Industrialisation, Protest & Reform Flashcards
Between 1781 - 1832 what did most English working class people become to feel?
They came to feel an identity of interests as between themselves and as against their rulers and employers.
During the Napoleonic Wars, what did rapid industrialisation begin producing?
Casualties
What caused riots during the Napoleonic Wars?
Chronic price rises and frequent periods of high unemployment.
How did the government crush riots during the Napoleonic Wars?
Six Acts 1819: managed to crush revolts through draconian measures such as the riot act and frequent use of transportation as punishment.
Who began self help groups?
Skilled workers formed themselves into early forms of trade unions called combinations.
What were friendly societies?
Combinations that were banned due to the Combinations Act of 1799 and 1800 continued to exist as Friendly Societies which were there to protect their members against financial hardship through savings contributions.
What led some workers to illegal direct action?
Some workers either frustrated with the lack of action from the Friendly Societies or unable to join them if they were unskilled.
What did illegal direct action include?
Rioting, sabotage and machine wrecking.
When was the Combinations Act repealed?
1825
What was the most famous example of a working class political movement?
Chartism
What was Luddism?
The name given to a series of incidents, starting in 1811, in which protestors stormed factories and broke machines/frames.
Where did Luddism start and by who?
Lace making districts of Nottingham - Ned Ludd, a weaver who destroyed 2 knitting frames after being whipped in 1779.
What were the long term causes of Luddism?
- Introduction of frame rents
- High transport costs
- Lower prices for finished goods
- Increased use of unskilled labour
- Production of cheap ‘cut-ups’
- Napoleon closed all continental ports to British ships in May 1808 and by 1812, this economic blockade was begining to bite.
What were the short term causes of Luddism?
- Closure of the American market
- The rapid growth of unemployment and wage cuts
- The failiure of the harvest which resulted in higher bread prices in August 1812.
When was the American Non-Intercourse Act passed?
February 1811
What were exports worth in 1810 and 1811?
1810: £11 million
1811: £2 million
By what date were 1000 frames destroyed in Nottingham and at what cost?
February 1812: 1000 frames destroyed in Nottingham with an estimated cost of £6000 - £12,000
What did Prince Regent do during the Luddite’s attacks?
Offered £50 to anyone “giving information on any person or persons wickedly breaking the frames”
What did the government do about Luddism?
Ordered 12,000 troops into areas where Luddism was active e.g. Yorkshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire.
What event made Luddites kill an anti-luddite mill owner?
The death of two luddites
What was the punishment of the death of an anti-ludidite mill owner?
14 men were executed in January 1812
What other punishments happened to Luddites in 1812 after their attacks on cotton mills?
18 men in Lancashire were killed and 13 transported to Australia and another 15 were executed in York.
When did the Luddite movement end?
1817
When and where, were the Swing Riots?
1830 - 1831 in southern counties
