The Battle Against the Luddites: Unrest in the Industrial Revolution During the Napoleonic Wars (Dawson Paul L.)(Pevná vazba)

As the columns of French infantry marched up the slopes of the Mont St Jean at Waterloo, the British heavy cavalry, the Royal Scots Greys to the fore, crashed into the packed ranks of the enemy. This was not the first time the Greys had drawn their swords during the Napoleonic Wars - but it was their first against Napoleon's troops. Three years earlier they had attacked workers in Halifax protesting at the introduction of machinery in the wool trade.

Taking their name from Ned Ludd, who had smashed up knitting frames in Nottingham, the Luddites saw the emergence of mechanization as a threat to their livelihood, with machines replacing men. In response they took matters into their own hands by wrecking the new equipment.

Industrial unrest had gathered pace throughout the 18th century and exploded in an unpresented wave of violence in 1799. Outbreaks of machine-breaking
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