Unrest Gallery

Luddites smash weaving machinery

Luddites smash weaving machinery in a Nottingham textile factory. The Luddites were a movement of radical group of English textile workers and weavers in the early 19th century who destroyed weaving machinery as a form of protest. The group was protesting the use of machinery in a "fraudulent and deceitful manner" to get around standard labour practices. The group feared time spent learning the skills of their craft would go to waste as machines would replace their role in the industry. in more recent times, the term Neo-Luddism has emerged to describe opposition to many forms of technology. Date: circa 1812

© Mary Evans Picture Library/Tom Gillmor

The Great Docks Strike of 1912 - Scene at Grays, Essex

The Great Docks (Docker's) Strike of 1912 - Scene at a Demonstration at Grays, Essex. The pre-war era witnessed massive industrial unrest as dockers, transport workers, miners and other workers pressed for higher wages and better conditions. The strike wave only ended with the outbreak of war in 1914. The banner is for The Amalgamated Society of Watermen, Lightermen and Bargemen, a trade union founded in 1889. The march is passing The Empire Theatre on the High Street, Grays. Date: 1912

Street scene during riot, Brixton, Lambeth, South London

A street scene in Brixton, Lambeth, South London, during a period of rioting. The air is full of black smoke, something (possibly a car) is on fire on the left, and the roadway is littered with rocks. A solitary human figure can be seen in the middle of the road, apparently pouring petrol out of a container. Date: circa 1980s

© Metropolitan Police Authority/Mary Evans