Captain Charles Boycott was a British Army veteran who worked as a landlord's agent, a man whose job was to collect rents from tenant farmers on an estate in northwest Ireland. So Who Was Captain Boycott and How Relevant is He in Today’s World? [8] Carr was also the local receiver of wrecks, which meant that he was entitled to collect the salvage from all shipwrecks in the area, and guard it until it was sold in a public auction. Charles Cunningham Boycott, (born March 12, 1832, Burgh St. Peter, Norfolk, Eng.—died June 19, 1897, Flixton, Suffolk), retired British army captain who was an estate manager in Ireland during the agitation over the Irish land question. [12] Boycott said that many of his servants were forced to leave "under threat of ulterior consequences". In 1880, as part of its campaign for the Three Fs (fair rent, fixity of tenure, and free sale) and specifically in resistance to proposed evictions on the estate, local activists of the Irish National Land League encouraged Boycott's employees (including the seasonal workers required to harvest the crops on Lord Erne's estate) to withdraw their labour, and began a campaign of isolation against Boycott in the local community. [22], On 27 November 1880, Boycott, his family and a local magistrate were escorted from Lough Mask House by members of the 19th Hussars. [13] Farmers were an important group politically, having more votes than any other sector of society. [29] When Forster attempted to introduce the Protection of Person and Property Act 1881, Parnell and other Land League MPs attempted to obstruct its passage with tactics such as filibustering. [12], In the nineteenth century, agriculture was the biggest industry in Ireland. His employees stopped working, local businesses wouldn’t take his money, and even … Captain Boycott is a film that is well worth watching with brilliant acting, a true story line, rousing speeches and some lovely racing action from Mullingar racecourse - a history lesson in both the Irish Land wars and an old Irish racecourse. [13] Some of the tenants were large farmers who farmed over 100 acres (0.40 km2), but the majority were much smaller—on average between 15 and 50 acres (0.06–0.20 km2). Charles Boycott, an Englishman by birth, rented a farm from Lord Erne three miles from Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo. [36] His health continued to deteriorate, and on 19 June 1897 he died at his home in Flixton, aged 65. [23] The ambulance was escorted to Claremorris railway station, where Boycott and his family boarded a train to Dublin,[23] where Boycott was received with some hostility. '"[35] The purpose of the visit was to see friends in Virginia, including Murray McGregor Blacker, a friend from his time on Achill Island who had settled in the United States. You had poor peasants who lived off the land, and then you had rich landlords who owned the land. [14], In October 1879, after forming the Land League of Mayo, Davitt formed the Irish National Land League. [22] Rumours spread amongst the Ulstermen that an attack was being planned on the farm, but none materialised. The boycott garnered national attention when the Captain wrote a letter to the London Times as to his situation. [29], In April 1881, Gladstone introduced the Land Law (Ireland) Act 1881, in which the principle of the dual ownership of the land between landlords and tenants was established, and the three Fs introduced. [22], The expedition experienced hostile protests on their route through County Mayo, but there was no violence, and they harvested the crops without incident. On the ensuing day, September 23rd, the people collected in crowds upon my farm, and some hundred or so came up to my house and ordered off, under threats of ulterior consequences, all my farm labourers, workmen, and stablemen, commanding them never to work for me again. Captain Boycott is a 1947 British historical drama film directed by Frank Launder and starring Stewart Granger, Kathleen Ryan, Mervyn Johns, Alastair Sim and Cecil Parker. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [29], William Edward Forster argued that a Coercion Act—which would punish those participated in events like those at Lough Mask, and would include the suspension of habeas corpus—should be introduced before any Land Act. [29] In England, the Anti-Coercion Association was established, which was a precursor to the Labour Party. Boycott, who has always denied the assault, later questioned why the issue had been raised by the media. [8] McGregor Blacker agreed to sublet 2,000 acres (809 ha) of land belonging to the Irish Church Mission Society on Achill to Boycott, who moved there in 1854. Captain boycott was barely a captain, his parents bottom a spot in the british Army and he quit after just two years at age. [23] He left Dublin for England on the Holyhead mail boat on 1 December. My crops are trampled upon, carried away in quantities, and destroyed wholesale. [8], Both Boycott and McGregor Blacker were involved in a protracted dispute with Mr Carr, the agent for the Achill Church Mission Estate, from whom McGregor Blacker leased the lands, and Mr O'Donnell, Carr's bailiff. [29] There was a negative reaction to the passing of the act in both England and Ireland. The first was Captain Boycott, a 1946 romantic novel by Phillip Rooney. [12] Boycott's young nephew volunteered to act as postman, but he was intercepted en route between Ballinrobe and Lough Mask, and told that he would be in danger if he continued. I say nothing about the danger to my own life, which is apparent to anybody who knows the country. [11] Lord Erne also owned properties in Dublin. At the time, landlords, many of whom were British, were exploiting Irish tenant farmers. Another herd on an off farm has also been compelled to resign his situation. [18] The coining of the word, and its first use in print, came before Boycott and his situation was widely known outside County Mayo. Charles Boycott and the events that led to his name entering the English language have been the subject of several works of fiction. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Davitt asked Parnell to become the leader of the league. [23] The hotel he stayed in received letters saying that it would be boycotted if Boycott remained. The Captain gave his name to a fine old custom, in the course of his work as land agent for Lord Erne, an absentee landlord in the County Mayo, and a right grasping old bugger too, by all accounts. ORIGIN This verb is from the name of Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott (1832-97), land agent for the Earl of Erne, County Mayo, Ireland, who, with … Lough Mask House, County Mayo, 14 October, After the publication of this letter, Bernard Becker, special correspondent of the Daily News, travelled to Ireland to cover Boycott's situation. If you guessed that at a certain point Captain Boycott became quite unpopular with the masses, you’re correct. [12] He had agreed to a 10 per cent reduction owing to a poor harvest, but all except two of his tenants demanded a 25 per cent reduction. [4] He was discharged from the academy in 1849 after failing a periodic exam,[4] and the following year his family bought him a commission in the 39th Foot regiment for £450. Shown above is Captain Charles Boycott, apparently wearing a jacket derived from his Norfolk homeland. [12] Legally, they had to be delivered to the head of the household or his spouse within a certain time period. [8] He said that he had asked for repayment of the debt, and that Boycott had refused to pay him and told him to go away, which Clarke refused to do. Charles Cunningham Boycott was born in 1832 to Reverend William Boycatt and his wife Georgiana. After retiring from the army, Boycott worked as a land agent for Lord Erne, a landowner in the Lough Mask area of County Mayo.[1]. Based on real events, this historical drama is set in 19th-century Ireland, when poverty-stricken tenants dispossessed by greedy landowner Capt. "[28] In December 1880, the Bessborough Commission, headed by Frederick Ponsonby, 6th Earl of Bessborough, recommended major land reforms, including the three Fs. Captain Boycott, Fall 1880, Ballinrobe the inception of “Boycotting” – landlord and land agent for Lord Erne. The first was Captain Boycott, a 1946 romantic novel by Phillip Rooney. [2] He grew up in the village of Burgh St Peter in Norfolk, England;[2] the Boycatt family had lived in Norfolk for almost 150 years. [12] Soon, shopkeepers in Ballinrobe stopped serving Boycott, and he had to bring food and other provisions by boat from Cong. One such filibuster lasted for 41 hours. [30], According to James Redpath, the verb "to boycott" was coined by Father O'Malley in a discussion between them on 23 September 1880. He thought that the "land question" was the best way to get the support of the farmers for Irish independence. In September 1880, after Boycott had attempted to serve writs of eviction, Charles Stewart Parnell, the president of the Land League and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party (commonly called the Irish Nationalist Party), urged that, without resort to violence, the tenants should avoid any communication with those who refused their demand for lower rents. He also became an agent on the nearly one thousand five hundred acres estate of Lord Erne. [27], After the boycotting, Gladstone discussed the issue of land reform, writing in an 1880 letter, "The subject of the land weighs greatly on my mind and I am working on it to the best of my ability. Newspapers sent correspondents to the West of Ireland to highlight what they viewed as the victimisation of a servant of a peer of the realm by Irish nationalists. [12], Within days, the blacksmith, postman, and laundress were persuaded or volunteered to stop serving Boycott. [8] In 1860 Carr wrote a letter to the Official Receiver of Wrecks stating that Boycott and his men had illegally broken up a wreck and moved the salvage to Boycott's property. He was arrested and given a 15-year sentence for gun-running. [18] In November 1880, an article in the Birmingham Daily Post referred to the word as a local term in connection to the boycotting of a Ballinrobe merchant. Captain Boycott listens to the arguments of his tenants but says he will not be dictated to. [13] Tenant farmers were generally on one-year leases, and could be evicted even if they paid their rents. Even the postman stopped delivering mail. Unfortunately for Boycott, this was during Ireland’s Land War of 1879-1882. [18] On 29 October, the Dublin Daily Express published a letter proposing a fund to finance a party of men to go to County Mayo to save Boycott's crops. In his fiery speech, Parnell urged shunning the landlords rather than killing them. [12], Before October 1880, Boycott's situation was little known outside County Mayo. More recently the story was the subject of the 2012 novel Boycott, by Colin C. Murphy. [11], Boycott agreed to be Lord Erne's agent for 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) he owned in County Mayo. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Cunningham-Boycott, History Ireland - Captain Boycott: man and myth, Charles Cunningham Boycott - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). [17] On 14 October of that year, Boycott wrote a letter to The Times about his situation:[17]. [18][19] According to Becker, "Personally he is protected, but no woman in Ballinrobe would dream of washing him a cravat or making him a loaf. Boycott left Ireland on December 1, 1880, in disgrace, his name forever attached to a campaign to bring down tyrants. [18] The following is Redpath's account:[18], "Well," I said, "When the people ostracise a land-grabber we call it social excommunication, but we ought to have an entirely different word to signify ostracism applied to a landlord or land-agent like Boycott. [12] Eventually, all Boycott's employees left, forcing him to run the estate without help. The British press go to the Boycott estate, followed by a squad of troopers to support him. Boycott himself said that he did not want such a large number of Ulstermen, as he had saved the grain harvest himself, and that only ten or fifteen labourers were needed to save the root crops. Denness was sacked after the first Test of the series against Australia in 1975, but Boycott did not care much for Tony Greig, the next captain, either. [8][9], Boycott was involved in a number of disputes while on Achill. [13] Many of the richest were absentee landlords who lived in Britain or elsewhere in Ireland, and paid agents like Charles Boycott to manage their estates. He refused to do so. Charles Cunningham Boycott (12 March 1832 – 19 June 1897) was an English land agent whose ostracism by his local community in Ireland gave the English language the verb "to boycott".He had served in the British Army 39th Foot, which brought him to Ireland.After retiring from the army, Boycott worked as a land agent for Lord Erne (John Crichton, 3rd Earl Erne), a landowner in the … [27], On 28 December 1880, Parnell and other Land League leaders were put on trial on charges of conspiracy to prevent the payment of rent. This was the basis for the 1947 film Captain Boycott—directed by Frank Lauder and starred Stewart Granger, Kathleen Ryan, Alastair Sim, and Cecil Parker as Charles Boycott. The film explains how the word boycott appeared in the English language.. Ironically, the title character … Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott was an unpopular English landlord who moved to the Ballinrobe area in 1873 after an inheritance allowed him to take a thirty-one year lease on three hundred acres near Lough Mask. He was an Englishman living in Ireland in the late 1800s, when all of Ireland was ruled by England, and the Irish countryside was divided in a way that was almost medieval. "[8] Clarke later withdrew his allegations, and said that Boycott did not actually owe him any money. My farm is public property; the people wander over it with impunity. [27] On 24 January 1881, the judge dismissed the jury, it having been hung ten to two in favour of acquittal. [36], Charles Boycott and the events that led to his name entering the English language have been the subject of several works of fiction. "[15] The crowd responded, "kill him", "shoot him". A Daily Express reporter wrote that the court reminded him "more of the stalls of the theatre on opera night". [27] The events at Lough Mask had also increased the power of the Land League, and the popularity of Parnell as a leader. [8] Clarke said that he had gone to Boycott's house because Boycott owed him money. [8] The local receiver had a right to a percentage of the sale and to keep whatever did not sell. [14], Michael Davitt was the son of a small tenant farmer in County Mayo who became a journalist and joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The Land League's aims were to reduce rents and to stop evictions, and in the long term, to make tenant farmers owners of the land they farmed. My herd has been frightened by them into giving up his employment, though he has refused to give up the house he held from me as part of his emolument. The Land League, formed in Ireland in 1879 when bad harvests made a famine likely, told Boycott in 1880 that he must reduce rents by 25 percent. [36] A number of London newspapers, including The Times, published obituaries. Charles Cunningham Boycott (12 March 1832 – 19 June 1897) was an English land agent whose ostracism by his local community in Ireland gave the English language the verb "to boycott". Tenants of Lord Erne asked for a reduction of their rents. [8] According to Joyce Marlow in the book, Captain Boycott and the Irish, Boycott's life on the island was difficult initially, and in Boycott's own words it was only after "a long struggle against adverse circumstances" that he became prosperous. [15] He asked the crowd, "What do you do with a tenant who bids for a farm from which his neighbour has been evicted? [13] Many small farmers worked as labourers on the larger farms. Facebook and Captain Boycott. [34] Boycott returned to England after some months. Parnell’s tactic was first used against Captain Boycott. ", According to Joyce Marlow, the word was first used in print by Redpath in the Inter-Ocean on 12 October 1880. [11] He owned 40,386 acres (163.44 km2) of land in Ireland, of which 31,389 were in County Fermanagh, 4,826 in County Donegal, 1,996 in County Sligo, and 2,184 in County Mayo. The locks on my gates are smashed, the gates thrown open, the walls thrown down, and the stock driven out on the roads. Captain Boycott is a 1947 British historical drama film directed by Frank Launder and starring Stewart Granger, Kathleen Ryan, Mervyn Johns, Alastair Sim and Cecil Parker. Charles Cunningham Boycott, (born March 12, 1832, Burgh St. Peter, Norfolk, Eng.—died June 19, 1897, Flixton, Suffolk), retired British army captain who was an estate manager in Ireland during the agitation over the Irish land question. Captain Boycott shows up for a meeting and is not happy with the complaining tenants. This speech set out the Land League's powerful weapon of social ostracism, which was first used against Charles Boycott. [8] With money from another inheritance and profits from farming, he built a large house near Dooagh. [6] In 1852, Boycott married Anne Dunne in St Paul's Church, Arran Quay, Dublin. Workers went on strike. [22] He said that the government would consider it their duty to protect this group. Languages are very much influenced by what is happening in the world around them. Patriotic farmer Hugh Davin (Stewart Granger) leads the rebels. I can get no workmen to do anything, and my ruin is openly avowed as the object of the Land League unless I throw up everything and leave the country. Conditions in Ireland quickly eased after William Ewart Gladstone’s Land Act of 1881 instituted fair-rent tribunals. Boycott remained in Mayo as Lord Erne’s agent until 1886, when he became an agent for estates in Suffolk. The movie was set in Co Mayo during the period of the Irish Land War in the early 1880s, in which a Mayo land agent by the name of Captain Charles Boycott was socially ostracised by tenants and locals alike under the tuition of the local Land League, for demanding large payment’s for rents and ruthless evictions for those who could not pay. [12] News soon spread to the nearby Ballinrobe, from where many people descended on Lough Mask House, where, according to journalist James Redpath, they advised Boycott's servants and labourers to leave his employment immediately. For the 1947 film, see, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Frederick Ponsonby, 6th Earl of Bessborough, Protection of Person and Property Act 1881, A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, "The people of Ballinrobe and its neighbourhood...", "Two brothers – and a man whose name lives on in infamy", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Boycott&oldid=999513958, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 10 January 2021, at 15:55. [15], The Land League was very active in the Lough Mask area, and one of the local leaders, Father John O'Malley, had been involved in the labourer's strike in August 1880. 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