Early resistance

The Luddites (1811-1816)

English textile workers who responded to mechanization by destroying the machines that were displacing them. The Luddites took their name from the legendary Ned Ludd. They were not opposed to machinery in principle but to the specific way it was being used to lower wages and break skilled trades. The British government cracked down harshly, executing some Luddites. Today the term "Luddite" is sometimes used dismissively for anyone resistant to new technology, but the original Luddites were skilled craftsmen with specific economic grievances.