Episode 29. Patreon Upcycle: The Origin of the Boycott
We’re upcycling this week to give Kate a break as she prepares for a panel at Wonder-Con (March 27, 2026 at 6 pm in room 207!). Thankfully we have a timely one for you: The story of the boycott, a great example of community advocacy that’s quite relevant today. Plus, it’s about the Irish, so the fact that it was recently St. Patrick’s day lined up nicely as well!
Get ready to learn about the man behind the movement, mediocre white man Charles Boycott. Boycott worked as a land agent for the oppressed tenant farmers of British-occupied Ireland in the 1850s, showing up post-famine and pissing off pretty much everyone. His refusal to lower rents, imposition of fines for petty violations, and general jerkishness did not ingratiate him to the locals. Little did he know that his name would live on as one of the most effective tools in the protest playbook.
Kate also gives you a hefty (yet woefully inadequate) summary of the conflicts between the English and Irish up to 1853. She does her best to hit the highlights from 700 years of war and rebellion, including the Norman invasion, Oliver Cromwell’s campaign of terror, and the pathetic English response to the famine that killed a million people.
And, as a bonus, you’ll hear the origin of boycatting!
CW: Violence, Sexual Assault, Self-Harm
References
Captain Boycott and the Irish, [https://www.amazon.com/Captain-Boycott-Irish-Joyce-Marlow/dp/0841502714] by Joyce Marlow
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boycott [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boycott]
https://apnews.com/article/trump-musk-tesla-sales-model-y-boycott-doge-deliveries-976a467eca5a179db58cbe4318f54a52 [https://apnews.com/article/trump-musk-tesla-sales-model-y-boycott-doge-deliveries-976a467eca5a179db58cbe4318f54a52]
https://www.businessinsider.com/target-boycotts-making-mark-more-protests-are-coming-2025-5 [https://www.businessinsider.com/target-boycotts-making-mark-more-protests-are-coming-2025-5]
https://www.newsweek.com/target-facing-permanent-boycott-june-2079736#:~:text=Pastor%20Jamal%20Bryant%2C%20in%20an,was%20cut%20by%2043%20percent [https://www.newsweek.com/target-facing-permanent-boycott-june-2079736#:~:text=Pastor%20Jamal%20Bryant%2C%20in%20an,was%20cut%20by%2043%20percent].
https://www.britannica.com/money/Charles-Cunningham-Boycott [https://www.britannica.com/money/Charles-Cunningham-Boycott]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boycott [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boycott]
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/corps-royal-engineers [https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/corps-royal-engineers]
https://www.britannica.com/technology/sapper-military-engineering [https://www.britannica.com/technology/sapper-military-engineering]
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/marking-the-norman-invasion-of-ireland-850-years-and-counting-1.3877350 [https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/marking-the-norman-invasion-of-ireland-850-years-and-counting-1.3877350]
https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/2023/how-ireland-served-as-a-laboratory-for-the-british-empire/ [https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/2023/how-ireland-served-as-a-laboratory-for-the-british-empire/]
https://yourirish.com/history/16th-century/introduction-of-the-crown-of-ireland-act-1542 [https://yourirish.com/history/16th-century/introduction-of-the-crown-of-ireland-act-1542]
https://www.olivercromwell.org/wordpress/ireland/ [https://www.olivercromwell.org/wordpress/ireland/]
https://www.hrp.org.uk/banqueting-house/history-and-stories/the-execution-of-charles-i/ [https://www.hrp.org.uk/banqueting-house/history-and-stories/the-execution-of-charles-i/]
https://www.britannica.com/event/Penal-Laws [https://www.britannica.com/event/Penal-Laws]
https://www.britannica.com/event/Irish-Rebellion-Irish-history-1798 [https://www.britannica.com/event/Irish-Rebellion-Irish-history-1798]
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/irish-rebellion-1798 [https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/irish-rebellion-1798]
https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliamentandireland/collections/ireland/act-of-union-1800/ [https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliamentandireland/collections/ireland/act-of-union-1800/]
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-OConnell [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-OConnell]
https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1653&context=mulr [https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1653&context=mulr]
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Land-League [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Land-League]
https://cartlann.org/authors/charles-stewart-parnell/ennis-speech/ [https://cartlann.org/authors/charles-stewart-parnell/ennis-speech/]
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