Luddites
Elements of British society that protested against certain types of machines that would otherwise force them into poverty. The most affected trade was the clothes-making industry, with the innovation of automatic looms.
This, along with the rising prices for essential items downgraded the lives of these skilled men.
One cost of the machine is that the quality of its products, which was quite poor compared to the work of these craftsmen– creating a niche for craftsmen to retain their skills in smaller spaces. Some mills retained their craftsmen, partially out of fear of the Luddites and out of their desire to distinguish themselves with better quality than their competitors.
Other mills like Cartwright continued using machines and hired additional security to protect their investment from the Luddites. These machines also degraded the industry’s safety standards by allowing unskilled labor to operate dangerous machines without training. That and employing underaged workers in another attempt to save costs.
These pro-worker sentiments spread in pubs as more and more people gathered to discuss their favorite subject. Politics. They began to conspire against the rich mill owners by devising a plan to deal with the machines. At first, they thought about lawful means– but quickly realized the effectiveness of such stratagems would be limited.
So first, they went directly to the mill owners to negotiate. But then it quickly broke down after they were accused of being an illegal combination– a group of people that were unlawfully gathered. After this incident, the workers stormed William Hinchcliffe’s mill in the evening– destroying the machines in front in him. After doing so, they threatened the owner and bade him good day while warning that they will make another visit if those machines were reinstalled.
The Home Minister moved to reinforce the sentiments of the noble class, who threw their money to suppress the Luddite movement by sending soldiers to aid the local militia. As a result, the Luddites suffered from a nasty surprise when Cartwright successfully repelled their attacks– several wounded and two deaths amongst their numbers.
Eventually, the authorities were able to infiltrate the gatherings with their spies and promises of wealth– raiding multiple locations. From here on out, the movement died after this brutal crackdown.
The Church was used as means to get the imprisoned luddites to confess additional information before their determined deaths. A scaffold was also constructed to conduct the hangings of 15 men. On the day of their deaths, the people gathered around with a more solemn air, knowing the men strung up above were not criminals– yet they were powerless to do nothing else but witness their final moments.