Against the evils of industrialization, there were strong protests in England as well as in other industrialized societies. The slogans of the French Revolution “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” gave these movements impetus. The French Revolution had shown the way for fighting for organizing democratic institutions,
controlling the price of essential things like bread and to reduce the sufferings caused by wars.
Political protests against the adverse conditions in the factories of England were getting stronger. Workers also demanded the right to vote. The British government first tried to suppress these movements. It brought hew laws preventing the people from protesting.
Between 1792 and 1815, there were constant wars between England and France. As a result, European trade suffered. Factories had to close down. Unemployment increased. The prices of essential things like bread and meat skyrocketed.
In 1795, the British government passed two Combination Acts. The Combination acts said that any writing or speech against the king, constitution or government is against the law. The Parliament; banned any unpermitted meeting of more than 50 persons. But the protests against government policies continued. The Parliament which included landowners, producers and professionals were against giving voting right to the workers. It also backed the anti-people Corn Laws.
The workers in the factories and cities started expressing their anger in many ways. From 1790 there were many ‘Bread Riots’ throughout Britain. The main food of the poor people was bread. The increase in its price troubled them. People captured hoarded bread and distributed it among people at reasonable prices. This was a big blow to the greedy merchants. The ‘bread riots’ continued until 1840.
The Enclosure Movement started by the rich in the early 1700s increased the misery of the common people. Rich landowners bought pieces of land from small farmers and increased the size of their farms which were protected by enclosures (walls). This also adversely affected poor people. They were forced to work in industries.
The introduction of machines in the cotton industry j destroyed the livelihood of many. Thousands of J weavers lost their jobs. They became poor. In the 1790s, the weavers began to demand the legal minimum wages. The Parliament was not ready to make such laws. Against this, the weavers started protests. The government dismissed them from their jobs by force. The desperate workers destroyed power looms. They believed that it was the machines that destroyed their means of livelihood. Workers made strong resistance against mechanization in the wool industry at Nottingham. There were also protests in Leicestershire and Derbyshire.
The workers in Yorkshire who traditionally sheared (cut) the wool from sheep destroyed the shearing frames that were brought for this purpose. In the 1830s, workers in the fields protested against the threshing, machines. They destroyed the machines that were a threat to their jobs. 9 of the protesters were hanged. 450 were deported to Australia as criminals.
Luddism was another Movement that was started against industrialization. Workers who thought that machines were the cause of all their troubles started this movement with the plan of destroying them. This Movement was begun under General Nel Ludd. England suppressed this moment by using the army. Luddism was not a movement that merely wanted to destroy machines. The members of this group demanded minimum wages. They also wanted to stop the exploitation of women and children in the factories and other workplaces. They were interested in the formation of labour organizations.
In the initial years of industrialization, workers did not have voting rights. They had no other way of expressing their anger and despair. In August 1819, there was a big meeting at St. Peters Field in which more than 80,000 people came. They demanded democratic rights like the right to call public meetings, to organize political groups and freedom . of the press. Army rushed to the scene and brutally attacked those attending the meeting. This incident is known as Peterloo Massacre. [Rejecting all the demands of the workers, that year itself the Parliament passed “Six Acts”. The Combination Acts of 1795, which prohibited workers from taking part in political activities, were strictly enforced.
However, the Peterloo Massacre made some gains:
1. All the liberal political groups approved the idea of increasing the number of representatives in the House of Commons.
2. In 1824, the Combination Acts were repealed.
