Charles Boycott
| Charles Boycott | |
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Captain Boycott as caricatured by Spy (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, January 1881
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| Born |
Charles Cunningham Boycatt 12 March 1832 Burgh St Peter, Norfolk |
| Died | 19 June 1897 (aged 65) Flixton, Suffolk |
| Resting place | Burgh St Peter |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Land agent, Farmer |
| Employer | John Crichton, 3rd Earl Erne, Hugh Adair |
| Opponent(s) | Irish Land League |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Boycott (née Dunne) |
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 Lough Mask area of County Mayo.
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 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. This campaign included shops in nearby Ballinrobe refusing to serve him, and the withdrawal of services. Some were threatened with violence to ensure compliance.
The campaign against Boycott became a cause célèbre in the British press after he wrote a letter to The Times. 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. Fifty Orangemen from County Cavan and County Monaghan travelled to Lord Erne's estate to harvest the crops, while a regiment of the 19th Royal Hussars and more than 1,000 men of the Royal Irish Constabulary were deployed to protect the harvesters. The episode was estimated to have cost the British government and others at least £10,000 to harvest about £500 worth of crops.
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