A labour revolt or worker's uprising is a period of

civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty ...

characterised by strong labour militancy and strike activity. The history of labour revolts often provides the historical basis for many advocates of

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

and anarchism, with many instances occurring around the world in both the 19th and 20th centuries.

Labour revolts in France

The

Canut Revolts The Canut revolts (french: Révolte des canuts) is the collective name for the major revolts by Lyonnais silk workers (french: canuts) which occurred in 1831, 1834 and 1848. They were among the first well-defined worker uprisings of the period kn ...

in Lyons, France, were the first clearly defined worker uprisings of the Industrial Revolution. The First occurred in November 1831 and was followed by later revolts in 1834 and 1848. Following the closure of the national workshops after the 1848 revolution in Paris, there was an uprising in Paris involving 100,000 insurgents involved in a three-day battle with the army, volunteers and reserve forces. The

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

in France (1871) is hailed by both anarchists and Socialists as the first assumption of power by the working class, but controversy of the policies implemented in the Commune helped the split between the two groups.

Labour revolts in the United States

The earliest revolts in the United States include the pockets of rebellion by slaves and servants acting together in actual uprisings or planned revolts throughout its colonial period. For instance, there was the case of the 1712 incident where 23 slaves who killed nine whites in New York to avenge their harsh treatment. Slaves have also joined farmers in several uprisings against the social system wherein royal authorities, proprietors, trading companies and large land owners were in charge. One of the most dramatic was the uprising in the Royal colony of Virginia in 1676 led by Nathaniel Bacon against the corrupt royal governor, Sir William Berkeley. The

Great Railroad Strike of 1877 The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. This strike finally ended 52 day ...

and the

1877 Shamokin Uprising The 1877 Shamokin uprising occurred in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, in July 1877, as one of the several cities in the state where strikes occurred as part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The Great Strike was the first in the United States in w ...

occurred in the United States. It is considered the bloodiest labor-management confrontation in U.S. history. The uprising was in response to the railroad executives decision to cut wages and lay off employees due to the economic downturn caused by the panic of 1873. The strike began in July 1877 when workers of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad blocked railway traffic after the company imposed a 10 percent pay cut. It sparked similar movements among railroad workers everywhere and an estimated 100,000 workers joined the uprising nationwide. The revolt included riots and destruction of railroad property and was met with violent crackdowns. These Revolts led to the progression of labour movements in the United States, therefore in return led to fairer wages, better working conditions, and the overall well being of workers. The

Battle of Blair Mountain The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in United States history and the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War. The conflict occurred in Logan County, West Virginia, as part of the Coal Wars, a series of early- ...

in Logan County, West Virginia, U.S. (1921), was the largest organised armed uprising in American Labour History since the Civil War, and had a major impact on labour legislation in the United States. The confrontation was so violent that the then President Warren Harding ordered the aerial bombing of entrenched miner positions.

Labour revolts in Russia, Germany and Eastern Europe

The Revolution of 1905 in led to the creation of the

Saint Petersburg Soviet The Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Delegates (later the Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Deputies) was a workers' council, or soviet, in Saint Petersburg in 1905. Origins The Soviet had its origins in the aftermath of Bloody Sunday, when Nicholas II ...

or worker's council which became the model for most Communist Revolutionary Activity. The Soviet was revived in the Russian Revolution and the model was repeated in the German Revolution of 1918–19, The

Bavarian Soviet Republic The Bavarian Soviet Republic, or Munich Soviet Republic (german: Räterepublik Baiern, Münchner Räterepublik),Hollander, Neil (2013) ''Elusive Dove: The Search for Peace During World War I''. McFarland. p.283, note 269. was a short-lived unre ...

and the

Hungarian Soviet Republic The Socialist Federative Republic of Councils in Hungary ( hu, Magyarországi Szocialista Szövetséges Tanácsköztársaság) (due to an early mistranslation, it became widely known as the Hungarian Soviet Republic in English-language sources ( ...

. Some revolutionary activity within the Eastern Bloc resembled Labour Revolts, such as the

Uprising of 1953 in East Germany The East German uprising of 1953 (german: Volksaufstand vom 17. Juni 1953 ) was an uprising that occurred in East Germany from 16 to 17 June 1953. It began with a strike action by construction workers in East Berlin on 16 June against w ...

, the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

, the

Polish 1970 protests The 1970 Polish protests ( pl, Grudzień 1970, lit=December 1970) occurred in northern Poland during 14–19 December 1970. The protests were sparked by a sudden increase in the prices of food and other everyday items. Strikes were put down by t ...

although many communists would dispute this as 'Counter-Revolutionary' activity.

Labour revolts in Great Britain

Red Clydeside Red Clydeside was the era of political radicalism in Glasgow, Scotland, and areas around the city, on the banks of the River Clyde, such as Clydebank, Greenock, Dumbarton and Paisley, from the 1910s until the early 1930s. Red Clydeside is a ...

was a period of labour and political militancy in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, between the 1910s and the 1930s. Most famously, this resulted in raising the red flag in the

Battle of George Square The Battle of George Square was a violent confrontation in Glasgow, Scotland between Glasgow City Police and striking Glasgow workers, centred around George Square. The 'battle', also known as "Bloody Friday" or "Black Friday", took place on ...

Labour revolts in Spain

*The

Asturian miners' strike of 1934 The Asturian miners' strike of 1934 was a major strike action undertaken by regional miners against the 1933 Spanish general election, which redistributed political power from the leftists to conservatives in the Second Spanish Republic. The str ...

Labour revolts elsewhere

Some observers claimed that the

protests of 1968 The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, predominantly characterized by popular rebellions against state militaries and the bureaucracies. In the United States, these protests marked a turning point for the ci ...

were part of a "revolutionary wave", with much of the activity motivated by students. *

Gwangju massacre The Gwangju Uprising was a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to May 27, 1980, which pitted local, armed citizens against soldiers and police of the South Korean government. The event is sometimes called 5·18 (M ...

in South Korea, 1980 *The Nghe-Tinh Revolt 1930–31 French Indochina * Brazilian Anarchist Uprising 1917–18 *Saigon Commune, Vietnam 1945

References

External links

The Nghe-Tinh Revolt1917–1918: The Brazilian anarchist uprising
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labour Revolts Labor history History of socialism