1619 was a momentous year in the Jamestown colony. It marks both the first labor strike in English North America and the introduction of African slaves to the colony.
Polish craftsmen first came to Jamestown in 1608, brought by John Smith who had earlier become aware of their skills. In 1619, the colony held its first election, but denied suffrage to the Poles because they were not Englishmen, even though they were hired workers (Pula). The Poles refused to work and called a strike unless they were given the right to vote, and the decision was reversed, and the Polish workers were considered free and enfranchised (Pula). The date of the strike is uncertain, but the representative assembly convened on June 30, 1619 (Crews), so the election was likely in the Spring.
On August 20, 1619, a Dutch ship, the White Lion, arrived in Jamestown carrying "20 and odd" Africans (NYT). While it is not clear what the initial status of the Africans was, unlike European indentured servants, logs did not list an end date for their indenture (Encyclopedia.com). By 1640, an African was ordered to "serve his said master...for the time of his natural life" (Encyclopedia.com) for running away, while 2 white servants who ran away with him had their indenture extended by one year (NYT). Race based slavery then became the norm across the American colonies by the mid-17th century (Wood).
While the connection between the strike and the start of race based slavery is unclear, it seems likely that the first labor strike might have caused landowners to look for options so they wouldn't be at risk of future work stoppages from indentured servants or even hired workers such as the Poles of Jamestown. The court decision of 1640 served to separate workers' status on the basis of race, hence making it unlikely that Black and white workers would work together to improve their status after that point, even though the escape involved workers of both races who might have seen their fates as similar before that point.
We must learn from the past. Workers have more in common with each other than with the wealthy, or as we now call them the 1%. The wealthy want to control the rest of us. Yet, working together, we can be powerful, and improve our lives.
References
NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, "THE 1619 PROJECT." NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, 2019. https://timesevents.nytimes.com/1619NYC
PULA, JAMES S. "FACT VS. FICTION: WHAT DO WE REALLY KNOW ABOUT THE POLISH PRESENCE IN EARLY JAMESTOWN?" The Polish Review 53, no. 4 (2008): 477-93. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25779776.
WOOD, PETER H. "THE BIRTH OF RACE BASED SLAVERY: BY THE 17TH CENTURY, AMERICA'S SLAVE ECONOMY HAD ELIMINATED THE OBSTACLE OF MORALITY." SLATE May 19, 2015. http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_history_of_american_slavery/2015/05/why_america_adopted_race_based_slavery.html
Polish craftsmen first came to Jamestown in 1608, brought by John Smith who had earlier become aware of their skills. In 1619, the colony held its first election, but denied suffrage to the Poles because they were not Englishmen, even though they were hired workers (Pula). The Poles refused to work and called a strike unless they were given the right to vote, and the decision was reversed, and the Polish workers were considered free and enfranchised (Pula). The date of the strike is uncertain, but the representative assembly convened on June 30, 1619 (Crews), so the election was likely in the Spring.
On August 20, 1619, a Dutch ship, the White Lion, arrived in Jamestown carrying "20 and odd" Africans (NYT). While it is not clear what the initial status of the Africans was, unlike European indentured servants, logs did not list an end date for their indenture (Encyclopedia.com). By 1640, an African was ordered to "serve his said master...for the time of his natural life" (Encyclopedia.com) for running away, while 2 white servants who ran away with him had their indenture extended by one year (NYT). Race based slavery then became the norm across the American colonies by the mid-17th century (Wood).
While the connection between the strike and the start of race based slavery is unclear, it seems likely that the first labor strike might have caused landowners to look for options so they wouldn't be at risk of future work stoppages from indentured servants or even hired workers such as the Poles of Jamestown. The court decision of 1640 served to separate workers' status on the basis of race, hence making it unlikely that Black and white workers would work together to improve their status after that point, even though the escape involved workers of both races who might have seen their fates as similar before that point.
We must learn from the past. Workers have more in common with each other than with the wealthy, or as we now call them the 1%. The wealthy want to control the rest of us. Yet, working together, we can be powerful, and improve our lives.
References
NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, "THE 1619 PROJECT." NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, 2019. https://timesevents.nytimes.com/1619NYC
PULA, JAMES S. "FACT VS. FICTION: WHAT DO WE REALLY KNOW ABOUT THE POLISH PRESENCE IN EARLY JAMESTOWN?" The Polish Review 53, no. 4 (2008): 477-93. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25779776.
WOOD, PETER H. "THE BIRTH OF RACE BASED SLAVERY: BY THE 17TH CENTURY, AMERICA'S SLAVE ECONOMY HAD ELIMINATED THE OBSTACLE OF MORALITY." SLATE May 19, 2015. http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_history_of_american_slavery/2015/05/why_america_adopted_race_based_slavery.html
