This article examines one crucial moment of contestation in colonial Suriname, the years 1941-42, when sustained labour unrest in bauxite town Moengo led to the founding of the first mining unions. It argues that these strikes laid the groundwork for future relations between labour, company and the state and explores the kinds of socio-political alliances that were forged between labour and nationalist politicians on the one hand, and government and transnational company on the other, thereby situating this particular contestation in a larger struggle over a colonial system that aligned itself with metropolitan economic interests.
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