Question

Which group organized one of the first strikes in the country

Answer 1

An early predecessor of the general strike may have been the secessio plebis in ancient Rome. In the Outline Of History, H.G. Wells recorded "the general strike of the plebeians; the plebeians seem to have invented the strike, which now makes its first appearance in history."[1] Their first strike occurred because they "saw with indignation their friends, who had often served the state bravely in the legions, thrown into chains and reduced to slavery at the demand of patrician creditors."[1]

Wells noted that "[t]he patricians made a mean use of their political advantages to grow rich through the national conquests at the expense not only of the defeated enemy, but of the poorer plebeian..."[1] The plebeians, who were expected to obey the laws, but were not allowed to know the laws (which patricians were able to recite from memory),[2] were successful, winning the right to appeal any injustice to the general assembly.[1] In 450 BC., in a concession resulting from the rebellion of the plebeians, the laws of Rome were written for all to peruse.[2]

also known as Antiquity