The Luddites were members of a 19th-century movement of English textile workers who protested the usage of certain types of automated machinery owing to their concerns over worker pay, labour savings,[1] child labour, working conditions, and output quality. They often destroyed production machines in organised raids.[2][3] Members of the group referred to themselves as Luddites, self-described followers of "Ned Ludd", a legendary weaver whose name was used as a pseudonym in threatening letters to mill owners and government officials.[4]
The Luddite movement began in Nottingham, England and spread to the North West and Yorkshire between 1811 and 1816.[5]
