After seventeen years of successfully farming the difficult land of Achill Island, 'Captain' Boycott was offered a lease of 629 acres on The Neale Estate and the job of agent for Lord Erne. His primary responsibility was to collect the rents from the other 35 tenants and generally look after the estate. Envisioned as a place to live out his years in comfort, an economic downturn destroyed his dream. As was the practice of the day, many of the tenant farmer's annual contracts were not renewed. Carrying out the orders of Lord Erne, 'Captain' Boycott sent out foreclosure notices. The tenants refused to work the land.
Church on The Neale Estate
"On 22 September David Sears, a process-server, and an escort of seventeen RIC constables began serving Lord Erne’s defaulting tenants around the Neale with eviction notices, but they were soon forced back to Lough Mask House by the local women under a shower of stones, mud and manure. It seems that at this stage ‘Captain’ Boycott had been targeted by the Land League (founded in October 1879) as a test case ‘to gain the eyes and ears of the world’, because the following day his farm was invaded by a mob of up to 100 people and his work force warned off." — http://www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/captain-boycott-man-and-myth/
Boycott needed only 12 men to harvest turnips, potatoes, beets and corn, but things got out of hand. Fifty Orangemen arrived. About 900 soldiers were stationed in the immediate area during the two weeks of harvest.
By the end of the 1880s, news coverage led to "boycotting" throughout Ireland. Within twenty years, it became well known around the world.