Jared Davidson

Picture, for a minute, every artwork of colonial New Zealand you can think of. Now add a chain gang. Hard labour men guarded by other men with guns. Men moving heavy metal. Men picking at the earth. Over and over again. This was the reality of nineteenth-century New Zealand. Forced labour haunts the streets we walk today and the spaces...

The History of a Riot presents a compelling microhistory of collective revolt. In 1843, the New Zealand Company settlement of Nelson was disrupted by the revolt of its emigrant labourers. Over 70 gang-men and their wives united to resist their poor working conditions through petitions, strikes, and, ultimately, violence. Despite the significance of this struggle, it has often been overshadowed...