they even issued manifestoes and
threatening letters under his name.
The first
major instances of machine breaking took place in 1811 in Nottingham, and the
practice soon spread across the English countryside. Sledgehammer-wielding
Luddites attacked and burned factories, and in some cases they even exchanged
gunfire with company guards and soldiers. The workers hoped their raids would
encourage a ban on weaving machines, but the British government instead moved
to quash the uprisings by making machine breaking punishable by death.
The
unrest finally reached its peak in April 1812, when a few Luddites were gunned
down during an attack on a mill near Huddersfield. The army rounded up many of
the dissidents in the days that followed, and dozens were hanged or transported
to Australia. By 1813, the Luddite resistance had all but vanished. It wasn’t
until the 20th century that their name re-entered the popular lexicon as a
synonym for “technophobe.”
Clancy's comment: There ya go, folks. Now you know. I also know a few of them myself, and I'm sure you do too.
I'm ...
No comments:
Post a Comment