The fascinating origin of the word "Boycott"

The fascinating origin of the word "Boycott"

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We've all heard of boycott of events or venues - in today's world anyone would boycott anything for whatever reason!

There's boycotts at sporting events, boycotts of TV shows, movies, political protests - everything!

Though, when you think about it, "boycott" is a rather strange word.

How does word regarding action not attend or do something?

Curiously, the word "boycott" doesn't really have any similarities with the other words.

So, where does the word "boycott" come from?

Captain Charles Boycott

During the "Land War" in Ireland in the late 1800s, an English captain named Charles Boycott was the land agent of an absent landowner named Lord Erne in Mayo County, Ireland.

In 1880, after a year of good harvest, Lord Erne - claiming to be a generous man - offered a 10% reduction in the rent to his tenants.

However, his tenants did not think the reduction was enough so they objected and asked for a 25% reduction.

Lord Erne refused this, sending his trusty land agent, Captain Charles Boycott, to drive away the rebellious tenants.

Not long before this happened, a member of the Irish Land Federation named Charles Stewart Parnell proposed to treat landlords and land agents through a kind of peaceful, alternative social boycott.

Parnell recommends that people in the local community ignore violators and not conduct business with them.

Boycott Boycott

Shortly after news of Charles Boycott's deportations went viral, he found himself isolated in the local community.

Despite the short-term economic difficulties it bought them, his workers stopped working in the fields and barns, as well as at his home.

The local businessmen stopped dealing with him and even the local postman refused to deliver his mail!

Because of his actions against him, Boycott is facing financial danger since there will be no one to take on the job of harvesting his crops.

In the end, he hired 50 men from more remote areas to harvest the crops.

He paid an escort of 1,000 armed police and soldiers to bring them to his mansion.

However, the Irish Land League's promise of no violence is 100% correct as no act of violence has been taken against Boycott or the hired gun and his workers.

The cost of protecting Boycott's reaper was much more expensive than the value of the harvest, leaving him financially damaged.

After the harvest, the boycott on Boycott successfully continued.

Ancient Viral

It didn't take long for the press to start a boycott and within a few weeks the name of the Boycott was everywhere!

James Redpath of the New York Tribune was the first to use the word in international press shortly after the incident, and The Times used the term to describe an organized isolation in November 1880.

By 1881, the term "boycott" was now being used to describe things figuratively, with an article in The Spectator describing how nature had "Boycott London from Kew to Mile End".

Less than a year after the boycott on Boycott, the word has become a staple of the English language worldwide.

So you have it, the fun and very unique origin of the word boycott!

What's quite interesting is the way the word use itself and boycott remain very similar to their origins over the years!

Remember to tell all of your friends the origin of the word "boycott" the next time you hear them mention it!