Elberfeld weavers uprising 1783

The Elberfeld weavers' uprising in 1783 occurred in Elberfeld , which has been a district of Wuppertal since 1929 .

history

Starting position

In 1527, Duke Johann III. of Jülich-Cleves-Berg residents of freedom Elberfeld and Barmern the privilege of Garnnahrung , that the exclusive right in the Duchy of Berg , yarns and cloths to color to weave and to act . As a result, Elberfeld and Barmen gained their importance as textile cities and became prosperous . The weavers residing in the offices of Elberfeld and Beyenburg in the Duchy of Berg received permission from Prince Karl Theodor to join a guild in 1738 . The guild initially had around 300 members; Its main function was to ensure tolerable working and wage conditions.

According to statistics from the court chamber councilor Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi , there were 100 yarn bleaching plants, 2000 ribbon looms, 200 linen looms and 1500 Siamese looms in Elberfeld and Barmen in 1773/74 . From this a number of around 10,700 workers can be estimated.

Weaver revolt

The conflict that led to the weavers' revolt began in 1781. The dispute, which was primarily borne by the linen weavers, caused great unrest throughout the valley. The weavers' guild had grown to around 1,100 masters in 1781. As a result, wages had fallen and the textile merchants became superior. In addition, the merchants had made an agreement that wages should be the same everywhere - so no one paid more than the other. The mood in both camps was irritable, and there was an open uproar when the merchants complained about individual weaving work. Johann Gottfried Brügelmann from Elberfeld , who was resident at Hofkamp and a member of the city council, acted as the spokesman for the merchants . With his spirited way of confronting the insurgents, he incited the special anger of the linen weavers. He had previously obtained a favorable judgment against several linen weavers.

The climax of the weavers' revolt was when several hundred linen weavers occupied the Elberfeld town hall on February 5, 1783. They cursed the magistrate and tore up papers and notices from the city syndicus Schnabel . The Elberfeld magistrate then had to leave the town hall, they called the state capital Düsseldorf for help, which ended the riot the following day with military help and restored order. For this purpose a military command of 300 infantrymen and 80 dragoons was sent. When they withdrew, 50 master weavers were taken to Düsseldorf in custody; after their release, the accused had to bear the costs of the military and court proceedings.

After these sharp conflicts and violent clashes, the weavers' guild was disbanded in December at the behest of the state government and the ringleaders were punished.

aftermath

In the same year Johann Gottfried Brügelmann founded the Cromford textile factory, the first textile factory on mainland Europe , making him one of the pioneers of the industrial revolution . The factory was founded in the Eckamp Honschaft in the Angermund district on the outskirts of Ratingen , far from the Elberfeld weavers. He was often said to have turned his back on his hometown because he felt sorry for it after these unpleasant incidents. But his motivation was even more that he wanted to free himself from the ties of yarn food and build a factory based on the English model.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Johann Gottfried Brügelmann ( Memento from September 23, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Stefan Gorißen: Business in the Duchy of Berg from the late Middle Ages to 1806 . In: Stefan Gorißen, Horst Sassin, Kurt Wesoly (ed.): History of the Bergisches Land. Volume 1: Until the end of the old duchy in 1806 . 2nd Edition. Publishing house for regional history, Bielefeld 2016, ISBN 978-3-89534-971-3 , p. 407-467 .
^ ^A ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Johann F. Knapp: History, statistics and topography of the cities of Elberfeld and Barmen in Wupperthale: With reference to the city of Solingen and some cities in the Lennep district . Langewiesche, 1835, p. 76 ( limited preview in Google Book search).

[guelcher-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Johann Gottfried Brügelmann ( Memento from September 23, 2017 in the Internet Archive )

[Gorißen-2] Stefan Gorißen: Business in the Duchy of Berg from the late Middle Ages to 1806 . In: Stefan Gorißen, Horst Sassin, Kurt Wesoly (ed.): History of the Bergisches Land. Volume 1: Until the end of the old duchy in 1806 . 2nd Edition. Publishing house for regional history, Bielefeld 2016, ISBN 978-3-89534-971-3 , p. 407-467 .

[Knapp-3] A ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Johann F. Knapp: History, statistics and topography of the cities of Elberfeld and Barmen in Wupperthale: With reference to the city of Solingen and some cities in the Lennep district . Langewiesche, 1835, p. 76 ( limited preview in Google Book search).