74 The Tolpuddle Martyrs, Dorset

Neil Oliver: News, Interviews, History · Oct 18, 2021 · 28m

In this episode as machines begin to flex their muscles the spectre of human poverty rises darkly and menacingly across the whole of the British Isles.

In C19th Dorset a small group of workers came together to dream of a better future. But for daring to stand up straight, demand dignity and call for a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work they were crushed by the authorities: arrested, tried and transported to work as slave labour in the penal colony of Australia. In their defence a public outcry swept across the country as people fought to save this group who became known as the Tolpuddle…