1619 Jamestown craftsmen strike

[2] Skilled craftsmen were sent by the Virginia Company to Jamestown to produce pitch, tar, and turpentine used for shipbuilding.

[1] John Smith first encountered and was impressed with the talents of Polish craftsmen when he traveled through Poland in 1602,[4] fleeing the Turks who had enslaved him.

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was then the largest kingdom of Europe,[5] covering the present territory of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Russia.

[6] Early in Jamestown's history, Smith and the Virginia Company began recruiting workers from mainland Europe to come to their new colony.

[1][2] The company leaders feared not only the loss of income and labor, but that the colony might gain a reputation for not being welcoming to further settlers not of English descent, especially skilled craftsmen.