The diggers were a group begun by Gerrard Winstanley in 1649 during Oliver Cromwell's England which called for a total destruction of the existing social order and replacement with a communistic and agrarian lifestyle based around the precepts of Christian Nationalism, wishing to rid England of what they called the Norman Yoke. They called themselves the True Levellers to distinguish themselves from The Levellers. Opponents insultingly called them the Diggers because they advocated an agrarian return to the land.

The Council of State received a letter in April 1649 reporting that several individuals had begun to plant vegetables in common land on St. George's Hill near Cobham in Surrey, at a time when food prices reached an all-time high. Sanders reported they had invited "all to come in and help them, and promise them meat, drink, and clothes." Their intentions were to pull down all enclosures and cause the local populace to come and work with them. They claimed that their number would be several thousand within ten days. "It is feared they have some design in hand."

Fairfax duly arrived with his troops, and interviewed Winstanley and another prominent member of the True Levellers, William Everard.

Everard was astute enough to see which way the wind was blowing and soon left the group. Winstanley, however, true to his convictions remained and complained about the treatment which they received. The harassment from Fairfax's troops was both deliberate and systematic, including numerous beatings and an arsonous attack on one of the communal houses. The might of the Puritan state was effectively turned against them. They were prosecuted as Ranters, who were sexual revolutionaries.

The numbers of the Diggers more than doubled during 1649. Early in 1650, however, hemmed in by harassment and trouble on all fronts, the movement collapsed and St George's Hill was vacated, much to the relief of the local freeholders.

The name 'Diggers' was revived in San Francisco for a radical guerilla theater group, offering street theater, information and free food during the hippie movement associated with the Haight-Ashbury, 1965-68.

In the 1974 British General Election one candidate ran as a Digger in Cambridge.

In 1975 Leon Rosselson published a song about the diggers, The World Turned Upside-Down.

External link