April 2021

1500s Today in Labor History April 21, 1506: The Lisbon Massacre ended. During the three days of slaughter, Portuguese Catholics killed over 1,900 suspected Jews. April 21, 1545: Juan de Villarroel filed the first mining claim at Potosí, in what is now Bolivia. The mine was on Cerro Rico mountain, which had one of the richest […]

Today in Labor History April 20, 1812: Luddites attacked factories in Middleton, Manchester, Bolton, Ashton, Oldham and Cheshire England. April 20, 1912: Nearly 10,000 demonstrators celebrated the textile workers’ victory in Lawrence, MA. They won a 10-20% pay hike and grievance committees after a brutal strike that united workers from 51 nationalities. During the strike, police

Today in Labor History April 19, 1506: Catholics tortured and burned hundreds of Jews in what became known as The Lisbon Massacre. This occurred thirty years before the Portuguese Inquisition and nine years after Jews were forced to convert by King Manuel I. The massacre occurred during a drought and a plague epidemic. It started

Today in Labor History April 18, 1787: The U.S. Constitutional Convention passed the three-fifths compromise. This was the first time the government codified treating African-Americans as human (partially). But this was only for tax purposes and to determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives. Free blacks counted as a full citizen. Today

Today in Labor History April 17, 1617: Armed women attacked 53 Scottish monks and burned them alive in their refectory. They sought revenge for being cheated out of their pasture rights on the Isle of Eigg. 1800s April 17, 1824: Slavery was abolished in Central America. Today in Labor History April 17, 1854: American individualist