In honor of Around the globe Ladies’ Big date and you can VI Background Few days, the audience is showing about three brave women to exactly who the brand new Area owes good high financial obligation. There can be still work to get complete, for this reason , i review to increase desire and you can encouragement in the Virgin Islanders who have moved prior to all of us.
Queen Mary
Mary Thomas, labeled as Queen Mary, (ca. 1848–1905) is actually among the leadership of your own 1878 “Fireburn” labor riot, or uprising, for the island out of St. Croix.
Mary Thomas are out of Antigua and found its way to St. Croix in the 1860s when planning on taking work on the fresh plantations when you look at the the fresh island. Pursuing the 1848 emancipation away from enslaved Africans throughout the Danish Western Indies, an 1849 work law repaired salaries and you can work criteria for everyone plantation experts and you will prohibited bargaining to have finest wages otherwise performs criteria. That it produced plantation work unattractive and some professionals signed up to exit this new plantations additionally the countries, to look for top criteria in other places. The federal government responded for the work lack by making they much harder so you’re able to for specialists to go out of the islands, demanding fitness permits and you can charging you charge to have passports. Whenever earnings was to be negotiated on slide out of 1878, the newest workers’ means was basically refuted, and new severe requirements to possess travelling have been imposed. Which started the brand new very-entitled Fireburn riots, that happen to be called the largest labor riot inside the Danish record, and you will when over 50 ranches was in fact burned.
Because of their unique part due to the fact a commander in the uprising elizabeth become known as “King Mary”. Continue lendo “These feminine was early trailblazers on the road to good Virgin Islands in which feminine have versatility, equivalence and you will energy”