In 19th century Ireland there were mainly farmers who were oppressed by the English landowners who occupied the Emerald Isle. The Irish politician Parnell called on the Land League not to fight the English with weapons, but to isolate them socially. The first “victim” was a captain and estate manager, who was henceforth ostracized by all servants, postmen and shopkeepers. His name: Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott. “To boycott” became a household word that was soon borrowed into other languages.
