The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #67717   Message #1348368
Posted By: GUEST,CeeJay
05-Dec-04 - 08:30 PM
Thread Name: Eureka stockade 150 years old (songs about)
Subject: RE: Eureka stockade 150 years old
I find it difficult to follow your argument, Joybell, as you continually refer to sources without naming any of them. I don't think I argued that racism in 19th century society was directed at one particular group.

My own view of Eureka is that the miners in general were incensed at the various restrictions on them by government, particularly the licence fee and the manner of its collection, but the majority could not bring themselves to outright armed confrontation with the authorities. Probably the traditions which they had brought with them to Ballarat from their various countries of origin played a big part in this. We know that many were British, American and Canadian and there was a fair admixture of nationals from European countries which had recently undergone revolutions or had 'liberalising' movements. Interestingly, it was the Americans, a people with a tradition of armed rebellion against 'lawful authority', who formed the best armed detachment among the more militant miners but they seem to have been either conned or otherwise persuaded to absent themselves on the crucial morning. So it was the Irish who formed the core of that militant group which stayed inside the stockade and provided the 'blood sacrifice' that has perpetuated the name of 'Eureka'. Note that I say 'the core', I do not claim that the Irish were the only ones to stay put, nor even that they were the majority of that group, but that they gave it its impetus.

Peter Lalor's older brother, James Fintan Lalor was a revolutionary in Ireland and famously declared, 'the land of Ireland for the people of Ireland'. Although Peter was quite a lot younger we may well imagine that revolutionary ideals were familiar to him as a young man of education. Thus however reluctantly it is said that he mounted the stump, once up there he addressed the meeting in terms of what he believed to be right. Nothing he said was likely to have been objectionable to the great majority of those present, among whom were Chartists, Communarians and others who had in their recent lives experienced the European 'Year of Revolutions' of 1848. Certainly he would have struck a chord with most of the Irish in his audience who would have had recent memories of the O'Connellite Home Rule movement and its breakaway 'Young Irelanders', as well as the Famine of 1845 - 1851. Along with these may have been a leavening of the 'larrikin' element who are always ready to stoke the fires of civil disorder for their own purposes, be they nefarious or merely a need for excitement.