Today in labor history: Farm workers on trial

On this day in 1830, the trial of nearly 350 agricultural workers began in England. The trial followed riots by the farmers in the autumn of that year; the laborers, facing land enclosures and increasing emphasis placed on technology over workers, had demanded higher wages and destroyed farm machinery.

Nearly 2,000 workers were tried and convicted. 19 of them were executed, while over 500 were deported to New South Wales and Tasmania.

Photo: A government message to the rioting agricultural laborers. Tumblr