Luddite movement

The Luddite movement was an organized protest by English textile workers, mainly from 1811 to 1816, who destroyed machinery they believed threatened their livelihoods and working conditions.

Frame breaking: The deliberate breaking of industrial machinery, especially textile frames, as a form of protest. Luddites made frame breaking a coordinated protest against employers and machinery that undermined their trades.
Ned Ludd: A legendary figure said to have inspired the name of the Luddites, with no reliable evidence that he existed. His name gave the movement a symbolic leader and a cover for anonymous threats.
George Mellor: A Yorkshire woollen cropper and leader associated with Luddite attacks around Huddersfield. Mellor led the group convicted of murdering mill owner William Horsfall.
Frame Breaking Act 1812: A British law that made the destruction of stocking frames and other textile machinery punishable by death. Parliament escalated penalties as Luddite attacks spread.
Industrial Revolution: A period of major economic and technological change driven by mechanized production, beginning in Britain in the eighteenth century. Mechanized textile production transformed the trades whose workers joined the movement.
Frame knitting: A method of producing knitted fabric on a hand-operated machine called a stocking frame. Framework knitters attacked frames when employers used them to lower wages or evade customary standards.
William Horsfall: A Yorkshire mill owner who was shot by Luddites in 1812 after publicly opposing them. His murder prompted intense pursuit of the Huddersfield Luddite group.
Execution of the Luddites: The state execution of convicted participants in Luddite attacks, including fourteen men at York in 1813. Executions followed trials that dismantled organized Luddite groups.
Enclosure: The consolidation of common lands into privately controlled holdings, especially in Britain. Earlier loss of customary rights formed part of the economic pressures facing rural workers and textile communities.
Croppers: Skilled textile workers who used hand-operated shears to finish woollen cloth by raising and trimming its nap. Yorkshire Luddites targeted shearing frames that threatened this skilled finishing trade.

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