Welcome to Luddite Bicentenary.
The Luddite uprisings in the Midlands and North of England took place 200 years ago, between 1811 and 1816. Over the next 2 years, there is an opportunity to look back at those times and learn about the events that took place and the wider context of the time.
Looking around the web, it is all too easy to find examples of the misuse of the word 'Luddite'. The word is used nowadays to describe any idea or person that is considered to be resistant to technological change, or alternatively as a much wider term of abuse to describe anyone who questions whether 'progress' must be defined by a narrow capitalist viewpoint.
We disagree with this misuse, and would prefer that the word is used in the proper context, the original historical meaning. To that end, the aim of this website is largely threefold:
1. To document, using various sources & methods, the daily events of the uprisings on the 200th anniversary of the day they occurred.
2. To inform the reader of any event that commemorates the uprisings over the next two years. From time to time, we may attend these events and give a report as time and resources allow.
3. To highlight the work of any other group with similar aims that we feel deserves to be shared more widely.
Our method of delivery is not limited to this website. We have a facebook page which is able to inform our readers and followers much more quickly than this website can and is more interactive, and we use twitter to a similar end. We can always be contacted by email for any kind of query.
This site has been created and is being maintained by volunteers and receives no funding of any kind. If you are interested in the Luddites and wish to support the project, you can purchase books through our Amazon store.
We hope you enjoy both the site and the bicentenary.
Luddite Bicentenary is indebted to the following people for their help with this website: Andrew Howson for his work in locating Luddite graves; John Levin for help locating obscure texts; Jonathan Holland for research at Chester Archives; Rebecca Buck for research at Nottingham Archives; Alan Brooke for inspiration, help with transcriptions, providing articles and much advice and guidance; Lesley Abernethy for her constant encouragement and help with family history research; 'Rebecca', John Towler & Peter Andrews at Nottingham Local Studies library for their help sourcing newspaper articles.
