“England is not a free people, till the poor that have no land, have a free allowance to dig and labour the commons”.
So says Gerrard Winstanley a leader of the Diggers, in 1649.
At the end of the English Civil War, people began to realise that after their sacrifice in fighting that war, they had replaced one bunch of uncaring bastards with another lot
…. well, that’s politics and war for you, nothing new there then!!!
I see many parallels with today. The people pitched against an unrepresentative state and aristocracy. The Church acting rather like the present day multinationals, and a lot of people who just wanted to be left alone, without interference from church or state, on land that they respected and loved. I think this gives a little background to highlight an idea of what I mean. 350 years ago now, but a solid example of “DIY culture”, or what!
