Lord
Byron, speech in the House of Lords (27th February, 1812)
During
the short time I recently passed in Nottingham, not twelve hours elapsed
without some fresh act of violence; and on that day I left the the county
I was informed that forty Frames had been broken the preceding evening,
as usual, without resistance and without detection.
Such was
the state of that county, and such I have reason to believe it to be
at this moment. But whilst these outrages must be admitted to exist
to an alarming extent, it cannot be denied that they have arisen from
circumstances of the most unparalleled distress: the perseverance of
these miserable men in their proceedings, tends to prove that nothing
but absolute want could have driven a large, and once honest and industrious,
body of the people, into the commission of excesses so hazardous to
themselves, their families, and the community.
They were
not ashamed to beg, but there was none to relieve them: their own means
of subsistence were cut off, all other employment preoccupied; and their
excesses, however to be deplored and condemned, can hardly be subject
to surprise.
As the
sword is the worst argument than can be used, so should it be the last.
In this instance it has been the first; but providentially as yet only
in the scabbard. The present measure will, indeed, pluck it from the
sheath; yet had proper meetings been held in the earlier stages of these
riots, had the grievances of these men and their masters (for they also
had their grievances) been fairly weighed and justly examined, I do
think that means might have been devised to restore these workmen to
their avocations, and tranquillity to the country.
Christopher
Weir, The Local Historian, Volume 28, No. 1, February 1998
The roots
of Luddism lay in textile manufacture. In Nottinghamshire, thousands
of framework knitters, working either in their own homes or in small
workshops, produced hose on stocking frames that were operated by a
combination of hand and foot movements. Most of the frames were rented
from wealthy hosiers who controlled most aspects of the trade. The poor
working and living conditions of the knitters, combined with other economic
and political factors of the time, led to widespread unrest in the trade
and eventually to Luddism.
The actions
of the Nottinghamshire Luddites provide an interesting comparison with
'popular' uprisings elsewhere in the country, which frequently led to
extreme violence and loss of life. In Bristol, in 1793, a local uprising
against the levying of tolls over Bristol Bridge led to many deaths.
Yet despite the desperate circumstances from which the Luddites outbreaks
sprang in Nottinghamshire, their actions were rarely extreme.
The
authorities' over-harsh response
Modern
day Luddites?