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In this modern world we live in, we use the word BOYCOTT so often but most probably do not know where the word comes from. The word has interesting origins.
It seems that a certain Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott had a nasty job as land agent for a certain land-owning nobleman, the Earl of Erne in County Mayo, Ireland. As land agent, Captain Boycott was responsible for collecting the rents from the tenants on the Earl’s vast estates. One time, when Captain Boycott dared to raise the rents (probably to an intolerable level or by a large margin), the tenants got mad and gave the boot to the Captain. The tenants got the support of the Irish Land League in their battle against the now hapless Captain Boycott. Pretty soon, all the folks in the county joined in: shops refused to sell goods to Captain Boycott; organized parties intercepted his mail and deliveries of food supplies; marauding bands of angry tenants and supporters ravaged the Captain’s properties, causing the fearful man to flee to the mother country.
The rebellion by the tenants against Captain Boycott became front page news, resulting in the application of the word boycott to mean any organized resistance against an established authority.
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