The Luddites (as those workers angry at the imposition of new machines they saw as taking away their livelihood were known) were most active between 1811 and 1816. After riots in Leicestershire in 1816 ended with six men being sentenced to execution and another three to transportation, the movement subsided. In 1826, however, there was a belated outbreak of violence by a group of Lancashire weavers. While trade had been relatively prosperous in the early 1820s, 1825 had brought a financial crash, and this coincided with factory owners bringing in many more power looms. More than 7000 local people were unemployed, and even those in work had seen their wages shrink repeatedly. Skilled handloom weavers had been replaced by children, who …
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Riot by Lancashire weavers". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4634, accessed 23 November 2024.]
