History of coal miners
aspect of history
People have worked as coal miners for centuries, but the profession became increasingly important during the Industrial Revolution when coal was burned on a large scale to fuel stationary and locomotive engines and to heat buildings. Owing to coal's strategic role as a primary fuel, coal miners have figured strongly in labor and political movements since that time.
After the late-19th century, coal miners in many countries were a frequent presence in industrial disputes with both the management and government. Coal miners' politics, while complex, has occasionally been radical, with a frequent leaning towards far-left political views. A number of far-left political movements have had the support of both coal miners themselves and their trade unions, particularly in Great Britain. In France, on the other hand, coal miners have been much more conservative. In India, Coal Miners Day is celebrated on May 4.
The industry has shifted into developing economies over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. As of 2024, there are 2.7 million coal miners in the world, according to data from Global Energy Monitor, primarily in China and India.
Radicalism
From the mid-19th century onward, coal miners have often built strong connections with the organized labor movement, and sometimes as well with radical political movements.
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This entry incorporates text from “History of coal miners” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.