Valiant Sixty

The Valiant Sixty were a group of early leaders and activists in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). They were itinerant preachers, mostly from northern England, who spread the ideas of the Friends during the second half of the 17th century. They were also called the First Publishers of Truth. There were actually more than sixty of them.

These missionaries of Quakerism were unusual in their time. Most other preaching was done by well-educated ordained male clergymen, but most of the Valiant Sixty were ordinary farmers and tradesmen, and several of them were women. Because the Valiant Sixty came from the northern part of England they were considered backward. Because they stood against the church structure in place in England at that time, many of them suffered imprisonment or corporal punishment or both. Once Quaker practices were outlawed, they were in technical violation of the law. They can therefore be seen as early practitioners of civil disobedience.

Members of the Valiant Sixty travelled not only throughout England, but to the rest of Great Britain, Europe, and North America. One of them, Mary Fisher, went as far as Turkey and spoke with the Sultan about her beliefs.

...
Wikipedia