The great London strike of 1768. Workers on the waterfront, textile workers and heavers, craftsmen, sailors, walked out to protest wage cuts, poor working conditions, and rigid discipline. They acted within a circle of slave rebellions, strikes, and riots that were taking place throughout the Atlantic world. The sailors "struck" the sails of their ships, bringing commerce to a standstill and providing a word that we still use when workers conduct collective job actions to defendtheir interests: the STRIKE.

The term "strike" originated in a London labor dispute in 1868.