The Ruimveldt Riots took place in
British Guiana
British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana.
The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...
(today
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
) in 1905. It reflected the widespread dissatisfaction among workers with their standards of living. The uprising began in late November 1905 when the
stevedores – dockworkers – of the capital
Georgetown went on strike and demanded higher wages. The strike grew, with many workers joining in an alliance. On 1 December 1905 – today known as "Black Friday" – the situation came to a head. At the Plantation Ruimveldt, not far from Georgetown, a large crowd of porters refused a demand by the police and a detachment of artillery to disperse. The colonial forces opened fire, and four workers were seriously injured.
News spread quickly through the capital, causing unrest on the streets. Several buildings were captured by protesters. The violence killed seven people, and injured seventeen badly. After a request from the colonial administration Britain sent troops, who soon quelled the uprising. Although the initial strike wasn't successful, the riots began the growth of an organized trade union movement.
Ethnically, mainly
Afro-Guyanese workers – dockworkers, factory hands, cane-cutters and gold miners, among others – went on strike, while the
Indo-Guyanese sugar industry workers stayed in their homes. Some were also brought in to replace African-origin workers who had left their work. This has been described as a successful use of ethnic divisions to prevent solidarity between segments of the working class.
See also
*
History of Guyana
References
{{reflist
History of British Guiana
1905 riots
1905 in British Guiana
20th century in Georgetown, Guyana