The cooperative movement began in Europe in the 19th century, primarily in Britain and France.The first consumer cooperative may have been founded on March 14, 1761, in a barely-furnished cottage in Fenwick, East Ayrshire, when local weavers manhandled a sack of oatmeal into John Walker's whitewashed front room and began selling the contents at a discount, forming the Fenwick Weavers' Society.Robert Owen (17711858) is considered the father of the cooperative movement. A Welshman who made his fortune in the cotton trade, Owen believed in putting his workers in a good environment with access to education for themselves and their children.Although Owen inspired the co-operative movement, others such as Dr William King (17861865) took his ideas and made them more workable and practical. King believed in starting small, and realized that the working classes would need to set up co-operatives for themselves, so he saw his role as one of instruction.King advised people not to cut themselves ...more

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