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Robert George Gammage (ca. 1820 – 7 January 1888) was a leading figure in Chartism in the 1830s and 1840s. He was also the author of the first history of the movement.〔Gammage, R G (1854) ''The History of the Chartist Movement'', Holyoake & Co., London, p. 7.〕 ==Early years== Robert George Gammage was born in Northampton around 1820. Aged twelve he started an informal apprenticeship with a local coachbuilder. He was a founding member of the Northampton branch of the Chartist "Working Men's Association". He began speaking at public meetings and as a result lost his job. He began travelling simply to find work, but became increasingly active as a Chartist lecturer.〔Maehl, W H (ed.) (1983) ''Robert Gammage: Reminiscences of a chartist'', Society for the Study of Labour History, Manchester.〕〔For a discussion and map of Gammage's travels, see Southall H (1991) 'Mobility, the artisan community and popular politics in early 19th century England', in Kearns K and Withers C W J ''Urbanising Britain: Essays on class and community in the 19th century'', CUP, Cambridge, esp. pp. 109–113.〕 In June 1839, he walked the six miles from Northampton to the village of Brixworth in order to address a public meeting. Before the meeting was held, Gammage and two companions attended a service in the parish church where the clergyman (Charles Frederic Watkins, who was vicar of Brixworth from 1832 to 1873) rebuked them and threatened the three with arrest if the meeting proceeded. Despite this, Gammage recalled that attendance at the roadside assembly later that day amounted to several hundreds and the minister’s efforts to persuade the constable to arrest those addressing it were unsuccessful.〔Gammage, ''Recollections of a Chartist''; selection 7 in Vision of Britain ('Becoming a Chartist speaker, and first leaving Northampton in 1840')〕 He left Northampton on 6 February 1840 and went first to Newport Pagnell and stayed at the Coachmaker's club house. He then travelled through Bedford, Ampthill, Huntingdon and Cambridge to Hertford, where he stayed with friends, and made a visit to a cousin in Hatfield he had not seen since childhood. In London he stayed for six weeks with an uncle and aunt. He moved on to Sevenoaks and Maidstone, where he had another friend from Northampton, to Tonbridge, Lewes, Brighton, Chichester, Fareham, and Southampton. In Southampton he heard about work in Portsmouth, so travelled back but was rejected because he lacked experience. He travelled on via Salisbury and Devizes to Bath, and finally to Sherbourne, where he found work.〔Gammage, ''Recollections of a Chartist''; selections 7 and 8 in Vision of Britain ('Travelling in the north in 1842')〕 Gammage makes it clear that both Devizes and Sherborne were very hostile to Chartism: Every Sunday morning (Sherborne ) I received by post the Northern Star. ... Many of my friends were eager to get a look at (), and I gratified them as best I could. Those that read it did not think that Chartism was so bad as it had often been presented.〔Gammage, ''Recollections of a Chartist''; selection 9 in Vision of Britain ('Eight months in Sherborne')〕 Unfortunately, work became scarce in Sherborne and after eight months he had to set out again: I became involved in a long and arduous search for work, and during that time felt the full force of my remark to Mr.Hill (employer in Sherborne ) on the value of a trade society to support men when seeking employment. I travelled no less than 1,400 miles in different parts of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland before I again obtained work.〔Gammage, ''Recollections of a Chartist''; selection 10 in Vision of Britain ('Working and Campaigning in Chelmsford in 1841-2')〕 His precise route is unclear, but he seems to have visited Halifax and Bradford, and New Year's Day, 1841 saw him in Edinburgh. He then went by boat to Ireland, visiting Belfast and Dublin. Returning to London, he finally found work in Chelmsford. He was dismissed in late 1841 for political activities, and returned to Northampton, via Ipswich and Cambridge. The job in Northampton lasted only three months. Travelling again, he passed through Leicester, which he describes as "in a constant ferment", due to "intense distress".〔Gammage, ''Recollections of a Chartist''; selection 11 in Vision of Britain ('Travelling in the north in 1842')〕 In Sheffield, he met the Chartist leader George Julian Harney, and in Leeds worked for seven weeks and addressed meetings there and in the surrounding townships. He stopped briefly in Harrogate, where he had an introduction from his employer in Sherbourne to a coach trimmer who had moved there from Dorset, and he finally arrived in Newcastle in September 1842. It is clear that on his travels since Chelmsford, he had become increasingly active as a speaker, and in Newcastle he was advised to take up lecturing as a Chartist orator regularly. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Robert George Gammage」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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