1834 SIX WORKERS SENT TO AUSTRALIA FOR SEEKING BETTER PAY
The figureheads of the trade unions, the Tolpuddle Martyrs
Life for British agricultural workers in the early years of the 19th century was brutal. The hours were long, the work was backbreaking and it was all for a wage so small that it was barely enough to feed one person, let alone a family. With the Industrial Revolution sweeping the country (see more on page 74), new machines were gradually replacing human labourers, leaving a surplus workforce to compete for the few jobs remaining. This meant the wealthy landowners could pay whatever they wanted, knowing there would always be someone desperate enough to take any job dangled in front of them.