A member of a radical group that flourished briefly in 1649–50, when England’s political future was uncertain. Led by Gerrard Winstanley, the Diggers began seizing common land and sharing it out. They called themselves the True Levellers, but were opposed and denounced by the Levellers, who disliked their communistic attitude towards property. Although they themselves rejected the use of force, their settlements in Surrey were dispersed by the authorities in March 1650.