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Graham Lovelace's avatar

Fascinating post and hoping you’ll cover the Tolpuddle Martyrs and their influence on the trade union movement. My family surname was once Loveless. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolpuddle_Martyrs

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Nicholas Liu's avatar

I've not heard of them before, thank you for bringing them up! It would be a great topic to cover. Though the oaths proved to be liability in the end, it's very interesting to see how this kind of ritual -- and their martyrdom -- adds a layer of romantic consecration to labor activism, the latter being something we often associate with raw politics.

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Graham Lovelace's avatar

Yeah, the oaths were what they got them on. But what incensed the landowning gentry was the fact they were meeting and organising. The movie Comrades is well worth watching. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comrades_(1986_film)

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