The Luddite Rebellion: When Weavers Fought the Machines

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The Luddite Rebellion: When Weavers Fought the Machines

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In 1811, English textile workers began smashing the new wide-framed knitting machines that threatened their livelihoods. The Luddite rebellion spread across Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, and Lancashire, targeting mills owned by men like Edward Ludd's mythical namesake, General Ludd. This episode explores the real grievances behind the machine-breaking: wage cuts, food prices, and the brutal conditions of the Napoleonic Wars. We follow the story of the 1812 attack on Rawfolds Mill, the murder of mill owner William Horsfall, and the eventual military crackdown that saw Luddites hanged or transported. Along the way, we discuss the 1812 Frame-Breaking Act, which made machine-breaking a capital offence. Why did the weavers fight? And what does their struggle tell us about the human cost of industrialisation? #Luddites #GeneralLudd #MachineBreaking #Nottinghamshire #RawfoldsMill #WilliamHorsfall #NedLudd #FrameBreakingAct #IndustrialRevolution #EnglishHistory #TextileWorkers #LudditeRebellion #Yorkshire #Lancashire #1811 #NapoleonicWars #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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