On this day in 1818 in Macclesfield

On May 5, 1818, a man attended at Macclesfield market with his wife wearing a halter around her neck; he was offering her for sale!

A deal was struck, and he sold his wife for between three and four shillings.

The Mayor of Macclesfield ordered that all parties be arrested, and the three of them were remanded to Middlewich House of Correction until the next Quarter Session. This was the first offence of this kind to be brought to the notice of the police.

On this day in Trier, Germany, the Prussian philosopher Karl Marx was born. Often considered the father of communism for his 1848 work with Friedrich Engels ‘The Communist Manifesto’ – his beliefs were that human society is based around class struggle, and capitalism allows the bourgeoisie to exploit the workers (proletariat). He predicted that capitalism would eventually crumble and be replaced with socialism then communism. Marx died in London in 1883 aged 64.

On the very same day, in Trier, Germany, the Prussian philosopher Karl Marx was born. Often considered the father of communism for his 1848 work with Friedrich Engels ‘The Communist Manifesto’ – his beliefs were that human society is based around class struggle, and capitalism allows the bourgeoisie to exploit the workers (proletariat). He predicted that capitalism would eventually crumble and be replaced with socialism then communism. Marx died in London in 1883 aged 64.