The British Labour Movement and the Strikes in Hong Kong 1925/6 and Trinidad 1937: Worlds Apart and Worlds Together

Cao, Xuebing; Seifert, Roger

Abstract

This article compares the Hong Kong strike of 1925/6 with the 1937 Trinidad summer strikes and riots and brings together these events that took place in two separate, far-away British colonies. It provides a fuller understanding of the common factors in the two cases including British imperialist rule aligned with the interests of large corporations, the degradation of the workforce, and the absence of legal and civil rights. The ferocity of those involved was on view with the British resorting to killings, beatings, imprisonment, and outlawing of seditious materials. In contrast, the strikers and their political and trade union leaders sought to overturn centuries of injustice by any means including the destruction of property, attacks on the forces of law and order, sabotage, and stoppages of their own work and that of others. The differing causes and consequences of the two strikes are evaluated. Both colonies’ worker struggles were given support by the British labour movement, and such backing pressurised the British government to seek some form of resolution of the disputes. However, Britain’s labour movement support was limited by ideological splits that hindered a coherent defence of those workers on strike.

Citation

Cao, X., & Seifert, R. (2025). The British Labour Movement and the Strikes in Hong Kong 1925/6 and Trinidad 1937: Worlds Apart and Worlds Together. Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, https://doi.org/10.1080/03086534.2025.2479804

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 8, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Mar 24, 2025
• Publication Date: Mar 24, 2025
• Deposit Date: Mar 28, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 28, 2025
• Journal: The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History
• Print ISSN: 0308-6534
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-9329
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03086534.2025.2479804
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/1105573
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03086534.2025.2479804?scroll=top&needAccess=true