A brief history of Luddism

Jul 23rd 2026|5 min read

They were led by a man who did not exist. There was no king in England but King Ludd, they said, though sometimes he was a general or a captain. Supposedly he had been a humble apprentice driven to smashing looms by an overbearing master. Now he lived in Sherwood Forest, ancient home of Robin Hood, another legendary champion of the downtrodden. His followers, the Luddites, were textile workers in the north of England. By night they would sneak into mills and smash the stocking frames and mechanical looms which, they said, stole jobs from humans.