Mr. Beard's Regency Tour Day 10: Luddites: The frame-breakers

Welcome to my tenth post on late Georgian/Regency England. If you haven't a clue what I'm talking about, please check out this post.

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Luddite. You may have heard (or maybe used) this term if you've ever seen anyone express skepticism about the need for the latest cell phone or computer upgrade. One may be bemused or amused by such a person but does not generally think of them as either a dangerous criminal or brave revolutionary.

In early 1811, stocking factories in Nottingham started receiving threatening letters from "General Ned Ludd and his Army of Redressers". Among other general wage grievances, these letters outlined threats against employers over the use of  stocking frames--an early type of semi-automated knitting machine. The advance of the Industrial Revolution had spread various types of textile processing machines throughout northern and mid-England. While these machines allowed the cheaper production of textiles, they also hurt the livelihood of traditional handloom weavers. Even when the automation process didn't completely eliminate jobs, they still resulted in a severe downward pressure on wages and longer hours.

Other general economic issues contributed to the climate of discontent, and the Luddites had a great deal of popular support among the working classes. The transition into the Industrial Revolution an many of the political and economic changes that were occurring in this period left many deeply unsettled.

This Luddite "Army of Redressers" wasn't content to just send letters. They started breaking into factories and destroying stocking frames. The discontent and destruction spread. Soon, the newly established Prince Regent was offering reward money for information on these so-called frame-breakers and frame-smashers.

So, who was General Ned Ludd? The historical evidence suggests there likely was no such man. Instead, the name was likely inspired by a 1782 incident involving an angry farm laborer who smashed some frames. Whether there was a real General Ludd didn't seem to matter much. The Luddites weren't a tightly organized movement as much as various different groups of agitated workers arising in different locations. Many of their clashes with authorities were more riots than anything else. This was one of the reasons they would initially prove hard to suppress.

Soon, the Luddite cause spread throughout the industrial areas of England, including Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, and Leicestershire. Although it had started with the weavers, other textile workers vented their wrath on various machines threatening their jobs and their general frustration over increasing concerns about economic inequity.

The chaos would continue to spread. Seemingly constant frame breaking and attacks on mills escalated into occasional attacks on mill guards, mill owners, and others opposing the Luddite cause. Though there were some arrests for murder and execution, the responses of local authorities did little to quell the decentralized movement. A combination of several factors, including the Napoleonic Wars on the Continent contributed to exploding wheat prices in 1812. This general poor economic climate combined with concern over food led to even greater militarization of many workers. Despite the passionate opposition of a small minority of Luddite-sympathizing politicians, such as Lord Byron, Parliament passed the Frame-Breaking Act, which made frame-breaking in of itself a capital crime. In addition, over 12,000 troops were sent into the areas suffering from Luddite trouble.

By 1813, the show of force succeeded in mostly bringing the Luddites to heel. Mass trials were followed by executions and transportation to Australia for many. Though Luddite-related riots, frame-breaking, and violence would sputter back into life over the next few years, by 1817 the Luddite were finished as an movement.

Mr. Beard's Regency Tour Day 9: Lord Byron--Luddite lover and Greek Insurgent

Welcome to my ninth post on late Georgian/Regency England. If you haven't a clue what I'm talking about, please check out this post.

This is the last part of a three part series on Lord Bryon. I've already discussed Lord Byron's scandalous personal life along with his contributions to English literature and poetry in preceding posts.

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Poet. Lover. Baron. That last one in particular had implications back in the Regency. In a future post I'll delve a bit deeper into what it fully meant to be a hereditary peer, but I think most people have at least a general handle on the concept of titled nobility.

For Lord Byron, one artifact of his birthright was a seat on the House of Lords--a fortunate convenience for a man very critical of the status quo. Byron's poetry was often full of scathing critique and satire of both domestic and international political issues, and he made many impassioned speeches in Parliament to champion the causes he felt just. His first period in Parliament (March to June 1809) was brought to an end by a trip to Europe. He would later return to Parliament in 1812 though his permanent departure from England in 1816 that I discussed in part one of this series would take with him any further chance of direct political work.

During his time in Parliament, Lord Byron would champion many causes that would set him firmly in a reform, or by some people's reckoning,  a  revolutionary camp. For example, he supported Irish independence both in poetry and political speeches:

"Thus has Great Britain swallowed up the Parliament—the constitution—the independence of Ireland, and refuses to disgorge even a single privilege, although for the relief of her swollen and distempered body politic."

He later would even pen poetry suggesting some support for the independence of India. 

He also supported the Luddites. Though I'll be discussing them in a full entry in the future, they were mostly an anti-industrialization movement centered around textile workers whose jobs were being eliminated by new technologies. Protests turned to a campaign against mills in the north of England.  The destruction of mills combined with attacks on magistrates lead to the deployment of thousands of troops against the Luddites. 

As one can surmise, they was not some genteel opposition movement. They were a near revolutionary force that conservative aristocrats viewed with disgust and trepidation. In contrast, Lord Byron, who viewed the Luddite cause as arising from social justice concerns by people being harmed and destroyed by dubious automation that benefited others more than the workers, supported the movement both in Parliament and in his poetry. Whether one thinks him a fool or praises him for that, it is important to realize this was a very radical position for him to take at the time.

Even after leaving England, he would continue to contribute to political newspapers and discussions, generally supporting causes that placed him firmly in opposition to many landed, aristocratic interests. A lot of this was heavily influenced by his Romantic worldview.

Now, skipping ahead a bit, Byron became involved with the Greek independence movement. At the time, the Greeks were under the heel of the Ottoman Empire. He'd spoken and written of his belief in Greek independence for some time, but the start of open insurgency in 1821 further crystallized his support. While some of this support was just part of his natural tendency to support many independence movements, it's important to realize that Greece held a special place in the hearts of many Western intellectuals of the period due to its ancient contributions to Western thought.

Generous financial and literary support gave way to more direct military aid in 1823 including his formation, using his own wealth, of the Byron Brigade (including refitting warships). Besides his equipment, he ended up in command of Greek rebel soldiers.

 I should note that whatever his literary talents, he had no military experience at all, but I'm doubtful the Greeks were going to risk offending a man who was giving them a considerable amount of money and for whom they had a great deal of respect anyway. He was to take part in a major assault on a Turkish fortress, Lepanto, but before the force could depart toward the objective, he fell ill. Over the next few months he fought disease, incompetent period doctors, and infection until finally succumbing to his aliments at Missolonghi, Greece on April 19, 1824 at the age of 36.

Despite his very minimal involvement in the actual fighting, years of financial, political, and literary support garnered him a large amount of Greek respect where many still consider him, despite his non-Greek background, a hero of the Greek War of Independence. There was a three day period of mourning following his death. There is even a city northeast of Athens still named after him, Vyronas (Βύρωνας). His death in Greece helped focus even more international attention on the conflict and arguably helped to contribute to the entry of other Western powers on the Greek side. 

Thank you for joining me these last three weeks as I discussed the life of Lord Byron. Whatever one thinks of him or whatever strange rumors one choose to believe, it's hard to deny he's a fascinating historical character. I've only barely scratched the surface of the details defining his life, but I don't want this to become Mr. Beard's Byron Tour instead of Mr. Beard's Regency Tour. Due to Thanksgiving and my trip to visit family, there will be no Regency entry next Friday, but I will return the following week with a more in-depth discussion of the Luddites.