Date | 1833–1834 |
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Location | Tolpuddle, Dorset, England |
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The Tolpuddle Martyrs were six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, England, who, in 1834, were convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. They were arrested on charges under the Unlawful Oaths Act during a labour dispute over cut wages before being convicted in R v Loveless and Others and sentenced to penal transportation to Australia.[1][2] They were pardoned in 1836 after mass protests by sympathisers and support from Lord John Russell and returned to England between 1837 and 1839.
The Tolpuddle Martyrs became a popular cause for the early union and workers' rights movements.