Mechanical clocks were first seen in Europe in the 14th Century and when these first clocks were being made someone had to decide which way the hands would turn. Although no-one can be entirely certain, the answer seems to be fairly straightforward. Sundials had been around for thousands of years (first used in about 1500BC by the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians) and in the Northern Hemisphere the shadow of a sundial moves in a clockwise direction throughout the day. It is presumed that early clockmakers simply mimicked this as people were used to seeing time progress in this way.
In fact, moving clockwise has had special significance in many cultures that far pre-dates the invention of the clock. In British folklore moving anti-clockwise was associated with bad luck and evil, for example it was thought you could summon the devil by walking anti-clockwise around a church. Hindus process around their temples in a clockwise direction. More recently, Freemasons move clockwise around the altar in their ceremonies. The association with clockwise being in some way virtuous, and anti-clockwise being evil, presumably comes from ancient superstitions relating to the movement of the sun.
This is not universal though. The Bonpo Buddhists in Tibet move anti-clockwise, consciously moving in the opposite direction of the sun. And I understand that rabbis carry the Torah anti-clockwise around the synagogue. This might be why the clock on the Jewish town hall in Prague is one of the rare examples of a clock that moves anti-clockwise.
The Backwards Clock on the Old Jewish Town Hall in Prague
You will note though, that the movement of the shadow around a sundial only goes clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. South of the equator the shadow moves in the other direction. It is possible that clocks would go the other way if they had first been invented in the Southern Hemisphere.
And here is the nub of resentment. Some see the clockwise movement of clocks as an insidious symbol of the oppression that the Northern Hemisphere exerts over the Southern Hemisphere. For this reason, in 2014 the clock that was put on the front of the Bolivian congress Building in La Paz moves anti-clockwise. It is a defiant expression of Southern Hemisphere identity. Whether or not this clock will prove to be a rallying point for the South to rise up against we brutes in the North remains to be seen, but I did think it was an interesting example of how people are able to take offence over just about anything.