Execution of Tupac Amaru II
Today in Labor History May 18, 1781: Tupac Amaru II was drawn and quartered in the Plaza Mayor del Cuzco, Peru. Tupac II had led a large indigenous uprising against the Spanish conquistadors. As a result of his heroic efforts, he became an inspiration to other Latin Americans in the fight for indigenous rights and against colonialism.
The uprising began because of “reforms” by the colonial administration that increased taxes and labor demands on both indigenous and creole populations. However, there was also an ongoing desire to overthrow European rule and restore the pre-conquest Incan empire. And though this would merely replace one feudal power with another, there were also Jacobin and proto-communist elements to the rebellion. Most of the Tupamarista soldiers were poor peasants, artisans and women who saw the uprising as an opportunity to create an egalitarian society, without the cast and class divisions of either the Spanish or Incan feudal systems.
Roots of the Uprising
The uprising began with the execution of Spanish colonial Governor Antonio de Arriaga by his own slave, Antonio Oblitas. Tupac Amaru II then made a proclamation claiming to be fighting against the abuses of Spain and for the peace and well-being of “Indians, mestizos, mambos, native-born whites and blacks.” They then proceeded to march toward Cuzco, killing Spaniards and looting their properties. Everywhere they went, they overthrew the Spanish authority. Tupac’s wife, Michaela Bastidas commanded a battalion of insurgents. Many claimed she was more daring and a superior strategist than her husband.
However, despite their strength and courage, the rebels failed to take Cuzco. The Spaniards brought in reinforcements from Lima. Many creoles abandoned the Inca army and joined the Spanish, fearing for their own safety after seeing the wanton slaughter of Spanish civilians. In the end, Tupac was betrayed by two of his officers and handed over to the Spanish. However, before they killed him, the Spanish forced him to watch them execute his wife, eldest son, uncle, brother-in-law, and several of his captains. They cut out both his wife’s and son’s tongues before hanging them.
1870s
Today in Labor History May 18, 1872: Philosopher, mathematician & social critic Bertrand Russell was born in Wales. Russell won the Nobel prize for literature in 1950. He was imprisoned as a pacifist during WWI, and again in 1961, for protesting in Whitehall. He opposed imperialism and supported independence for India. However, he also supported “preventative” nuclear war and the concept of a single world government controlling all of humanity. Later, he became an outspoken advocate for nuclear disarmament and condemned U.S. involvement in Vietnam. He also supported “guild” socialism and a society in which wealth was shared among everyone. Additionally, Russell supported the campaign to decriminalize homosexuality.
1890s
May 18, 1895: Augusto Sandino was born. Sandino led the original Sandinista movement for Nicaraguan independence and fought a protracted war against the U.S. occupation. The FSLN of the 1970s was named after him.
1910s
Today in Labor History May 18, 1912: Players for the Detroit Tigers refused to play after their teammate Ty Cobb was suspended. Cobb was suspended because he went into the stands and beat a fan who had been heckling him. The team manager tried to replace the players with scabs from a local college. However, their pitcher gave up 24 runs.
May 18, 1917: The Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butchers started organizing in packinghouses across the United States. As a result, they brought their membership up from 6,500 in 1917 to 100,000 by 1919.
1920s
May 18, 1927: The Bath Massacre occurred in Bath Township, Michigan. It was possibly the first U.S. school mass shooting. Andrew Kehoe was angry because the community had taxed his farm to pay for a new school, set off a TNT bomb in the school in Bath, Michigan, killing 44 people, including 38 grade-school children. Another 58 people were injured. He also murdered his wife and killed himself.
Today in Labor History May 18, 1928: Big Bill Haywood died in exile in the Soviet Union. He was a founding member and leader of both the Western Federation of Miners and the IWW (the Wobblies). During the first two decades of the 20th century, he participated in the Colorado Labor Wars and the textiles strikes in Lawrence and Patterson. The Pinkertons tried, but failed, to bust him for the murder of former Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg. However, in 1918, the feds used the Espionage Act to convict him and 101 other Wobblies for their anti-war activity. As a result, they sentenced him to twenty years in prison. But instead of serving the time, he fled to the Soviet Union, destroying his image as a hero among the Wobblies.
He ultimately died from a stroke related to his alcoholism and diabetes. Half his ashes were buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis. The other half of his ashes were sent to Chicago and buried near the Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument.
1950s-1960s
May 18, 1950: Atlanta transit workers went on strike. They were protesting a new city requirement that they be fingerprinted. The rule change occurred after author Margaret Mitchell was killed by a taxi. That same year, trolley had killed five people. As a result, the public demanded greater accountability. Consequently, the city council passed an ordinance requiring all cab and troll drivers to obtain a permit. It cost five dollars and required fingerprinting in order to trace criminal records. The strike lasted six months and, in the end, the union changed course and voted to accept the permits.
Today in Labor History May 18, 1968: 10,000 people marched in Madrid, Spain, erected barricades and clashed with police, in solidarity with the May revolt in France. This was particularly remarkable considering that they were still living under a fascist dictatorship. Most protests were violently suppressed by Franco.
Silkwood Settlement
May 18, 1979: An Oklahoma jury ruled in favor of the estate of atomic worker Karen Silkwood. Kerr-McGee Nuclear Company was ordered to pay $505,000 in actual damages and $10 million in punitive damages for negligence leading to Silkwood’s plutonium contamination. On appeal, the court reduced the settlement to a pitiful $5,000, the estimated value of her property losses. In 1984, the Supreme Court restored the original verdict, but Kerr-McGee again threatened to appeal. Ultimately, Silkwood’s family settled out of court for $1.38 million and the company never had to admit any wrongdoing.
Silkwood first started working at Kerr-McGee in 1972. She joined the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers union and participated in a strike. After the strike, her comrades elected her to the union’s bargaining committee. She was the first woman to attain that status at Kerr-McGee. In this role, one of her duties was to investigate health and safety issues. Not surprisingly, she discovered numerous violations, including exposure of workers to contamination. The union accused Kerr-McGee of falsifying inspection records, manufacturing faulty fuel rods and other safety violations. After testifying to the Atomic Energy Commission, Silkwood discovered that her own body and home were contaminated with radiation. Her body contained 400 times the legal limit for plutonium contamination and she was expelling contaminated air from her lungs. Her house was so contaminated they had destroy much of her personal property.
Who Killed Karen Silkwood
Later, she decided to go public with documentation proving the company’s negligence. She left a meeting with union officials in order to meet a New York Times journalist. She brought a binder and packet of documents supporting her allegations with her. However, she never made it, dying in a suspicious car crash. The documents were never found. Some journalist believe she was rammed from behind by another vehicle. Investigators noted damage to the read of her car that would be consistent with this hypothesis. She had also received death threats shortly before her death. However, no one has yet substantiated the claims of foul play.
Gwangju Uprising
May 18, 1980: Koreans rose up in Gwangju against the repressive U.S.-supported government. The uprising lasted from May 18 to May 27. According to official reports, 165 civilians were killed and 3,515 were injured in the uprising. 37 soldiers and 4 cops were killed and 253 were injured. Another 14 soldiers died from “friendly” fire. However, Gwangju’s death records for May of 1980 were 2,300 above normal. Many believe the actual death toll from the uprising is closer to 2,000. In addition to the casualties from the uprising, nearly 1,400 people were arrested and 7 were given death sentences. 12 were sentenced to life in prison.
Roots of the Uprising
The background for the uprising is complex. However, the country had been living under the 18-year dictatorship of Park Chun-hee, who was assassinated on October 26, 1979. A series of pro-democracy demonstrations developed in the wake of his death. But on December 12, Chun Doo-hwan led a military coup in order to quell the protests. He did not officially take over as “president” until after the Gwangju Uprising. But he was acting as the de facto ruler and the country was still under martial law from the coup.
In March, protests picked up again. People wanted democratization, human rights, minimum wage increases, freedom of the press, and an end to martial law. On May 15, 100,000 people demonstrated at Seoul Station. Chun Doo-hwan responded by extending martial law to the entire nation, closing the universities, banning all political activities and further curtailing the press. Furthermore, he dispatched troops throughout the country to suppress any potential demonstrations.
Timeline of the Uprising
On May 18, students demonstrated at Chonnam University in defiance of its closing. At first, there were only 30 paratroopers and hundreds of students. They started to clash. By afternoon, at least 2,000 people had joined the protest. The government sent in hundreds of troops. Soldiers started to club demonstrators and onlookers. They attacked with bayonets and raped people, and they beat a deaf man to death. Outraged, the number of protesters swelled to over 10,000. Street battles continued for days, climaxing on May 21, when soldiers fired into a crowd of protesters. In response, citizens took up arms by robbing local armories and police stations, arming themselves with M1 rifles and carbines. By afternoon, there were bloody gunfights between ad hoc civilian militias and the army. By 5:30, the citizens militias had obtained two machine guns and used them, forcing the army to retreat.
The troops retreated to the suburbs to await reinforcements. However, they also blocked all routes and communications leading into and out of the city. Meanwhile, inside of Liberated Gwangju, the Citizens’ Settlement Committee negotiated with the army, demanding the release of arrested citizens, compensation for the victims, and a prohibition of retaliation in exchange for disarming themselves. The army demanded immediate surrender and some in the committee were willing to give it to them. But those who wanted to resist until their demands were met took control of the committee.
On May 27, at 4 am, troops from five divisions moved on the protesters and defeated the civilian militias within 90 minutes.
1990s
Today in Labor History May 18, 1991: 200,000-400,000 people protested against the South Korean government on the anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising. 100,000 demonstrated in Gwangju. Parts of Seoul were completely paralyzed. Protesters were demanding the resignation of President Roh Tae Woo. In Seoul, Lee Jon Soon set herself on fire and screamed “Down with Roh Tae Woo,” with her clothes in flames. And a labor activist committed protest suicide by jumping from a roof. Bands of students battled the cops with stones and firebombs.
The demonstrations were part of a wave of protests that began on April 26, after riot cops clubbed a college student to death. During the weeks of demonstrations, five other protesters set themselves on fire. Four of them died. Lee’s death was the eighth since the protests began.
Roh Tae-woo was a former general. He was part of a secret military group that supported the coup that brought on the Chun dictatorship. He also helped in the violent suppression of the Gwangju Uprising. In 1987, Chun named Roh as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Justice Party, essentially handing him the presidency. This triggered a wave of pro-democracy protests. In response, Roh promised reforms and narrowly won the election as the country’s first “cleanly” elected president.
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