The Jamestown Polish craftsmen's strike of 1619 took place in the settlement of Jamestown in the

Virginia colony The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...

. It was the first documented

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

in North America. Skilled craftsmen were sent by the

Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the object of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day Mai ...

to Jamestown to produce pitch, tar, and turpentine used for shipbuilding. When the colony held its first election in 1619, many settlers were not allowed to vote on the grounds that they were not of English descent, and they went on strike. Due to the importance of the skilled workers in producing valuable

naval stores Naval stores are all liquid products derived from conifers. These materials include rosin, tall oil, pine oil, and terpentine. The term ''naval stores'' originally applied to the organic compounds used in building and maintaining wooden sail ...

for the colony, company leaders bowed to labor pressure and gave full voting rights to continental workers.

History

John Smith first encountered and was impressed with the talents of Polish craftsmen when he traveled through Poland in 1602, fleeing the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

who had enslaved him. The

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

was then the largest kingdom of Europe, covering the present territory of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Russia. Polish glassblower at Jamestown

Early in Jamestown's history, Smith and the

began recruiting workers from mainland Europe to come to their new colony. The first of these foreign workers came with the second group of settlers who arrived in the colony in 1608; two of these workers would later save Smith's life in an attack by Native Americans as noted in Smith's writings. Contemporary historical accounts refer to this first group of foreign craftsmen as Dutchmen and Poles. The foreign craftsmen began producing glassware, pitch, and potash soon after their arrival in 1608. These goods were used in the colony, but were also important as they were the first goods exported from the colony to Europe. Later more skilled workers arrived and continued to produce tar, resin, and turpentine, and clapboard and frankincense as well. When the first elections in the colony were held in 1619, the colony did not allow any continental settlers to vote, including approximately 50 Polish craftsmen and their families. They were denied the right to vote on the grounds that they were not of English descent. The craftsmen in response, refused to work unless they were given the right to vote. Under this labor pressure, the Virginia Company's Council reversed the decision to disenfranchise the craftsmen, and simultaneously struck an agreement with the craftsmen to apprentice young men from the colony. The company leaders feared not only the loss of income and labor, but that the colony might gain a reputation for not being welcoming to further settlers not of English descent, especially skilled craftsmen.

References

External links

Craftsmen 1608 Historical Marker (Route 31, Jamestown, Virginia)

Historic Jamestowne

{{DEFAULTSORT:1619 Jamestown Polish Craftsmen Strike Pre-statehood history of Virginia Jamestown Polish craftsmen strike Polish-American culture in Virginia Polish-American history 1619 in the Thirteen Colonies Labor disputes in Virginia

History

See also

References

Related reading

External links