When did the burma road riot?

Answer 1

"The crowd of workers, now buttressed by women and children from the black over-the-hill neighborhoods, gathered outside of the government buildings at Public Square. Attorney General Eric Hallinan addressed the workers from the steps of the Colonial Secretary's office hoping to mollify them. ... He warned them to be careful "not spoil the good impression that they had made." ... Although there were reports that some of the laborers threw their sticks in a heap and went home when they heard this news, for the most part, the crowd became even more incensed. Mr. Christie, Captain Sears and a number of others tried to convince the mob to go home but to no avail. Eventually, a group of men broke off from the main assemblage, tired of listening to what they must have thought was cheap talk. They headed down Bay Street, "smashing as they went."" Quoted from "Bay Street and the 1942 Riot: Social Space and Identity Work in the Bahamas" by Nona Patara Martin and Virgil Henry Storr.

"The June 1st 1942 labor action that began outside the city center but culminated in a riot on Bay Street was an important event in the country's history. It spoke to the growing dissatisfaction of the Bahamas' black majority with the (very real if relatively mild) system of apartheid that hemmed them in politically, economically and socially. It demonstrated the willingness of the hitherto silent black majority to stand up to their colonial masters and the local ruling white oligarchy. It signaled the beginning of the end of second class citizenship for blacks in the Bahamas. Therefore, this riot continues to occupy a unique place in the Bahamian imagination and has helped to cement Bay Street as the important center in the Bahamas." Quoted from "Bay Street and the 1942 Riot: Social Space and Identity Work in the Bahamas" by Nona Patara Martin and Virgil Henry Storr.

"The reaction of the white administrators and Bay Street merchants was a mixture of belligerence and pani, while the brown and black middle class expressed shock and disowned the actions of the mob. " Quoted from Islanders in the Stream: A History of the Bahamian People (From the Ending of Slavery to the Twenty-First Century) by Michael Craton and Gail Saunders.

"The construction project promised a relative bonanza for the local unemployed, a chance to sell their labor for something like the rates they knew were normal on the mainland ... Unknown to them, however, the Bahamas government had agreed to peg local wages for unskilled labor at the rates established in 1936." Quoted from Islanders in the Stream: A History of the Bahamian People (From the Ending of Slavery to the Twenty-First Century) by Michael Craton and Gail Saunders.

"The 1942 riot in Nassau was a short-lived spontaneous outburst by a group of disgruntled labourers, and occured against a background of narrow socio-economic and political policies." Quoted from "The 1942 riot in Nassau: A demand for Change?" by Gail Saunders.

"The Nassau riot of 1942 was the last in the series of riots and strikes that occurred throughout the British West Indies after 1934." Quoted from "The 1942 riot in Nassau: A demand for Change?" by Gail Saunders.

Answer 2

The Burma Road riots of 1942 were started due to a labor dispute. At the time there was a lot of political unrest in the colonial Bahamas related to political rights, labor rights and race relations. In addition, local government agencies capped wages at rates not seen since 1936 for those that were working on the wartime air bases in Nassau. That was enough spark riots that started on Bay Street and in the over-the-hill area of New Providence.

"It spoke to the growing dissatisfaction of the Bahamas' black majority with the (very real if relatively mild) system of apartheid that hemmed them in politically, economically and socially. It demonstrated the willingness of the hitherto silent black majority to stand up to their colonial masters and the local ruling white oligarchy. It signaled the beginning of the end of second class citizenship for blacks in the Bahamas."

In the end, two rioters were killed by British troops and more than 40 people were injured.

You can read more about it at the link below.

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Answer 3

White foreigners were being paid more than Black Bahamians for doing the same job/work.

Basically, Racism was the main reason for the riot.

Answer 4

1942