In the 1800s an English land agent owned some agricultural property in Ireland. The property was farmed by tenant farmers who were required to pay rent. Several years of poor harvests made paying the rent difficult and the tenant farmers asked for a reduction in the rent. The landowner refused to cut them any slack and insisted on the full amount. He finally pushed the people too far. The farmers refused to harvest the crops. His household servants quit. Local businesses refused to sell him any goods. The mail carrier refused to deliver his mail.
The man’s name was Charles Cunningham Boycott.