Robert Tremblay

Robert Tremblay, “La grève générale des charpentiers-menuisiers de Montréal, 1833-1834 : réévaluation d’un acte fondateur autour du concept de légitimité”

Tremblay’s reassessment of the 1833-4 general strike of carpenters and joiners in Montreal shows that the issues at stake went beyond demands for a ten-hour day; rather, it was part of an ideological ‘war of position’ between workers committed to moral-economy traditions of mutuality and an encroaching liberal order.  Drawing on an impressive range of archival sources and situating this labour conflict in the contested politics of 1830s Lower Canada, Tremblay offers new insight into the nature of class struggle in this moment of economic transition and makes a significant contribution to Canadian historiography.