LUDDITES + SWING

Cause of Luddite Unrest

Industry increase in the urbanising north created tension between the rural, agricultural south.
Legislation like Corn Laws 1815, social divide cause this distress
West Riding of Yorkshire and Lancashire in 1812, and also to Leicestershire and Derbyshire. In Yorkshire, they wanted to get rid of the new machinery that was causing unemployment among workers. Hand loom weavers did not want the introduction of power looms. In Nottinghamshire, they protested against wage reductions.

Who were the Luddites?

1811-17 agricultural workers protesting radically, named after mythical figure Ned Ludd.
Northern-based, such a big threat that 1812 frame breaking act - frame breaking punishable by death
Such a threat that army guards made alarms
Armed and well organised, used hatchets, swords, bayonets etc - Battle of Rawford Mill 1812 - approximately 150 Luddites attack Cartwright’s mill. Ended with the hanging of 14 Luddites in 1813
Attempt by skilled craftsmen to maintain their craft against machines

Robert Baker’s description of the Nottingham situation 1812 (LUDDITES)

Protests would leave people unable to work - more harm than good?
Unemployment: 1/5 of frame workers unemployed - hoisers give jobs
Affected work - reduced work and wages
By February 1812 - about 1,000 frames destroyed in Nottingham at an estimated cost of £6,000-£10,000
Two luddites killed in Nottingham - these deaths encouraged Luddites to embrace assassination: later that month an anti-luddite mill owner called William Horsfall was shot outside Huddersfield

Cause of Swing riots

Switch of agricultural south moving from hand threshing to threshing machines, south limited.
Riots over it just being advertised. Northern industries ie. mining didnt correlate to lost jobs.
People move north as South was losing job opportunities due to the growth of urbanisation in the North - some couldn’t move North and had to stay behind.
1770-1830: 6,000,000 acres of common land enclosed. Used 100 years by the poor to graze cattle and plant produce - the poor got poorer subsequently
Land divisions amongst the large landowners, solely dependent upon working for the rich for money (Latifundia)
§780’s hiring fair, poor harvests = only short contracts for work.
War with France 1803-1815 (Napoleonic) - boost wages of agricultural workers to protect trade from national countries. Labour was in short supply, however - corn supply high.
When peace emerged 1815, military disband in South and look for work - not enough jobs to go around = wages fall and unemployment
Machinery: particularly threshing machines made south break rules - joined in Hampshire with eductaed radical men who followed William Cobbett. Hampshire first area affected
One threshing machine could do the work 15 men in a day

How the riots unfolded

Letters signed by Captain Swing - staing that if their threshing machines were not destroyed, then ‘on behalf of whole we will commence our labours’
Captain swing: represent anger of labours in rural Britain
First debut in Kent and West Sussex
William Cobbett’s ‘Rural Rides’, wrote about the appalling conditions of Agricultural South - MP
They sought:
Wage increases, or atleast, for wages to remain the same and not be reduced in times of economic difficulty
Reductions to rents
The end of rural employment

NOVEMBER 1830, HAMPSHIRE (SWING)

Winter - shorter hours, colder environment - served as a breaking point for employers
3 barns destroyed (may contain machinery)
700 labourers from around Micheldever destroyed all the threshing machines
Henry Crook threw blows with a hammer at William Barry
Lasted several days, 20th Nov 1830 mob descended to Tashers Waterloo Ironworks to destroy all the machinery, men felt sympathy
Sunday 21st November 1830, Sabbath day - went from house to house for food and money

How the November 30th Swing riots came to a close

Meetings between the mob and magistrates takes place:
Dr Quatrier, John Coles took it into their hands to intervene - prevent gathering at Steep Church Yard. Told farmers not to allow their labourers to attend

Quelling the Swing Riots

Lord Melboure - Security at the time, believed too much sympathy for these rioters - blamed escalation and continuance of riots upon too much leniency
Rioters scared farmers and landowners, paranoia stems from French revolution
Took matters into his own hands - appoint a special commission of judges to try rioters - judged harshly
Many condemned to death (approx. 252), 19 hung, 644 imprisoned, 48 transported
Not just agricultural workers being tried
Most swing riots judged and tried by JPs, generally less punishment as JPs actually sympathised with the aims of rioters

William Cobbett

Responsible for stirring up rural poor - article Rural War examined the swing riots that laid the blame on those who lived off of unearned income - urged parliamentary reform
Charged with seditious libel, was acquitted

Luddite, Swing - or both?

• Industrial cities

• More aggressive

• Better equipped

• Ned Ludd

• No particular target

• Political and economical - Luddism

• Shorter

• Nationalised

• Captain Swing

• South

• Targeted threshing machines

• Localised

• burnt haystacks, food

• Political motivation from William Cobbett

• Lasted longer

• Social/economic motive

• Leniency given

• Many leaders

• Anti machinery

• About jobs

• Both send letters

• Both members got hung

• Stem from unemployment

• Create fear

• Violent methods, radical

• Emotional response

• Suppressed