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 an obscure act during a labour disputeagainst cutting wages before being convicted in R v Loveless and Others and sentenced to penal transportion to Australia. 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.
