Question

Why were the “Tolpuddle Martyrs” so called?

I know that they got the first half “Tolpuddle” because that is where they lived & where the trade union took place but I’m not sure about “Martyr”

Context: The tolpuddle martyrs were a group of six English farm workers who were put in jail for organizing a trade union (=organization that represents workers) in Tolpuddle, Dorset, in 1833–4. They were sent to Australia as criminals, but many people protested and in 1836 the men were brought home and set free.

Answer 1

Their name does come from the Dorsetshire village of Tolpuddle, the place where the six farm workers were reported by a landowner of maintaining a secret connection with the union called Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. They are also called martyrs because their imprisonment made them popular heroes believed to have suffered by a just cause. They spent two years in an Australian jail before being released in 1837.

Step-by-step explanation:

A martyr is someone who dies for a cause, and even though these men didn´t die, they did suffer greatly and became a symbol of the workers´ struggles.