Research on Brig Decatur; European Dock Protests

A researcher at Seattle's Museum of History and Industry [link] has thrown light on the city's early maritime history and military history. Lorraine McConaghy spent time at the National Archives researching the US Navy brig Decatur, which was anchored at Seattle's Elliott Bay in January 1856. The vessel participated in the Battle of Seattle, a day-long Indian attack on the fledgling community that left two settlers dead. It's not known how many Indians died. Here's a Seattle Times story about McConaghy's work. [link]

Violent protests have rocked EU plans to liberalize port services. [link] The story reminds me of the 1934 and 1936 dock strikes in Seattle and other west coast cities, as dockworkers fought for union representation. The issues are different in the current protests, but the images of working men (and presumably women) fighting police and government policy are hauntingly similar.