Question

The Rochdale Pioneers, who founded the first successful cooperative, started in:

• A. London
• B. Lancashire, England
• C. Edinburgh
• D. Manchester

Answer 1

Answer:

B. Lancashire, England

Friendly Societies & the Friendly Societies Act

• Friendly Societies Act, 1793

• Passed by the British Parliament in 1793

• Aimed to recognize and regulate charitable organizations that offered mutual aid and basic necessities to the poor

These societies:

• Were formed by philanthropists

• Purchased food items like bread and potatoes in bulk

• Supplied them at cost price to poor people

• Focused on charitable help, not economic reform

Key Features

• These were early charitable and mutual aid societies

• The core idea was: “Only to cure poverty, not to prevent poverty”

Impact on Co-operative Thought

• Over time, people shifted from relying on charity to exploring self-help and mutual help

• This shift laid the foundation for the Co-operative Movement

Trade Union Movement

• Emerged as a response to poor working conditions during the Industrial Revolution

Aimed at collective bargaining to secure:

• Better wages

• Improved working hours

• Safer working conditions

• Early Trade Union Example : In 1824, Charles Howarth and others started the Rochdale Weavers’ Union

Rochdale Friendly Co-operative Society (1830)

• A predecessor to the well-known Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society

• Membership: 60 flannel weavers

• Represented the transition from Friendly Societies to full-fledged co-operatives