The search for ‘General Ludd’: the mythology of Luddism.

This article discusses aspects of Luddism mythology and shared identity. Strictly defined, Luddism refers to working-class attacks on labour-saving machinery. Its participants were often workers who felt that innovating manufacturers were threatening their livelihoods by introducing into their factories cropping or shearing frames or powerlooms during the period of economic distress of 1811-13. On the other hand, it has been recognized that the situation encompassed a much wider scope of action and participation. Methods of protest included food riots and threatening letters to magistrates and manufacturers. Most distinctively, the nature of the disturbances was more complex in Lancashire and Yorkshire than in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Many of the historiographical disagreements over the nature and purposes of Luddism have resulted from historians evaluating the extent of its organization and its links with republican radicalism. The respective roles of the early trade unions and the wider working class communities in sustaining Luddism are also at issue.