Silesian weavers' uprising facts for kids
The Silesian weavers' uprising of 1844 was a protest by weavers in Silesia, a region in what is now Poland and Germany. These weavers were upset with the people who gave them work and raw materials (called contractors). The contractors had greatly cut down how much they paid the weavers for their finished cloth.
Silesia's cloth-making business was struggling a lot after 1815. Weavers who made linen in Silesia faced problems because of Prussia's free trade rules. This meant goods could be traded easily without high taxes. Also, factories in Britain were using new machines. These machines made cloth much faster and cheaper. This made it hard for Silesian weavers to compete.
The situation got even worse when Russia stopped buying linen from Silesia. Then, the linen industry in Silesia also started using machines. In many towns, the old way of making cloth by hand disappeared completely. This meant many weavers lost their jobs.
As life became harder for the weavers, their anger grew. This led to the uprising in 1844. This event happened just before the revolutions of 1848 across Germany. Many people in Germany watched the uprising closely. Artists like Heinrich Heine wrote a poem about it called Die schlesischen Weber (1844). Gerhart Hauptmann wrote a play called The Weavers (1892). Important thinkers like Karl Marx also paid close attention to what happened.
What Happened During the Uprising?
The journalist Friedrich Wilhelm Wolff wrote about the events. He explained that cotton weaving was the main job in many Silesian villages. About 18,000 people lived there, and many were very poor. People were desperate for work. Contractors took advantage of this. They paid less and less for the cloth the weavers made.
On June 4, 1844, at 2 p.m., a large group of weavers left their homes. They marched in pairs to the big house of their contractors. They demanded higher wages. The contractors treated them badly, making fun of them and threatening them.
Because of this, some weavers forced their way into the house. They broke windows, furniture, and dishes. Another group broke into the storage building. They took cloth supplies and tore them into pieces. The contractor and his family ran away to a nearby village. But that village refused to help him.
The contractor returned a day later with the army. A fight broke out between the soldiers and the weavers. During this fight, eleven weavers were shot and killed. After this, the Prussian government stopped the protests with great force.
The Uprising in Books and Plays
Heine's famous poem, "The Silesian Weavers", was first published in a newspaper called Vorwärts!. The poem describes the uprising and the weavers' struggles.
