12 March 2006

Happy Birthday, Mr. Boycott

Thanks to the wonderful show CBS News Sunday Morning I am a little smarter.

It turns out today is the 174th anniversary of the birth of Charles C. Boycott (1832-–1897) an English land agent in Ireland who refused to go along with land reform. Because of that, he was targeted by the workers in the fields and in his house -- all of whom refused to work with him, effectively cutting him off from the rest of Irish society. The isolation did its work, and Boycott relented. This action against him gave name to a method of peaceful (usually) protest that exists to this day.

A more detailed look at how it all started is provided here and in the 1947 film "Captain Boycott."

1 comment:

Matt said...

I've never heard of Mr. Boycott before that show. And somebody made a movie about him, too! We gotta check that out someday.