Performers’ Kit / Wiki  This is the creative-commons performers' kit for the English [Three Acres And A Cow](https://threeacresandacow.co.uk/) show.  This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). Please [contact us](mailto:[email protected]) if you have any questions about this.  The title of the show and our branding is *not* included in the Creative Commons licence, so please don’t put on an event advertised as 'Three Acres And A Cow' without our involvement.  Each module has an overview of key points and themes to be communicated, some sample text and a list of songs, poems and stories which could be used to illustrate them. It is a few years out of date in a few places - apologies, updating this is on our to do list. [1    Introduction](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.ci1kwn6puq8b) [2    The great Norman land grab](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.ef5k6gfwds24) [3    Enclosure, Wool and Sheep](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.j5hz4qrgkpn3) [4    Plague, war and the Peasants' Revolt](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.5ti3tz6tmzyv) [5    War on Women and the Doctrine of Discovery](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.md1ev3dps6pu) [6    Inflation, that Henry and the Monasteries](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.rojf7ewn36yq) [7    English Civil War and the Diggers](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.9ocytb8u1a41) [8    The Glorious Revolution and arrival of modern day economic theory](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.szzqgt8wnavn) [9    The Parliamentary Enclosures](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.k8mgcme3tw4u) [10    Industrial Revolution, Luddites and the last Labourer's revolt](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.hm6a2aoqnqnj) [11    The Peterloo Massacre, early coops/unions and the Chartists](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.i3ix624tmixm) [12    Colonialism and neo colonialism](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.pmvv4ho4gg4h) [13    Ireland, Scotland and land reform agitation](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.do3uy7m4m4c3) [14    Rent strikes, tenants rights and rent control](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.61qt1ehcm7nz) [15    Land and recreation - access to countryside, privatisation of parks](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.bbwjqhiy234d) [16    Historical revisionism and outro intro](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.wxjjtwiz7dgn) [17    Scottish land reform](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.d5gmqkl5obim) [18    Land and food - Post WW2 migration, agribusiness, CAP and food sovereignty](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.asptglruig9j) [19   Ending](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ATFpzrnzwPUy0JNGrdMbJm4kbmK_dQiU2ul4MIneRL0/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.8s5vzdcj4rr7) # 1    Introduction - introduce yourself and the show - say what your motivation is for learning and wanting to share this history - share a quote or two from below or any you like about the importance of history “Changing the story isn’t enough in itself, but has often been foundational to real change. Making an injury visible and public is usually the first step in remedying it, and political change often follows culture, as what was long tolerated is seen to be intolerable, or what was overlooked becomes obvious. Which means every conflict is in part a battle over the story we tell, or who tells and who is heard.” Rebecca Solnit “Stories are the secret reservoir of values: change the stories individuals and nations live by and tell themselves and you change the individuals and nations. Nations and peoples are largely the stories they feed themselves. If they tell themselves stories that are lies, they will suffer the future consequences of those lies. If they tell themselves stories that face their own truths, they will free their histories for future flowerings.” Ben Okri “History is the fundamental source, especially for young people, of human memory. It affects everything in terms of attitudes, values and political decisions.” Professor Tom Devine – University Of Edinburgh “The first step in resistance is a history lesson – it’s not a lesson written for us, but one we write ourselves.” Professor Simon Critchley – New School For Social Research (New York) Sample script Hey, my name is…… and my name is…. welcome to Three Acres And A Cow, a history of land rights and protest in folk song and story. We are going to cover over a thousand years of people's history in England. Now, the song part is very important... We've read in both scientific journals and newspapers that singing together is very good for your health... so hopefully by the end of the show you’ll have got most if not all of your recommended five folk songs a day - {sing chorus of Manchester Rambler}. I'd like to frame the show with a couple of quotes from leading contemporary thinkers... {read quotes} Right... let’s start the show # 2    The great Norman land grab major land redistribution - pre Norman invasion Anglo-Saxon England was largely made up of free people who ‘owned’ their land. - all land seized in post invasion Norman land grab and the majority of people become serfs belonging to roughly 200 Norman Barons. William kept ⅕ country for himself, gave ¼ to the church and divided the rest between his Barons. - it took ten years from Battle Of Hastings for Normans to subdue entire country (mention Harrying Of The North) - make guerilla warfare resistance connection to outlaw legends (Robin Hood and Hereward The Wake) - massive concentration of large landowners from 2000 to 200 within ten years - none of whom spoke Anglo-Saxon. Songs, poems, quotes and stories  The quote from William The Conqueror's deathbed (see below) plus various possible Robin Hood stories and ballads. Robin Hood and the Butcher (Child Ballad 122) Robin Hood and the three Squires - we do [this version via Wallace House](https://threeacresandacow.co.uk/2020/06/robin-hood-ballads-sung-by-wallace-house/). Robin Hood and the Tanner (Child Ballad 126) Robin Hood and the Fifteen Foresters (Child Ballad 139) Robin Hood and The Pedlar (Penguin book of English folk songs) Hugh Lupton and Nick Hennessey have a cd called 'Liberty Tree' full of wonderful outlaw ballads and stories Washing line - 1066 Norman Conquest - William's deathbed quote (taken out of most shows early 2017) Sample scripts Condensed version After William The Conqueror invaded Anglo Saxon England from northern France in 1066, he declared that all of the land, animals and people in the whole country now belonged to him personally. This was called serfdom, a form of modified slavery where you were owned along with the land underneath you by whichever feudal Baron was in William's favour. The number of people classed as free fell overnight from around 90% to 10%. This loss of freedom and land was bitterly resisted for many years after 1066 and stories of resistance to Norman rule eventually coalesced into the folk outlaw myths we still have today. The first record of this occurs in the mid 1300s with a Norman Abbot commenting in his journal that no one wants to come to church and still psalms any more, all people want to do is get drunk in taverns and listen to songs about hooded Robins. Which just goes to show we've been demonising people in hoodies in this country for a very long time. Longer sample text So we are going to go back to 1066 now, which is pretty much one of the only dates that most people can correctly identify from their school history; the year of the Battle of Hastings and the Norman conquest. William the Conqueror convinced himself that he was entitled to the English Anglo-Saxon crown and invaded from Normandy, a small province of northern France. King Harold got an arrow in the eye at the battle of Hastings and that was pretty much that. But alas... it wasn't... It actually took him ten years to subdue the whole country and what the history books often forget to mention is that William once crowned declared that all of the land, animals and people in the whole country now belonged to him personally. An unprecedented land grab to end all land grabs. Imagine you went to sleep free and owned your own land (as over 90% of the pre Norman population were) and then woke up the next day without ownership of that land and instead found yourself the private property of whichever of William’s 170 Barons he had entrusted the land to, as payment for their military services. This was called serfdom and was in essence a modified form of slavery. As is to be imagined the Anglo-Saxon English did not take this lying down and waged a guerilla war which William struggled to put down as outlaws took to the woods and picked off any Normans they could find. So angry was William at this continued resistance to his rule that he burnt down every single building between York and Durham to set an example, leaving around a hundred thousand people to die in the process – this was called the 'Harrying of the North' if you want to google it for yourself... It is worth noting that many of the largest landowners in the country still to this day proudly trace their family tree back to ancestors who were involved in this bloodbath. Luckily you don't have to take my word for it as a Norman monk recorded William's deathbed confession... "I treated the native inhabitants of the kingdom with unreasonable severity, cruelly oppressed high and low, unjustly disinherited many, and caused the death of thousands by starvation and war, especially in Yorkshire.... In mad fury I descended on the English of the north like a raging lion, and ordered that their homes and crops with all their equipment and furnishings should be burnt at once and their great flocks and herds of sheep and cattle slaughtered everywhere. So I chastised a great multitude of men and women with the lash of starvation and, alas! was the cruel murderer of many thousands, both young and old, of this fair people." {if doing a Robin Hood story or ballad then....} A few hundred years later we see a first written reference to a 'hooded Robert' in a priest's declaration that no one wants to attend mass any more, all they do is get drunk in taverns and sing ballads about Robin Hood... It seems demonising hoodies is not a recent thing... We can be pretty sure Robin Hood never existed but more likely was amalgamation of various stories telling of outlaws (such as Hereward The Wake's) resistance to the Norman Conquest and subsequent rule. # 3    Enclosure, Wool and Sheep major land redistribution - enclosure meant fencing or hedging (for private use) common land and taking away commoners rights to use it - wool from sheep was England's first major export - producing wool required little labour and being non-perishable it was easy to trade - enclosure was opposed by both Church and Monarchy as it created a vagrant landless underclass not interested in fighting for country or paying tithes Songs, poems, quotes and stories quote from Thomas More's Utopia Baa baa black sheep can be fun here - change words back to original “none for the little boy who cries down the land” Washing line - 1285 - 1640 Enclosures - b/w picture of a sheep - Thomas More quote Sample scripts Katherine script 2025 Next up on the washing line of history comes sheep – or more specifically wool. Wool was the driver of the mediaeval English economy. It is relatively easy to produce, particularly if you happen to be a sheep. It is also lightweight and non-perishable which made it very easy to trade. And around this time, English wools were amongst the most highly prized in all of Europe. And so the Lords and the barons began looking around for extra parcels of land where they could graze more sheep and cash in on the wool trade, and their gaze fell upon the common land.  Now, although at this point in history the common land already technically belonged to the Lords and the barons, traditional rights of use and access had survived the conquest intact. And this meant that the peasantry still completely depended upon access to the Commons for their subsistence way of life – which of course is why they were known as the commoners. They would have grazed their animals and grown crops there, drawn water, they may have had rights to fish and to hunt for small game, to forage for other wild foods and to cut wood for fuel and for building their homes. And so as these private mini land grabs begin, and areas of common land are hedged and ditched so that the peasantry can no longer access it, people begin to find their traditional way of life is simply no longer possible. They have no alternative – they are forced to leave their homes and desert their communities. These early sheep driven enclosures began in the 1200s and they carried on right the way through into the 1600s and during that time, many towns and villages simply disappeared from the maps of this country as their inhabitants were forced to leave. As you can imagine, this was exceedingly unpopular with the peasantry, and people did resist at different times and in different ways around the country and although small battles were won, nothing could really stop this tide of enclosure that was sweeping across the country. It was also unpopular with the church and with the monarchy, but neither institution really had the power or the will to stop it and so what this did was create an underclass of vagrant, landless peasant that could really only survive by begging or by stealing. Old condensed sample text Let's define Enclosure for now; this was the process over many hundreds of years by which land that was previously communally used and managed called 'the commons' was privatised into small fields for keeping flocks of Sheep. Wool was more profitable than food, requiring much less labour and far easier to transport and trade. It cannot be overstated how important sheep and wool were to the foundation of capitalism in this country. Another condensed sample text Land managed cooperatively by everyone was called common land and this was relied upon for housing, food, fuel and building materials for much of the peasantry. Greedy landlords fenced it off or enclosed it to make private fields for sheep farming which often led to a landless vagrant underclass. Sheep were highly profitable as wool was the main export of the country and required little labour to produce. Old sample text Now it is rarely as clear cut as good guys and bad guys in history but I am going to propose to you that the Normans might qualify for bad guy status ...and next we need to talk briefly about another pretty uncontroversial bad guy – sheep (hold up picture of sheep) As early as Roman times England and Spain were widely renowned for the quality of the wool they produced. It was a highly profitable trade as the wool from sheep required much less labour than food to produce and furthermore wool being non perishable was quite happy to travel around Europe and beyond, unlike your leeks and spinach which wouldn't fancy the journey one bit. But why are sheep going to turn out to be bad guys? Well, around this time much land, although technically belonging to the Norman king, was still held in 'common' for the cooperative use of everyone, an Anglo-Saxon model of land usage which was retained to placate the peasantry. Many families were housed on this land and relied on it for food, fuel and building materials. This common land started to be 'enclosed' unlawfully by greedy local landlords as it was much easier to keep sheep in a bounded field. These enclosures were essentially creeping mini land grabs, piecemeal privatising land which all had used previously and often clearing people from their homes in the process. They were hated and resented by the people but they were also despised by the king and church... The king because once people had lost their homes it created a vagrant and landless underclass who would have no interest in turning out to fight when the next war came along as they had no stake in the country to fight for... and the church hated enclosures as it meant there we less people around for them to hassle for tithes – a hugely abused tax system which enabled them to collect money and produce from the peasantry to keep god happy. {baa baa black sheep) {quote by thomas more from utopia} There is another cause of stealing, which, as I suppose, is proper and peculiar to you Englishmen alone. Your sheep that were wont to be so meek and tame, and so small eaters, now, as I heard say, be become so great devourers and so wild, that they eat up, and swallow down the very men themselves. They consume, destroy, and devour whole fields, houses, and cities. For look in what parts of the realm doth grow the finest, and therefore dearest wool, there noble men, and gentlemen, and certain Abbots, ...leave no ground for tillage: they inclose all into pastures, they throw down houses, they pluck down towns, and leave nothing standing. Thomas More, Utopia (1516) # 4    Plague, war and the Peasants' Revolt major change in balance of power - class - end of feudalism - Bubonic Plague (later rebranded Black Death for racist reasons) kills around 1/3 to 1/2 of the population - serfs have greater demand for their labour and thus bargaining power for the first time. - This leads to serfs winning their freedom and the beginning of wage economy  - first maximum wage set to prevent peasants from gaining too much independence. - Hundred Year War with France, largely financed by merchant capital to gain control of the Flemish wool industry and weavers ...(processing raw materials is where the profit is - wool into cloth) - First ever poll tax to finance war (two weeks wages for entire population, three times in a couple of years) - Peasants' Revolt Songs, poems, quotes and stories  [John Ball by Sydney Carter](http://threeacresandacow.co.uk/2013/12/john-ball-by-sydney-carter/) Hugh Lupton and Rachel Rose Reid both have performed stories incorporating the quote from John Ball's speech at Blackheath to the crowd before they marched on London: "When Adam delved and Eve span, Who was then the gentleman? From the beginning all men by nature were created alike, and our bondage or servitude came in by the unjust oppression of naughty men. For if God would have had any bondmen from the beginning, he would have appointed who should be bond, and who free. And therefore I exhort you to consider that now the time is come, appointed to us by God, in which ye may ( if ye will ) cast off the yoke of bondage, and recover liberty." Do play with the language of this, it can be translated in more than one way - there are various other translations online if you have a search. Washing line - 1349 Black Death - 1351 Statute of Labourers - 1377 First poll tax - 1381 Peasants' Revolt Sample scripts Condensed sample text After the Black Death plague killed around half the population in 1349, large landowners were finding it impossible to get enough people to harvest their crops. They started giving serfs their freedom and paying them for work that had previously been done unpaid out of feudal obligation. This shortage of labour also sped up the process of land being enclosed into pasture for sheep rather than arable land for crops as sheep required much less labour. This period has been coined the beginning of the wage economy. Guess how long it took for the ruling class to set a national maximum wage and move to restrict freedom of movement for workers? Two years... guess how long it took them to pass a national minimum wage? Quite A Bit Longer... then a few years later, someone in London had another idea… Longer sample text The next big milestone to put up here is the Black Death... The plague killed somewhere around a ⅓ to ½ of the population and if you were lucky enough to survive there was a huge increase in the demand for your labour as there were so few people left to work the land. This resulted in 'serfs', people who were still owned by their Norman landlords, winning their freedom and starting to earn wages for the first time. This period is often considered to be the beginning of the wage economy... The ruling classes despised the new power and autonomy their serfs were gaining and within two years we saw the first laws setting maximum wages. It was to be many many hundreds of years until we were to have anything which might be considered a national minimum wage but there you have it 1351, the statute of labourers setting a maximum wage for the first time. The plague also led to an increase in the speed of land enclosures as sheep required far less of the scarce labour than tending a field of turnips. Then a few years later in London someone had a brand new idea. To add insult to injury, now that people had the possibilities of freedom and income it was decided that they should also start to be taxed to pay for foreign wars. Prior to this all wars were funded by large Norman landowners who stood to benefit from victory through increasing their domains. During this period England was in the middle of a hundred year war with France which was arguably the first ever trade war, fought to gain control of the Flemish wool and cloth markets where much profit was being made from trading English wool and processing it into cloth. In 1379 and then twice more in a three year period the tax man came and knocked on your door asking everyone regardless of gender or age for roughly two weeks wages. They got away with this twice but the third time sparked an incident which led to the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. During the Peasants Revolt, somewhere in the region of 50,000-100,000 people from Essex, Kent and surrounding counties marched on London. {potential joke about ruling class obsession with titles, fortunes and expensive foreign wars plus ca change} They were led by Watt Tyler, who now has a car park named after him in Essex, {please note - this is a joke... I think he actually has several streets and a park named after him}, Johanna Ferrour who led the assault on the Tower Of London and personally oversaw the beheading of the much hated Archbishop of Canterbury, who was also the King's Treasurer and fellow who had come up with the poll tax. {mention that his head is preserved in the wall of a Suffolk church} Another leader was John Ball, a hedge priest who had become widely renown by the people but despised by his superiors who had kicked him out of the church and had him thrown into a dungeon for preaching sermons on equality inspired by passages of the bible which were previously kept from them. Perhaps a bit more banter about Sydney Carter and or John Ball before singing the song... # 5    War on Women and the Doctrine of Discovery - Wrap up narrative from Peasants Revolt - Introducing new section ‘War On Women’ - How did the enclosures affect women - Low population size, ruling class force women to focus on unpaid reproductive work - Origin of witch trials - Using language to dehumanise  - Last English Pope encourages seizure of land and people from non Christian places New sample script The King promised to grant the peasants their demands but once the occupation of London had dispersed he betrayed them and soon after all the leaders of the Peasants Revolt were tracked down and killed.  After this close escape the ruling class were temporarily cowed and on the back foot for much of the 1400s with the peasantry enjoying an unusual degree of economic freedom. One way the ruling classes sought to break the peasantry’s strength  was by divide and conquer of the genders. Enclosure was often affecting women far more than men as it was more dangerous for women to be itinerant labourers (plus looking after children) and thus many women ended up migrating into towns and cities where they held professions such as smiths, bakers, butchers, doctors and builders.  Low population due to Black Death meant that workers had more bargaining power for their labour. In order to increase the population more quickly women were banned from doing paid productive work and forced to stick with unpaid domestic and reproductive work to create more workers who could then be paid less. The witch trials largely focussed on women, especially those who had knowledge of regulating fertility through indigenous use of herbs or who owned land. Much in a similar fashion to how words like terrorist or illegal immigrant as used today, once you were tarred with the label of being a witch you were considered sub-human and beneath the right to the pretense of any common decency such as a fair trial. In 1452 Pope Nicholas V decrees “invade, search out, capture and subjugate Saracens, pagans and any other unbelievers, take their land and reduce their persons to perpetual slavery” Used as recently as 2005 in the US Supreme Court as legal justification for land ownership deeds in America. # 6    Inflation, that Henry and the Monasteries major land redistribution - inflation caused by imported silver from Spain’s colonial plunder brings increasing wealth and power for new merchant middle class - Henry VIII orders all pasture be converted back to arable - does not have the strength to implement statute - land owners already rule countryside (1515) - Henry VIII seizes church assets to increase power and wealth. First big redistribution of land since Normans, as seized land is about 1/5 of the country. Land sold to newly moneyed merchants with no sense of paternalism and a desire to get quick returns on their investment (1536) Songs, poems, quotes and stories - The Fowlers' Complaint (1611) - The Poor Mans Joye (1607) - A Lanthorne for Landlords (1630) - Of Rente Raysers by Robert Crowley (1550) Washing line - Treasure picture - 1515 Henry VIII orders all pasture be converted back to arable - 1536 Dissolution of the Monasteries Sample scripts Katherine script 2025 In the decades since the Peasants’ Revolt, a new class has emerged between the peasants and the aristocrats. This is the merchant class and they have been doing very nicely on the wool trade. They have been amassing huge fortunes and with that wealth came power. Henry VIII is the monarch at this point and he begins to get a little nervous about this newly monied and powerful merchant class. In the early 1500s Henry actually passed anti-enclosure legislation in a direct attempt to limit the fortunes that the merchants were making. Unfortunately for Henry, the people he was relying upon to go out and enforce this legislation were also getting rich on the wool trade, so they weren’t very motivated to do much law enforcing. This meant that the legislation had a little impact, but it did spark a movement of the common people calling themselves The Levellers, who took matters into their own hands by tearing down hedgerows and filling in ditches to give people access back to common land, but it wasn’t a movement that had a huge impact at this time. Another 20 years or so passed and the merchants grew wealthier and more powerful; Henry was feeling comparatively poorer and poorer. I imagine that he called a meeting with his trusted advisor who all sat around stroking their beards (undoubtedly they were all men) and asking one another: “Who has loads of land and loads of money but no army?” And they couldn’t help but notice that the Catholic Church had been doing rather well. And so in 1536 Henry passed the Dissolution of the Monasteries Acts, allowing him to seize all of the Churches’ money and all of its assets – which at that time amounted to around 1/5 of all the land in England and Wales. Now the idea was that this land would provide a source of rental income for the crown in perpetuity but Henry... well he wasn’t really known for his modest appetites now was he? He ran up huge debts that needed servicing. And so what actually happened was that this land passed from the ownership of the Catholic Church into the ownership of the monarchy and then was quite quickly sold on to the only people with money to buy it – the merchant class. They then wanted to exploit this land for further financial gain by closing it further at the expense of – you guessed it – the peasantry. It’s around this time we start to see the first written records of people’s struggles against Enclosure and Robin is now going to sing us a very old song about Enclosure. Old sample script In the years since the Peasants' Revolt, a new middle class of merchants is gaining power and becoming more prominent between the peasantry and the aristocracy. One factor limiting the growth of their class and their early capitalist economy was lack of capital as gold and silver were in short supply The Spanish conquest of South America gave a massive injection of silver into Europe which led to the first ever major inflation in England. This meant that many people (both high born and low born) found their money worth much less but the merchant middle men continued getting very rich quickly. Henry VIII and other Tudor monarchs legislated against enclosure during this period in an attempt to reign in fortunes being made from the wool trade but this legislation largely failed because the very people they depended on to enforce such anti-enclosure acts were either directly or indirectly profiting from the land grabs. Instead peasant’s resorted to enforcing the law themselves, pulling down hedges and fences enclosing common land, often calling themselves 'Levellers'.  In a bid to gain more power, land and to improve the crown's finances by preventing the flow of money out of England to the Pope, Henry VIII dissolved the Catholic Church in England and took hold of all of their assets, which at that time was around a fifth of the country. Although this gave the monarchy a short term injection of cash it ultimately sowed the seeds of their destruction as the confiscated land was largely sold off to the newly monied merchant class who over the next hundred years used it without any sense of feudal obligation to amass even more money and power at the expense of the peasantry. Around this time we start finding records of peoples' songs of resistance to such land grabs and we are now going to hear a very old song… Old sample script In the years since the Peasants' Revolt, a new middle class is gaining power and becoming more prominent between the peasantry and the aristocracy. We'll refer to this newly monied class as the merchant class for the time being and they had been doing very well off the wool trade. One limiting factor preventing the growth of their class and their early capitalist economy was lack of capital. Precious metals gold and silver were in short supply as little was being mined in Europe and much of what there was either made into mediaeval bling and or was flowing out of Europe via the silk and spice routes. Spain, which along with England had amassed a fortune on the wool trade, built huge ships and used them to take a load of gunpowder over to South America. This was used to 'persuade' the locals to part with their silver and to mine even more of it for them for free. This massive injection of silver into Europe contributed to the first ever major inflation in England which meant that many people (both high born and low born) found their money worth much less but the merchant middle men started to get very rich quickly. Henry VIII and other Tudor monarchs legislated against enclosure during this period in an attempt to reign in fortunes being made by others. People pulling down hedges and fences enclosing common land often called themselves 'Levellers'.{Peg 1515 Henry VIII and 1536 Edward IV} These largely failed because often the very people they depended on to enforce such anti-enclosure acts were either directly or indirectly profiting from the land grabs. In a bid to gain more power and to improve the crown's finances, preventing the flow of money out of England to the Pope, Henry VIII destroyed the Catholic Church in England and took hold of all of their assets which at that time was around a fifth of the country. Well done Church! Although this gave the monarchy a short term injection of cash it ultimately sowed the seeds of their destruction as the land was mostly sold off to the newly monied merchant class who over the next hundred years ruthlessly used it to amass even more money and power at the expense of the peasantry. Around this time we start finding records of peoples' songs of resistance to such land grabs. The one I am going to sing now is... … (Fowlers Complaint) # 7    English Civil War and the Diggers major land redistribution - merchant classes are powerful enough to challenge the monarchy which is trying to hold back their new capitalist economy - Relatively small number of people got involved compared to the peasants revolt, most tried to keep out the way - not one civil war but three wars involving England, Scotland and Ireland with foreign mercenaries - censorship of printing press lifted in 1640 for ~50 years leading to radical literature finding new audiences for the first time - The Diggers print the first Christian socialist literature and set up communal groups occupying and working land - 2nd big redistribution of land since Normans as Royalist estates are seized and sold off to merchants Songs, poems, quotes and stories - The World Turned Upside Down - The Diggers' Song Washing line - 1642-1651 English Civil War - 1649 2nd big capitalist land acquisition as Parliamentarians sell 1,677 Royalist Estates - 1649 The Diggers Sample scripts Katherine script 2025  By the 1600s the merchant class were holding most of the seats in the house of commons. By now they are so wealthy and so powerful that they feel bold enough to directly challenge the authority of the monarch which may or may not be connected to the king being fiercely anti enclosure during this period. As you can imagine this goes down very well indeed – and leads to the English Civil War. Or the English Revolution as it’s known in other countries, but never this one. I wonder why… So the English Civil War: not one war but three, fought over a period of about 15 years. And this was definitely not a war of the common people rising up against an evil monarch. On one hand we had the old money – the Cavaliers, essentially the aristocracy, a wealthy landed elite. On the other hand we had the new money – the Parliamentarians, essentially the Merchant class, another wealthy landed elite. Of course it was more complicated than this as people had been inter-marrying but you get the gist: essentially this was a war between two elites – perhaps most easily distinguishable by their headgear – and many common people were doing their best to keep out of the way! There were never more than 30,000 people fighting at any one time in the Civil Wars, which pails into insignificance when you compare it to the 100,000 who took part in the Peasants’ Revolt. Thanks to an administrative oversight at this time, there were no restrictions on the printing press, so we know quite a bit about what people were thinking. We know for instance that many of the people who chose to fight for the parliamentarians were expecting democracy to be further extended to the common people if the Parliamentarians won the war, and were disappointed when that didn’t happen. We also know that when the Parliamentarians seized 1677 Royalist Estates in the wake their victory, many people hoped and expected that these estates would be broken up and returned to common land so that the peasantry could access it. Once again, these people were disappointed – the estates were sold on to friends of the parliamentarians or even just ransomed back to those they had been seized from in the first place. Manifesto promises eh? It seems that many people felt badly betrayed by the Parliamentarians and some decided to take direct action, most famously a group calling themselves the true levellers – other people referred to them as The Diggers. The Diggers established communities in many parts of the country and everywhere they went they were doing the same thing – occupying what had been common land, farming together and living collectively according to their egalitarian Christian principles. And we just happen to know a song about that... Old condensed script Over the next hundred years, the newly monied merchants continue to grow in power and wealth and eventually reach a place where they are able to challenge the authority of the monarchy which ultimately leads to a civil war. The English Civil War was not the war it is often portrayed to be. It was actually three wars not one, spanning nearly fifteen years and it was certainly not a war fought between the people and the monarchy. It was a war fought between two small wealthy elites, the large landowning merchant class called parliamentarians and the royalist aristocracy. Perhaps best thought of as the one percent versus another one percent! Often it was very difficult to tell them apart as many of the merchants had been marrying into the ruling class and many of the aristocrats had been getting their hands dirty playing merchant games.  Only a tiny amount of the country was involved in direct fighting and in many parts of the country people formed their own local militia to protect themselves from looting by both sides. Many small landowners and landless labourers had no choice but to fight for whichever side their local Lord chose, whilst others were convinced to fight for the Parliamentarians with promises that they were fighting for a fairer and more equal post war society. These people were betrayed as soon as the dust settled. The period also saw the second big redistribution of land since the Norman conquest, as thousands of large Royalist estates were seized by the parliamentarians and sold off to their wealthy friends. The Diggers were a group of people who felt betrayed by the failure of the parliamentarians to create a more equal society and took direct action: occupying land which they communally farmed and lived on inspired by their egalitarian Christian values. Old sample text  Now our merchant class have become a class of large landowners, through buying up church land sold to them by Henry VIII and through enclosure. Within a couple of generations they have gained enough power and money to directly challenge the authority of the monarchy which ultimately led to the civil war. The English Civil War was not the war it is often portrayed to be. It was actually three wars not one, spanning nearly fifteen years and it was certainly not a war fought between the people and the monarchy. It was a war fought between two small wealthy elites, the large landowning merchant class called parliamentarians and the royalist aristocracy. Perhaps best thought of as the one percent versus another one percent! Just to be clear there were royalist aristocrats who had got involved or married into merchant mischief and there were also large landowning merchants who had managed to buy or marry their way into the aristocracy, so which side who was on was not always a clear cut thing. Only a tiny percentage of the country was involved in direct fighting (often at the bidding of whoever held power in their area) and in many parts of the country people formed their own local militia known as the Clubmen to protect themselves from looting by both the royalists and the parliamentarians. Many small landowners and landless labourers were convinced to fight unpaid against the royalists with promises that they were fighting for a fairer and more equal post war society. They were ultimately betrayed as soon as the dust settled. The period also saw the second big redistribution of land since the Norman conquest, as thousands of large Royalist estates were seized by the parliamentarians and sold off to their wealthy friends. The Diggers were a group of people who felt betrayed by the failure of the parliamentarians to create a more equal society and used direct action occupying land which they farmed and lived on communally inspired by their egalitarian Christian values. Much is known about the Diggers as during the civil war censorship of printing presses was considerably weaker than before, allowing their ideas to spread far beyond their immediate communities # 8    The Glorious Revolution and arrival of modern day economic theory major change in balance of power - ruling classes - end of absolute monarchy - brutal repression of radical ideas post civil war and return to censorship - national debt, speculation, modern day banking arrive in England from Holland with Dutch monarchy, leading to a century of boom and bust bubbles and expensive wars which bankers make much profit from - burden of taxation starts being moved from how much stuff you own to how much stuff you consume - Amsterdam was previously the financial centre of Europe, this soon moved to London - concept of 'free' markets lead to removal of regulation which protected poor Songs, poems, quotes and stories - The Lincolnshire Poacher - Van Dieman's Land - many other poaching songs - quote from 'The Making Of The English Working Class' (see below) Washing line - 1688 Glorious Revolution Sample texts  New text - early 2017 The parliamentarians chopped the kings head off!! ...which was super confusing because the king was ruling under divine right as god's chosen leader and god didn't seem to get too upset by the beheading… {Oliver Cromwell refusing the crown skit} ...a few confusions later we find Oliver Cromwell reluctantly appointing himself supreme dictator of the country and when he dies this passes onto his son... which sounds a lot like monarchy again... and doesn't work out so well as Cromwell's son isn't really into it! This situation ultimately resolved several more confusions later by inviting the Dutch monarchy over from Holland but creating a constitutional monarchy which means the king had much less power and is starting to become more of a figurehead. In the 1600s, Amsterdam was the financial centre of Europe and they had invented modern day economic theory. Ideas like stocks and shares, free markets, supply and demand and that old chestnut... What is good for the economy is good for everyone as the money will eventually trickle down! They brought their bankers and economists over in the Glorious Revolution. Pretty soon London had replaced Amsterdam as the financial centre of Europe, nearly all of the legislation in place to protect people from ruthless capitalists was repealed. Talk about Jonathan Trelawny (really foul person - Farage and Boris gag) inheriting enough land to choose 9 MPs in the House of Commons, also inheriting a lot of debt as his father was on the losing side in the Civil War and Daddy had had to pay huge sums to get the family estates back. In 1709 Trelawny had the idea to pass the first ever parliamentary bill enclosing common land in Ropley, Hampshire. Outrage, scandal - this won’t ever happen again… … … Katherine script 2025 Now by all accounts, Jonathan Trelawney was not a very nice man… He was, however a very powerful man. He had inherited so much land that he could personally choose 9 MPs in the House of Commons. He had however also inherited a huge amount of debt, because his family was on the losing side of the Civil War and had taken out huge loans to buy their land back. Jonathan was an ambitious man and he wanted to clear his family’s debt in his lifetime. And he came up with a cunning new plan for how to do this.  First step was he went to the King and he bought the role of the Bishop of Winchester – because of course that is how Bishops are chosen at this point in history. So he buys the role of the Bishop of Winchester, gets a fancy new hat and a control over a large amount of land. Jonathan knows that if he can clear the common rights from that land and rent it out privately, he will increase his annual income by 10 times. But he has seen the process of enclosure. It’s messy and complicated and very time-consuming. Jonathan decides to try and speed up the process of enclosure by passing a bill through the houses of Parliament.  Now the bill itself is a complete pack of lies. It basically says “yes I have consulted with everybody, all the commoners agree, it is in everyone’s best interests that I enclose this land”. And of course, all the other parliamentarians know that this is a complete pack of lies. But they also know that Jonathan Trelawney is a very powerful man and not somebody you want to get on the wrong side of. And so in 1709, the first Parliamentary Enclosure bill is passed and the land around Ropley in Hampshire becomes the first ever Parliamentary Enclosure. But this leaves a nasty taste in the mouths of the other parliamentarians. This seems pretty underhand, even by their standards. And quietly, they say to themselves and to one another that they would never do as he has done. They would never stoop as low as Jonathan Trelawney. (England and Wales now joined with Scotland, bribed in the Acts of Union in 1707 after their own colonial adventures lead them to bankruptcy!) South Sea trading bubble: British ruling class lose huge fortunes speculating on the buying and selling of enslaved Africans in the first British stock market crash. Then turn to parliamentary enclosures as the only way they can get a quick injection of cash. # 9    The Parliamentary Enclosures major land redistribution - Kickstarted by aristocrats who lost fortunes speculating on the slave trade when the South Sea Bubble burst in 1720 - monarchy or church not able to get in the way of enclosing common land any more - later enclosures were not for sheep but large farmers using new expensive techniques forcing out the rest - wool less valuable due to empire providing cotton via slavery and exploitation of India - 1/3 population move from countryside into towns 1790-1830 Songs, poems, quotes and stories - The Mores by John Clare (many of his other poems too) - The Leane by William Barnes Washing line  - 1700-1850 Parliamentary Enclosures Sample script Propose four main waves of Enclosure: 1 South Sea Trading Bubble Collapse 2 Plundering of India 3 Financial success in slave economy (much later than France, Spain, Dutch etc) 4 Compensation from end of slave trade Many of the people involved in the parliamentary enclosures were funding these land grabs with money they had made from the looting of British colonies in India and Africa, the buying and selling of enslaved Africans, or profits from plantations in the new world which relied on slave labour. The newly moneyed trying to ape the country estate slifestyles of the aristocracy or the aristocracy trying to solidify their fortunes in the face of challenges from new money. So most of those big country houses which we English are fond of pride and prejudicing in were built with the blood of peoples whose ancestors surely deserve compensation/reparations for their losses. Enclosures were originally opposed by both the church and the monarchy, but they had both lost much of their power in the dissolution of the monasteries and the civil war. As a result, we see a massive increase in the speed of land being enclosed in a period known as the Parliamentary Enclosures.  One person who documents his feelings about this and its effect on his community is the Peasant writer John Clare who was driven insane by the sight of all the land around him, which he had freely roamed as a youth, being fenced off and privatised. # 10    Industrial Revolution, Luddites and the last Labourer's revolt migration - transition from horse and water to coal - America's newly moneyed class win independence from England (same forces at work as in English Civil War) and this awakens new French and English radical movements - English radical movement was brutally repressed after French Revolution, Habeas Corpus suspended for a year in 1794 and again in 1798 for three years. - Repression masks industrialists dismantling remaining artisans and workers rights allowing their factories to destroy cottage industry. Any meeting of labourers is seen as a danger to the status quo. - Luddites (in the north) and Swing riots (in the south) are attempts by labourers to reassert rights. These movements (and others) were not anti technology, they were pro workers rights. - 12,000 troops were sent to put down the Luddite uprisings (more than were fighting Napoleon at the time) Songs, poems, quotes and stories - Ned Ludd song - General Ludd's Triumph (try Chumbawamba's version) - General Ludd by Seize The Day - Tom Paine's bones by Graham Moore - The Mask Of Anarchy by Shelley - Song for the Luddites by Lord Byron - Jerusalem by Blake - Eight Shillings A Week - Captain Swing - Owslebury Lads Washing line - 1790 - 1830 Industrial Revolution - 1811 – Luddites - 1830 – Swing Riots Sample Text I was always under the impression that during the industrial revolution people migrated from the country into the towns and cities looking for opportunity as the streets were made of gold and perhaps the countryside was boring them... Sadly, as we have seen in the first half it is much more likely that they were forced into the towns and cities faced with starvation if they stayed put after the destruction of their rural communities by enclosure, taxation and the effects of ‘laissez faire’ free market economics. In the late 1700s revolution was in the air, as first America won her independence from England and then France began the first of her many revolutions. Tom Paine's book the 'Rights Of Man' from Norfolk was highly influential in both these revolutions and sowed the seeds of a growing interest in Republicanism back in England. At the same time Mary Wollstonecraft wrote 'A Vindication of the Rights of Women' bringing her ideas about equality between all into the national and international consciousness. The ruling classes, terrified of revolutionary fever spreading to England, brutally clamped down on any perceived attempt at labourers getting together to organise themselves including suspending habeas corpus for eight years which meant that they could throw anyone in prison indefinitely without giving a reason or a trial. The capitalist merchant and now factory owning elite exploited all the ruling class's fear of revolution as an excuse to prevent any attempt by labourers to protect their communities from exploitation and livelihoods from destruction through coming together in public to form unions or 'combine' as it was called in those days. The Luddite movement in the northern towns is perhaps the best known example of people's resistance from this period although the swing riots or last labourer revolt in the south was also a reaction to the same forces. There is a disgusting notion promoted by the elites at the time which has sadly stuck in our consciousness to this day, that the Luddite and swing rioters were a backward small minded people who were anti-technology. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let me speak plainly - the Luddites and Swing rioters were not anti-technology, they were pro workers rights. The people who made up these groups had already explored every democratic means available to them as they fought to protect themselves and their families from starvation and only after exhausting democratic means resorted to secret highly organised and targeted breaking of the machines belonging to the very worst, more ruthless and exploitative employers. There is also an idea that this was a small outbreak but if I was to tell you that 12,000 troops were sent out to suppress the Luddite uprisings I am sure you will reconsider that too.  # 11    The Peterloo Massacre, early coops/unions and the Chartists major change in balance of power - working class organisation - Army charged a large unarmed crowd of men, women and children during a Manchester meeting in support of parliamentary reform. Shock waves of 'Peterloo Massacre' lead to repeal of laws preventing unions forming. - Tolpuddle Martyrs attempt to start a labourers' union in Dorset but are sentenced to transportation using obscure legal trickery around oath taking which backfires when shown that many wealthy people including the king's brother are also involved in such oath taking. Massive peaceful protest marches in London and great petitions presented to parliament and the king perhaps mark the beginning of modern day protest movement techniques. - The Chartist movement gives up on political action and concentrates on repopulating the countryside with model communities. See also the birth of the co-op movement. Songs, poems, quotes and stories - Master and I (From Roy Palmer 'The Painful Plough') - Song On The Times (Chartist Song) - The Chartist Song - (a hundred years, a thousand years… etc) - Road To Dorchester by Graham Moore - Tolpuddle Man by Graham Moore Washing line - 1819 - The Peterloo Massacre - 1824 - repeal of combination acts - 1824 onwards - Birth of modern day union and coop movements - 1834 - Tolpuddle Martyrs Katherine script 2025 As a direct result of enclosure of the common land, England has now seen a huge shift in the distribution of population, with many many more people now living in the towns and cities. And what little political representation there is for the working poor hasn’t changed at all to reflect this. So we now have the huge urban centres of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds with a combined population of over 1 million and no MP to represent them in the House of Commons. And then we have places like old Sarum in Wiltshire which has just 12 dwellings, no permanent residents, and 2 MPs to represent its clearly very important need! Old Sarum was one of a number of so-called Rotten or Pocket Boroughs. It was a hugely corrupt system, it was widely disposed and there was a strong desire for political reform around the country. And, as Robin has just explained, at this point in history there are revolutions going on in many other places around the world; the people who hold power on this island are terrified that revolution might also take hold here. And so in 1819, when 60,000 men women and children gathered in Saint Peters Fields on what was then the outskirts of Manchester, to listen to speeches about the need for and the possibility of political reform, the local magistrates couldn’t quite believe that so many people would come together for purely peaceful means. And so, on the day, they ordered that the Yeomanry should arrest the speakers and disperse the crowd. The Yeomanry was essentially a private police force, an amateur militia, and it was largely made up of the sons of the wealthiest mill owners in that area. There are eyewitness accounts from the day stating that the Yeomanry were drunk when they rode into the crowd on horseback. They moved to arrest the speakers, but the crowd joined hands to prevent them and the Yeomanry quickly panicked. They drew their swords and they began blindly attacking the crowd around them who were packed in so tightly they couldn’t get away. 16 people were murdered that day and many hundred more were seriously injured. The event made the national press the following day where it was dubbed ‘the Peterloo Massacre’ – the journalist was essentially ridiculing the Yeomanry, saying they had behaved as if they were on the battlefields of Waterloo rather than facing a peaceful crowd unarmed protesters: men, women, and children. The event sent shockwaves through all levels of society but in the immediate aftermath of the Massacre, the ruling classes clamped down even harder on those that had been campaigning for reform. They arrested many of them and put them in prison. But it soon became apparent that they would have to make some concessions or they would have a full scale Revolution on their hands. And so in 1824 they made possibly the smallest concession they could get away with to buy off the population by repealing the Combination Acts. Now ‘combining’ was an early word for Unionising and as soon as those Acts were appealed, we see the birth of the early Unions movement, with people being able to come together for the first time legally to demand better pay and better conditions. We also see the emergence of the early Co-ops movements at this time too and interestingly the Unions, the Co-ops and the Chartists, who were campaigning for political reform around this time, were all collecting a subscription fee from their membership with the same aim in mind: they wanted to raise enough money to buy land out in the rural parts of the country and move the urban poor from the slums, back onto the land, where they could support themselves and live a good life. There was a strong cultural memory of having been removed from the land – sometimes in living memory – and people wanted to get back to it. We’re now going to sing a Chartist song together. Sample Text One way which labourers trapped in towns and cities hoped to peacefully affect social change was through reform of the corrupt voting system for MPs which had not changed to reflect the massive migrations of the past hundred years. Large industrial cities like Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester did not have a single MP between them, whereas 'rotten boroughs' such as Dunwich in Suffolk (which had a population of 32 in 1831) were still sending two MPs to Westminster. In 1819 around 100,000 unarmed men, women and children met in a field on the outskirts of Manchester to listen to speeches about parliamentary reform. They were charged by an army cavalry and many killed in a horrific event later referred to as the Peterloo Massacre. The widespread horror and repulsion from this sent shock waves through all strata of society. At first the ruling elite cracked down even more ruthlessly on any dissenting voices but this only fanned the flames of discontent further and after a few years they realised that they had to give concessions to the reformers or they would soon be facing a revolution. A few years later the hated Combination Acts were repealed. This meant that people were now free to meet up or 'combine' for the purposes of political reform. Workers wasted no time forming what we recognise as the first modern day unions. It is often overlooked that a major goal of the early union, chartist and co-op movements was to collect subscription money from workers, pooling their money so they could buy land and build new model rural communities in an effort to escape from the filthy urban slum conditions and return to the countryside which their families had left, often in living memory. The Peterloo Massacre is a major turning point in our history and from here in, we start to see workers winning back some of the rights lost in the previous several hundred years. The massacre has very little presence in our public consciousness and many people believe it to be a significant event that should be more widely known. # 12    Colonialism and neo colonialism major land redistribution and migration - Colonialism - many from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales emigrate or are sold as indentured servants to ‘the new world’. Some fight in common cause with enslaved Africans, whilst others become oppressors and colonisers. - Neo colonialism - many companies based on this island are still involved in clearing indigenous peoples from their land in the name of extractive industries.  - Our government is funding other governments to clear people off their ancestral lands in the name of international aid by processes that mirror our enclosures. Songs, poems, quotes and stories When the Chariot Comes Amazing Grace Washing line - Colonialism and neo colonialism Sample script Needs to be written # 13    Ireland, Scotland and land reform agitation - Irish Potato Famine leads to Irish Land Wars and three resulting Land Acts - land sold back to small holders with government loans (1879-85) - Hebridean Land Revolt, the Crofters War and Highland Land League - it's also kicking off in Scotland too - Late 1800s and early 1900s land reform started making headway in England too, including allotment acts and numerous near introductions of a land value tax aiming to return the balance of taxation away from masses and back to large landowners. - 1910 Land owners start selling land which they fear is soon going to become a liability (over 1/2m acres). - The Plotlands were first chance for workers to own land and build dwellings on it - leads to Planning Laws to prevent poor people building houses in countryside (1920-47) - Land Settlement Association - government scheme to return people to the land with smallholdings, privatised in 80's (1934) Songs, poems, quotes and stories - Three Acres And A Cow (from Roy Palmer's The Painful Plough - recording on main website [here](http://threeacresandacow.co.uk/2014/07/three-acres-and-a-cow-unattributed-broadside-from-late-1800s/)) Washing line - 1845 - 1852 Irish Potato Famine - 1870 - 1890 Irish Land War and Land Acts  - 1870 - 1880 Hebridean Land Revolt, the Crofters War and Highland Land League - 1872 - 1st agricultural labourers union - 1882 - 1926 The Allotment Acts - 1909 - People's Budget (includes land value tax) - 1870 - 1947 The Plotlands Sample script (needs updating) By the late 1800's there were finally some successes in forming agricultural workers unions and even the beginnings of a land reform movement inspired by the success of Irish labourers who had secured the right to reclaim land taken from them by their English rulers. The various allotment acts were concessions made to the land reform movement which began around this period and give everyone in the country to this day the right to have a patch of land to grow their own fruit and veg, a right which very few people realise still exists – unless you live in London! In the 1300s we saw the first ever poll tax on the population to pay for war (previously only the aristocracy funded that), we then mentioned how back in the 1600s the burden of taxation was intentionally moved from land and assets belonging to the rich to every day commodities with the effect of reducing the tax bill for the wealthiest people and transferring it to the rest of the population. Now in the 1800s we see attempts to reverse this placing a tax back on the large landowners, by reintroducing a tax on the value of land ingeniously called land value tax. There have been several times when we have been on the cusp of passing such a tax most notably in the years running up to the Great War. Indeed, around this time many landowners were so concerned about soon having to pay tax on land they owned, that many started selling it. Essex was one place where much land was sold off cheaply in small parcels and it was this land that many east Londoners moved onto forming communities later referred to as the Plotlands. This is possibly one of the only times in England that there has been an organic repopulation of the countryside by labourers and attempts to prevent it happening again led to the various planning laws which people still have to battle today should one want to buy some land in the countryside and start a smallholding. Land Value Tax has historically been one of the key policies of the Liberal Democrat party but they have sadly gone quiet on the matter since forming a coalition with the large landowners party. Caroline Lucas attempted to get a private members bill through parliament on the matter last year but sadly received very little support. One of the slogans of the land reform movement was 'Three Acres And A Cow' which was viewed as a sufficient amount of land for a family to live on. (might be worth including a small mention of the land settlement association around here as they are still going and seem to be doing some good work) they were formed after the 2nd world war to provide support for ex army people to start up on a smallholding... this was largely successfully until thatcher decided to close down much of what they had achieved in the 80s... # 14    Rent strikes, tenants rights and rent control - First tenants rights in Britain came about through rent strikes and tenants unions in the early 1900s. Can give examples of Mrs Barbour's Army or St Pancras rent strike depending on which song is planned to be sung.  - Can compare and contrast tenants right with those won by the Irish. - Massive rent hikes during the Great War in Glasgow lead to first modern British rent strikes and subsequent rent controls. - Many strong European economies have comprehensive rent controls - thanks to Thatcher, the UK has some of the weakest tenants rights in Europe. Germany, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland - all have rent control, tenants have the right to remain as long as they are complying with the lease, and landlords doesn’t have the right to evict tenants when a contract ends. (See https://vimeo.com/198539222) Songs, poems, quotes and stories - 'Hey Ho Cook and Rowe' by Peggy Seeger (lyrics and music on main website [here](http://threeacresandacow.co.uk/2015/05/hey-ho-cook-and-rowe-by-peggy-seeger/:)) - 'Mrs Barbour's Army' by Alistair Hulett - Can tell the story about the Irish ‘boycott’ Washing line - 1915 Rent strikes - The Glasgow Women’s Housing Association led by Mary Barbour - November 1915 as many as 20,000 tenants were on rent strike and rent strike activity was spreading beyond Glasgow to rest of the country... led to Rent Act 1915 - Beginning of rent controls - Countries such as Germany balance a large and decent private rental sector with limits on rent increases and long term stability for tenants. - Agitation in 1930s led to 1933 Rent Act - 1959/60 St Pancras council tenant rent strike - Tenant Unions - Last rent controls repealed by Thatcher in 80s Sample script {Octavia Hill, social housing and model villages taken out 2024} Many people from Ireland migrated up to Glasgow in the mid and late 1800s so perhaps it is no coincidence that we see the next flowering of rent strikes there which led to some of the first tenants rights being won in Britain. In Glasgow during the first world war, with many men away fighting, women migrated into the city to work in the munitions factories. This created additional demand for housing and greedy landlords soon hiked the rents. But they hadn’t accounted for badass du jour Mary Barbour who led around 20,000 women on a rent strike. They also defended their homes and threatened the ruling class using a diversity of tactics. These rent strikes started spreading across the country and soon led to the passing of the first rent control legislations in Britain setting rents back to pre war levels. This took six weeks to pass into law which just shows how quickly the ruling classes can act when given the appropriate amounts of motivation. We badly need better tenants rights including rent controls now, as our rental and housing market is totally out of control. The argument against is normally along the lines of "that will stifle growth" or "that will ruin our economy." which is codswallop. Many economically successful countries have pretty comprehensive rent controls and far more legislation protecting tenants. In Europe, Germany, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland all have rent controls, tenants have the right to remain as long as they are complying with the lease, and landlords don’t have the right to evict tenants when a contract ends. Recently the government passed a Renters’ Rights Bill which has reined in some of the worst excesses of landlord behaviour but by refusing to consider any forms of rent control landlords can still easily force tenants from their homes by hiking rents until they are priced out. Now we’re going to sing… # 15    Land and recreation - Kinder Scout and Right to Roam - People forced off land and into towns and cities are not allowed to return to the countryside for leisure under trespass laws. - Kinder Scout mass trespasses in 1932 to protest lack of access to countryside led to Ramblers movement and eventually creation of National Parks in 1949. - 60 years later the anniversary trespass kick started a movement which led to the right to roam acts under Blair’s Labour government in 2000. Songs, poems, quotes and stories  Manchester Rambler by Ewan MacColl Washing line - 1932 Kinder Scout Trespass - 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act - 2000 Right To Roam Act Katherine script 2025 By the 1930s, rambling had become a really popular pastime with the urban poor. People were slogging away during the week in dangerous, dirty, noisy, cramped conditions; on their one day off they wanted to get out into the countryside for a bit of fresh air and some peace and quiet. An estimated 15,000 people were leaving Manchester every Sunday in 1932 go for a walk on the mountains and moorland surrounding that city. But it was probably quite hard for those 15,000 people to get much in the way of peace and quiet because they were just 12 public footpaths open to them at this point, just 1% of all that wild land. It was privately owned, fenced off, fiercely guarded by gamekeepers – people were not permitted to go there. Now the British Ramblers Association had been writing strongly worded letters asking for better access to the countryside for all. And as a direct result of that, bugger all had happened. And so in April 1932 the Manchester branch of the British Workers’ Sports Federation decided to take matters into their own hands and they organised a mass trespass onto Kinder Scout. Kinder Scout was an excellent target for the trespassers being the highest point in that area and, at this point in history, a privately owned grouse moor in use just 12 days a year, fenced off 365 days a year. On the day around 400 people took part, some setting off from Manchester and some setting off from Sheffield. The Manchester group were intercepted on their way to the summit by some gamekeepers who wanted to stop their trespass. They had a bit of a tussle but the trespassers prevailed and carried on up to Kinder Scout where they met the group that had walked up from Sheffield and I like to imagine that at this point they slapped one on another heartily on the back, took out their Thermos flasks, drank tea and ate some very hiking appropriate snack that isn’t malt loaf because Soreen are massive Tory donors. Let’s say they ate Eccles cakes instead. So they drank tea, ate Eccles cakes, sang the ‘Internationale’ and returned to their respective cities. The group returning to Sheffield had an easy return trip but the group returning to Manchester were met by the police. Six people were arrested and five were given prison sentences. Now that news made the national press. It unleashed a huge wave of sympathy and just two weeks later, 10,000 people showed up for a rally in the Peak District to demand better access to the countryside for all. As you can imagine, that put the issue pretty squarely on the political agenda but the wheels of power took some time to turn and it wasn’t until 1949 that the post-war labour government passed the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act and created our first ever national park in the Peak District, where the Mass Trespass taken place. And that could have been the end of it. But 50 years later, Benny Rothman who had been instrumental in organising that first mass trespass, decided it was high time to mark the anniversary of this significant political event. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he decided that a good way to do this would be to have another trespass. Benny worked very hard to make it an overtly political event and it was a great success. Subsequent anniversaries of the original trespass were marked and this movement started to gain momentum and eventually, helped to lead in the year 2000 to the passing of the Countryside Rights of Way Act, or the CRoW Act as it’s known. The CRoW act has, in some places, made a huge impact on the amount of land that is publicly accessible, but it only applies to mountain, moorland and coastal land and what that means is you can still find plenty of places in England where there is nowhere you are permitted to go for a walk. We have a long way to go in England before we enjoy the same access rights as our neighbours in Scotland, they really have world class Access legislation – you can walk, climb, swim, kayak, you name it. They have responsibilities alongside their rights which is just exactly the way it should be. It’s worth mentioning at this point I think that many of the people who took part in that original Kinder Scout mass trespass may not have lived to see the way that it contributed to the passing of the CRoW Act in 2000. We never know what seeds we sow. The observant amongst you may have noticed that in recent years the anniversary Kinder Scout mass trespass has been somewhat reinvigorated – there have been some large scale trespasses and trespass swims too. And of course we’ve had a recent access victory down on Dartmoor where the right to wild camp has been protected with a ruling from the Supreme Court – huge thanks to anyone who took part in that protest. If you’re sitting there thinking that you might like to get involved in making some history this way, do check out the Right to Roam movement, they’re doing some interesting things in various parts of the country. Old sample script Many who felt trapped in the towns and cities still had a strong sense of belonging to greener places and a memory of their families past lives in the countryside. Rambling was a popular pastime as city folk sought to get out to the hills, dales and peaks on their day off from the factories. Sadly all of the areas they hoped to walk around were privately owned with gamekeepers to police the land ...there was public access to less than 1% of the Peak District at the time and as you might imagine that 1% was pretty crowded on a sunny day. In 1932 a group of about 500 ramblers from Manchester and Sheffield held a mass trespass ascending Kinder Scout, the highest point in the Peak District. They were met by gamekeepers on the way up, had a bit of a fight and then six of them were arrested by police on the way down and given jail sentences of 2 to 6 months. A few weeks later 10,000 people turned out for a 2nd mass trespass which helped the movement to gain momentum although it was to be another 17 years until the post-2nd world war labour government created the national parks to start addressing this issue. This still did not go far enough in many people's eyes and it took another mass trespass on the 60th anniversary of the original kinder scout trespass to kick start the 'Right To Roam' movement which secured much broader legislation from another new Labour government in the year 2000. It is worth noting that many of the people who took part in the original action back in 1932 did not get to see the fruits of their actions ...which is a lesson well worth remembering for many of us involved in campaign work today. You might not get to see the fruits of your actions in your lifetime but it is always good to plant seeds as you never know when they might bring fruit. Scottish folk singer Ewan Maccoll wrote our next song called 'The Manchester Rambler' inspired by the Kinder Scout trespass. # 16    Historical revisionism and outro intro Ascott Martyrs story + Suffragettes vs Tunbridge Wells cricket club needs to be written up here Katherine script 2025 England has one of the highest concentrations of land ownership anywhere in the world. Our best estimate is that less than 1% of the population own somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3rds of all of the land in England. And that’s an estimate because the data on land ownership in England is incomplete and is kept behind a paywall. You would be forgiven for thinking that someone was trying to keep it a secret… And in these times of inequality constantly reaching new and terrifying heights, questions about how this vastly unequal distribution of land drives huge inequality of both wealth and opportunity are, well, just conspicuously absent from the few conversations there are about inequality.  And of course this affects many aspects of our lives. Perhaps most obviously it affects the price, quality and availability of our housing and our food. But it also affects how far people have to travel for work, how much space we leave for nature, how we tackle climate change, how clean or polluted our rivers and seas are, where we are permitted to walk, to swim, to sleep beneath the stars... it’s actually quite hard to think of an aspect of our lives that isn’t affected by issues of land ownership and access. And I’m sure that by now it’s abundantly clear to all of us in this room (if it wasn’t already) that this isn’t just some natural law at work; it’s the result of almost 1000 years of our very particular history. This history, on the washing line behind me. The Parliamentary Enclosures were, quite simply, government sanctioned theft. It was a technique that was perfected here and then exported to much of the rest of the world under the banner of the ‘colonial improvement’ project and everywhere it went, it wasn’t just the land that was stolen. It was our right to subsist. To support ourselves, and one another. If it wasn’t bad enough that we were being torn out of the land in this way, enclosure brought with it a new kind of social isolation too because much of the work, and many of the festivals and celebrations that would’ve brought us together across the year depended on access to common land. Once that was gone, and we no longer had the need to come together for work or the opportunities to come together to play in the same way, our ties to one another we also loosened. These days we lead increasingly pressurised and atomised lives, for the most part surviving on food that is grown for us by other people in other places and all of this makes it alarmingly easy to forget that we all still depend upon the land, and upon one another, for our survival. These things are just as true today as they were when we were living as commoners. But it’s hard to remember that, and even hard to feel it I think, after almost 1000 years of a story that has very effectively separated us from the land and from one another. But of course we’d all be better off if it wasn’t this way; rich and poor, landed and land-less, human and more than human. And if there’s any doubt about that in your mind, get yourself a copy of the Spirit Level book which has page after page of research demonstrating that around the world, those countries that are the most equal are also the happiest and the healthiest. And that’s why we think it’s so important to keep telling this story and singing these songs. Because until sufficient numbers of people know how we come to have one of the most unequal distributions of land ownership anywhere in the world – and are sufficiently pissed off about it – then not much else can change. I think these words written by Rebecca Solnitt sum this up very beautifully. She writes: “Changing the story isn’t in itself enough but has often been foundational to real change. Making an injury visible and public is usually the first step in remedying it.“ # 17    Scottish land reform could/should lead to a major change in the balance of power and major land redistribution - Isle Of Eigg community buyout - Scottish Land Reform Acts Songs, poems, quotes and stories - tbc Washing line - 1997 Isle Of Eigg community land buyout - 2003 Land Reform (Scotland) Act Sample script If you consider Scotland as a separate country, it would perhaps have the highest concentration of land ownership anywhere in the world. Around 432 people own over half of the country, and the Scottish peasantry were cleared from their common land far more recently than in England and Wales so they have a much keener living cultural memory of this. So perhaps it is no surprise that land reform has more momentum north of the border, which you don’t tend to read much about in the press here in England.  Back in 1997 residents on the Isle Of Eigg came together and formed a community land trust to collectively buy their entire island off an absentee landlord who had been neglecting it for a very long time. Political commentators at the time were very dismissive of their efforts, certain that they would not have the skills to manage the land but the Isle of Eigg has recently celebrated their 25th anniversary and there has been a real renaissance there.  They have been able to build houses and workspaces where they are needed and keep prices on them affordable so local people can afford to live and work there, they have control over the amount of tourism so aren’t seeing their community destroyed by airbnb as is happening in so many other beautiful parts of our country. They have set up and manage renewable energy generating projects with the profits going back into the community. They have a music festival, a record label, a craft micro-brewery and I believe they even have their own sourdough bakery! Things are good. Since 1997 Holyrood has passed a number of Land Reform Acts in Scotland which have been giving communities increased powers to challenge unjust patterns of land ownership. There is lots of inspiration to take from all this and lots to learn from things that have been going both well and badly with Scotland's experiments with land reform.  In England, the current Labour government is committed to introducing a new Community Right to Buy law as part of the upcoming Devolution Bill that will be coming before the House of Commons soon. There is a window of opportunity at the moment for us to push for stronger powers to challenge unjust land ownership and uses such as land banking and grouse moors that have detrimental effects on surrounding communities. # 18    Land and food - Post WW2 migration, agribusiness, CAP and food sovereignty - Post WW2 sees final major migration from the country into towns/cities as factories shift from tanks into tractors. - Chemical warfare industry morphs into pesticides/fertilisers businesses. - Common Agricultural Policy was essentially a bribe to landowners to agree to post war settlement and a way of Germany indirectly compensating France. - CAP subsidies encourages and support much poor and destructive land use  - food sovereignty movement building but limited by access to land - Land Workers Alliance in UK is part of Via Campesina which represents over 200 million peasant families globally at UN, EU, international, nation and local levels. - small scale agriculture still feeds the majority of the world's population - Ecological Land Co-op successes in setting up new smallholdings Songs, poems, quotes and stories - The Ballad of Hawkwood Washing line  - post 1945 - Rural migration - Agribusiness - Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - 2000 onwards food sovereignty movement - 2001 Organiclea - 2012 Land Workers Alliance - 2013 Ecological Land Coop Sample script Ok, so let's hang up the world wars slip from earlier and we are now into the post war period which saw the final mass migration of people out of the countryside and into the towns as farming became largely mechanised. It is little known that the same companies which produced chemical weapons in the world wars, the gases used in the nazi holocaust and agent orange in the vietnam war now make up the modern day pesticide industry This industry has since made more than enough profit to buy up all of the seed companies to create the monster that is often referred to as 'agribusiness' and are now involved in forcing one size fits all petrochemical reliant mono-cropping and genetically modified plants into our worlds despite widespread global resistance. I would propose to you that with this track record, these are companies which put profit before people and really don't care what long term effects their products have on us as long as the bottom line looks good for them. After the 2nd world war, the Common Agricultural Policy was introduced, essentially a bribe to landowners in exchange for them agreeing to the post war settlement and a way of Germany indirectly compensating France. Today, the budget for CAP makes up over a third of the EU budget. We are talking about huge sums of money here. In England, CAP in many places has become a subsidy paid directly to large landowners many of whom are not farmers. The Queen for example gets millions of pounds of taxpayers money every year through CAP just because she owns lots of land. Sadly the UK successfully blocked recent attempts to reform CAP as large landowners have pretty much got control of the government on this issue. There is a great BBC Panorama on this topic called 'the money farmers' which you can still find online if you search a bit... and I have a copy if anyone wants to get it off me. Another disastrous effect of CAP is that it currently provides a financial incentive for landowners in England to remove vegetation from their land. This has been identified as a major contributing factor in the mass floods we had last year. Cleared of vegetation, water runs off the high land into the flood plains much faster and less of it is soaked up in the process. (This needs to be updated with the agricultural bill and climate collapse stuff) We have seen a huge resurgence of interest in growing food and working the land in recent years. The recent resurgence of urban food growing has seen many people based in cities and towns learning about growing for the first time and local groups have had some success in securing patches of land for community food growing projects. Around the edges of London, for example groups have secured land that used to be used as council nurseries, growing plants for local parks. One such group is Organiclea who have just over twelve acres on the edge of London and are doing an incredible job of turning this into an amazingly productive and nurturing place for growing and reskilling/inspiring people. People who have found a passion for growing food and/or other land based trades often seek to get their own land to start a small holding and whilst this can throw up huge challenges; finding money to pay for vastly inflated land prices or getting planning permission to build accommodation on site, we are starting to see success stories which are setting an increasing number of precedents of use as inspiration and learning for any seeking to follow this path. Maybe mention The Ecological Land Coop and The Land magazine  In 1993 a organisation called ‘Via Campesina’ was founded which now represents over 200 million land based workers at local, national and international levels worldwide seeking to give a voice to those often drowned out by corporate interests in the EU, UN and respective governments. A central part of their message is that small scale agriculture still feeds the majority of the world's population without the environmental and ecological massacres that occur in the name of modern day agribusiness. There is an English branch which goes under the name of ‘The Land Workers Alliance’ and I highly recommend you find out more about them if you have interest in this area. # 19    Ending Needs populating A    Outtakes Intro {taken out of show early 2023} Washing line: - Yea olde days, battles, swords, Romans and Henry VIII's wives - Britain has a great empire - First and Second World Wars - Britain still great (without Empire) (hang slips at the start, then take down at end of introduction) {taken out of show early 2023} Behind us is the washing line of history and hung up on it at the moment is a rough overview of my historical knowledge when I left school... We've got 'Yea olde days, battles, swords, Romans and Henry VIII's wives'... why it is still deemed so important that kids are still asked to memorise how Henry VIII's wives died is a mystery to me! {test audience on Henry VIII’s wives) {taken out of show early 2023} Then we have 'England has a great empire' and then moving swiftly on... we have 'First and Second World Wars'... Perhaps if you were lucky via a bit of Victorians, when the poor people were really poor… Now I am not sure if you noticed but there is a bit of a big gap there... You know, like 400 years or so... Anyways... We end up over here with 'England still great (without Empire)'... {taken out of show early 2023} It did not take long for cracks to start appearing in my world view... One memory I have is of being in San Francisco at an independence day party... My friend asked me if I knew what the party was for and I was quite surprised when he told me it was celebrating independence from Britain... I mean, why would anyone want to be independent from Britain? We gave the world Shakespeare and Cricket and Scones… {taken out of the glorious revolution section in 2024} Around this time the merchant controlled parliament also began to make a fundamental change in how the burden of tax was distributed. Where previously land and how much stuff you owned incurred the most tax, we now see the burden of taxation moving on to how much stuff you consume shifting the balance of taxation from the wealthy few to everyone else. One of the main forms of resistance against this was smuggling, where people imported goods secretly in order to avoid the taxes. Another form of resistance was food riots. Up until this point staples such as wheat and corn had a common price which was fixed and everyone knew ...suddenly prices were allowed to wildly fluctuate depending on supply and demand and forestallers stockpiled produce, driving up the price and selling when they could get the most profit. This was previously illegal. New harsh laws were also brought in around this time preventing people from hunting or trapping animals with exceptions for the wealthiest landowners. This was bitterly resisted by armies of poachers for many many years and can be viewed as the direct action of the day. People lost a major source of food and were not even allowed to protect their crops from rabbits and other pests. We are going to sing... Old sample text So the civil war is over, the parliamentarians have defeated the royalists and in the process of doing this have beheaded the king which causes much confusion... Because the king was ruling under divine right as gods chosen vessel in the country and god doesn't seem to get too upset by the beheading... ...Anyway, a few confusions later we find Oliver Cromwell appointing himself supreme dictator of the country and when he dies this passes onto his son... Which sounds a lot like monarchy again to a lot of people... And doesn't work out so well as Cromwell's son isn't very good at it!! This situation ultimately resolved several more confusions later by inviting the Dutch monarchy over from Holland but creating a constitutional monarchy which means the king had much less power and is starting to become more of a figurehead. One of the reasons why the Dutch monarchy was chosen was because at that time Amsterdam was the financial centre of Europe and they had invented a lot of the tools and ideas (or tricks?!) that came together to make up modern day economics. Ideas like stocks and shares, free markets, supply and demand and that old chestnut... What is good for the economy is good for everyone as the money will eventually trickle down! Pretty soon London had replaced Amsterdam as the financial centre of Europe, nearly all of the legislation in place to protect people from ruthless capitalists was repealed and the people of England were up in arms at the government allowing profit being put before people the length and breadth of the country. Around this time parliament also begins to make a fundamental change in how the burden of tax is distributed. Where previously land and assets had incurred the most tax, we now find that commodities attract a significant amount of tax which has the effect of shifting the balance from taxing the wealthy few to taxing all the rest. Around this time resistance often manifested itself in food riots. Up until this point staples such as wheat and corn had a common price which was fixed and everyone knew ...suddenly prices were allowed to wildly fluctuate depending on supply and demand and middle men called forestallers who were previously illegal are allowed to hoard produce, drive up the price and sell when they think they can get the most profit. Here is a little excerpt from E.P. Thompson's classic 'the making of the English working class' to illustrate... More often the 'mobs' showed self-discipline, within a customary pattern of behaviour. Perhaps the only occasion in his life when John Wesley commended a disorderly action was when he noted in his journal the actions of a mob in James' Town, Ireland;  “The mob —had been in motion all the day; but their business was only with the forestallers of the market, who had bought up all the corn far and near, to starve the poor, and load a Dutch ship, which lay at the quay; but the mob brought it all out into the market, and sold it for the owners at the common price. And this they did with all the calmness and composure imaginable, and without striking or hurting anyone.” In Honiton in 1766 lace-workers seized corn on the premises of the farmers, took it to market themselves, sold it, and returned the money and even the sacks back to the farmers. As well as food riots, poaching was another significant form of resistance and direct action against parliamentary rule. A game act of 1671 had made it illegal to hunt or trap wild animals which was a major affront as people considered hunting animals to be a common right since time immemorial. It also made it illegal for farmers to protect their crops from rabbits and other animals who fancied a chew. Old sample text about Enclosures Now that the church and the monarchy are out of the way, the timeless myth that 'what is good for the economy benefits everyone' was used to legitimise many more land grabbing enclosures. The process has even been formalised making these land grabs official with the help of a lawyer and a quick trip to London. These enclosures were no longer for sheep as slavery and empire meant a steady flow of cheap cotton was replacing wool as the raw material for clothes. The land was now wanted for new farms making use of expensive new techniques, tools and machines which were more easily and quickly adopted by wealthy large landowners at the expense of everyone else. This period is referred to as the 'Parliamentary Enclosures' and it sees a massive increase in the speed of enclosing, fencing and hedging off common land which had previously been managed and used communally by the local rural communities. The breakdown of the already very fragile rural economies quickly followed as many people relied on common land for housing, grazing their animals, collecting wood for fuel and building materials and foraging for food. This led to the largest migration in English history from 1790-1830 as around a third of the country's population moved from the countryside often into slums in nearby towns and cities. One person who documents his feelings about this and it's effect on his community is the Peasant writer John Clare who was literally driven to the brink of sanity and beyond as all the land around him which he had freely roamed as a youth was fenced off and privatised. 14 Land and housing - roots of social housing, rent strikes and rent control - Land rights and housing rights start to be two different things now so many people have migrated into inner city slums which we’d recognise as similar to modern day shanty towns. - Industrialists start building model villages to get warm god fuzzies and so their workers live longer. Lovely idea but in practice hugely oppressive - no unions, drinking, dancing, washing line watch tower etc - Octavia Hill invents social housing (plus starts National Trust = good work Octavia) - give people decent places to live and surprise surprise they are more able to pay the rent. Good …but also still very paternalistic.  - Garden City and Garden suburb movements (Ebenezer Howard) and there is no point in building nice ‘mixed’ communities without having decent rent controls in place as they soon just end up full of wealthy folk. Legacy script from 1/12/2015 - [Smile In Your Sleep](https://threeacresandacow.co.uk/2017/02/smile-in-your-sleep-song-about-scottish-highland-clearances/) by [Jim McLean](http://www.acousticvillage.co.uk/) about the [Highland Clearances](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Clearances) - [Dùthaich Mhic Aoidh](https://threeacresandacow.co.uk/2019/12/duthaich-mhic-aoidh-political-commentary-about-the-clearances-in-sutherland-for-sheep/) by Ewan Robertson about the [Highland Clearances](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Clearances) It took the Normans 10 years to conquer England, and another 100 years to conquer Ireland, meanwhile up in Scotland the border fluctuated back and forth which resulted in headaches for the poor people of Berwick. The 100 year war with France diverted attention away from Ireland and Scotland allowing the Irish to regain power in many parts of their land and the ScotsScottish to nudge the border back down south a bit. In Tudor times Ireland became far more interesting to the English ruling class as England was running out of wood for making ships and there was a naval arms race going on with Spain at the time (see spanish armada) Elizabeth I dies without sprogs - and James VI of Scotland is invited down to become James I of England beginning the process which sees England, Scotland, Wales and parts of Ireland "united". English Civil War, once Parliament has won, defeating the King and Royalists, they suddenly find themselves with large bills to pay, especially to soldiers. They get around paying these debts by sending the soldiers over to Ireland, knowing that many of them will get killed in the process and any who survive are told to take Irish land as payment for their soldiering During the parliamentary enclosures, token efforts were made to acknowledge the loss of rights by commoners. These were either in small cash payments or in small patches of land. Sadly this compensation was no way near enough to match the lost rights, including grazing, foraging for fuel and food and land for growing crops on. As a result of this many people had to sell the small patches of land they were given to the local large land owner and move into the towns and cities. In Scotland no such acknowledgment of lost rights or attempts to compensate people were made. instead families were brutally kicked out of their ancestral homes, treated worse than animals. The process happened far later in the Scottish highlands than in England as the farmland was poorer and sheep could not cope with the climate but this changed when a new breed of sheep called the cheviot arrived which was happy with the Highlands climate. Agents representing large landowners would give people a day's notice of eviction and then come back and burn down their houses the following day. There are noted occasions when they burnt down houses which contained elderly or ill people refusing to move. In many places the men were away working down south  or fighting in British imperial military forces; when the women resisted evictions they were beaten resulting in deaths. The highland clearances are another hideous stain on British history. If Scotland became independent today it would have the highest concentration of land in the hands of the least number of people anywhere in the world. Over in Ireland, people were not cleared from the land as their labour was needed but instead were forced onto smaller and smaller patches of land. by this time the potato had become the staple food as it required the least amount of ground to grow on and the ruling classes had calculated exactly how much land a family to survive on if they only ate potatoes... children would get 3-4 potatoes a day, women 6-8 potatoes and the men 10-11 potatoes... When the potato crop failed when blight first hit Ireland it was devastating for the people there but this was not a famine in the traditional sense of the word as all the other crops and livestock were just fine. People were so poor they could not afford to buy any food and the English official in charge of famine relief decided that it was god's will that the crops had failed and therefore did nothing to help the starving over a million of whom died. the irish who didn't die or emigrate… (needs more in here) By 1921 two thirds of the land in Ireland had become the property of Irish tenants, and a compulsory law transferred the remaining portions soon after the establishment (1922) of the Irish Free State. [wiki spreadsheet WIP](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YfGu0CeH_pYn0YUgXgHaUGLeXRIIiScyW7tsP23i0lo/edit?usp=sharing) Old 16    Land and infrastructure - planning, fracking, road protests (removed 2024) - Road Protests – expense of policing sites forces government to abandon aggressive road building programme - Fracking – a repeat of the road protests and still in the balance. France and Dallas, Texas ban fracking 2013 Songs, poems, quotes and stories - Let’s Lock Ourselves Here For A While Washing line - 1990s Road protests - 2014 Fracking protests Sample script I want to hang up the nineties road protests now and also pop this one up about fracking. Both situations where our government has used some pretty dodgy economic arguments to justify further industrialisation and destruction of the countryside for the short term profits of their supporters. All of the roads that were protested against in the nineties were ultimately built but the whole road building programme was pulled as the security costs spiralled out of control as activists teamed up with local groups all over the country to protect sites earmarked for destruction. This is a good example of having to lose a battle to win the war and it is likely, if people continue to campaign with the passion and persistence we have seen recently that we may see a similar story with regard to fracking. France has banned fracking, Germany is well on the way to too and horror stories coming from parts of the US where it is an established practice should hopefully keep us on track to battle the propaganda war shamelessly being waged by politicians, corporations and mainstream media. There is a lot of amazing and inspiring work being done around the country at the moment and I urge you go connect up with it as it is the front line of action in the country at the moment and you will meet some brilliant and inspiring people in the process of standing up for people, community and nature over profit. **