Facts about Luddite Movement Origins

1. 06

   Several Luddite leaders were tried at York in 1813, resulting in executions and transportation of convicted frame-breakers to penal colonies.

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2. 05

   Military force was deployed to suppress Luddite uprisings, with more troops sent to the English Midlands than had accompanied Wellington to the Iberian Peninsula.

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3. 04

   British Parliament made machine-breaking a capital offense with the Frame Breaking Act of 1812, directly responding to Luddite attacks on textile machinery.

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4. 03

   During their peak activity, Luddite frame-breakers operated across the English Midlands and North, targeting wool and cotton mills as well as hosiery workshops.

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5. 02

   Luddite rioters took their name from the possibly mythical Ned Ludd, a figure said to have smashed stocking frames in a fit of rage.

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6. 01

   The Luddite movement began in Nottinghamshire, England around 1811, when textile workers smashed machinery they feared would destroy their livelihoods.

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