This is a British colony: the ruling-class politics of the seafarers' strike, 1878-79

This is a British colony: the ruling-class politics of the seafarers' strike, 1878-79

The seafarers' strike of 1878–79 has occupied a special place in the history of White Australia, symbolising the idea that militant working class action led to the racial exclusion of Chinese and other non-white people. This article demonstrates that the strike was, remarkably, supported by a significant proportion of the colonial ruling class, including the conservative politicians and newspapers of Queensland, primarily because they were concerned at the impact of Chinese immigration on British colonisation, especially in the north. Historians have wrongly seen the opposition of the Sydney Morning Herald to the strike as reflecting support for Chinese immigration and 'cheap labour'. The article suggests that, far from initiating the campaign for racial exclusion, the union movement embraced the anti-Chinese politics of a major section of the ruling class. It concludes by discussing the ways in which our histories have masked the role of the ruling class in anti-Chinese politics.

Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.