Q.Who were the Rochdale Pioneers, and why are they important in the history of co-operation?

The organised co-operative movement is traced to a small group of English workers who started their own store and set down rules that the whole world later copied.

Who they were: The Rochdale Pioneers were a group of 28 poor weavers and workers in the town of Rochdale in England, who were badly affected by low wages and high prices during the Industrial Revolution. To protect themselves, they pooled a small sum of money little by little and, on 21 December 1844, opened their own co-operative store on Toad Lane, selling a few basic goods such as flour, sugar, butter, and oatmeal at honest weights and fair prices. They called their society the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers.

Why they are important: They are important because their store succeeded where earlier attempts had failed, and because they laid down a clear set of working rules — the famous Rochdale Principles — including open and voluntary membership, democratic control (one member, one vote), a limited rate of interest on capital, distribution of surplus in proportion to members' purchases (patronage), cash trading, sale of pure and unadulterated goods at honest weights, political and religious neutrality, and the promotion of education. Because these …

Students sometimes remember only the year 1844 but not the significance — a complete answer must explain that the Pioneers' lasting importance lies in the Rochdale Prin …