ABSTRACT
Because of Human Sciences and Advanced Technology's location in the Midlands, and because of the nature of the occasion, a reference to Luddism seemed appropriate. In this chapter, the author begins with a history lesson and talks about Luddism. Luddite anger was first felt in Nottingham and its surrounding towns. The name Ludd itself is said to derive from a certain Ned Ludlam, a Leicester stockinger's apprentice who, when reprimanded, lost his temper and smashed his master's frames with a hammer. Of Luddism itself there were one major and three minor waves. The major wave was that of 1811–1812, which was started in the lace and hosiery trades of the counties of Nottingham, Leicester, and Derby and spread among the croppers and cotton weavers of Yorkshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire. There were minor waves in the winter of 1812–1813, the summer and early autumn of 1814, and the summer and autumn of 1816.
