Luddite

Luddite
—Luddism, Ludditism, n.
/lud"uyt/, n.
a member of any of various bands of workers in England (1811-16) organized to destroy manufacturing machinery, under the belief that its use diminished employment.
[1805-15; after Ned Ludd, 18th-century Leicestershire worker who originated the idea; see -ITE1]

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Member of organized groups of early 19th-century English craftsmen who surreptitiously destroyed the textile machinery that was replacing them.

The movement began in Nottingham in 1811 and spread to other areas in 1812. The Luddites, or "Ludds," were named after a probably mythical leader, Ned Ludd. They operated at night and often enjoyed local support. Harsh repressive measures by the government included a mass trial at York in 1813 that resulted in many hangings and banishments. The term Luddite was later used to describe anyone opposed to technological change.

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▪ English rebel
 member of the organized bands of 19th-century English handicraftsmen who rioted for the destruction of the textile machinery that was displacing them. The movement began in the vicinity of Nottingham toward the end of 1811 and in the next year spread to Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, and Leicestershire.

      The “Ludds,” or Luddites, were generally masked and operated at night. Their leader, real or imaginary, was known as King Ludd, after a probably mythical Ned Ludd. They eschewed violence against persons and often enjoyed local support. In 1812 a band of Luddites was shot down under the orders of a threatened employer named Horsfall (who was afterward murdered in reprisal). The government of Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd earl of Liverpool (Liverpool, Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of, Baron Hawkesbury Of Hawkesbury), instituted severe repressive measures culminating in a mass trial at York in 1813, which resulted in many hangings and transportations. Similar rioting in 1816 was caused by the depression that followed the Napoleonic Wars; but the movement was soon ended by vigorous repression and reviving prosperity.

      The term Luddite is now used broadly to signify individuals or groups opposed to technological change.

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Universalium. 2010.

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