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“Anglo-Saxon
readers are perhaps familiar with the anarchist movements of Andalusia
and Catalonia yet can have read little of the Valencian branch of
the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, the national anarcho-syndicalist
trade union federation. Yet Valencia had the third largest anarchist
movement in Spain after those of Catalonia and Andalusia, consisting
of the CNT and the smaller, terrorist wing, the Federación
Anarquista Ibérica. Historians will therefore welcome Richard
Purkiss’s richly layered study of the anarchists’ role
in the local labour movement, their often conflictive relations
with other political groups of the left, their cultural and educational
efforts, and the bloody participation of the FAI in expropriations,
assassinations and other forms of political violence, from 1918
up to and including the military coup of July 1936.” From
the Series Editor’s Preface by Paul Preston, London School
of Economics
Valencia has traditionally been seen as somewhat exceptional within
Spain: a prosperous, agricultural export-oriented economy dominated
by small- and medium-sized farmers. This tranquil image of Levante
feliz contrasts sharply with those of rebellious, proletarian
Barcelona, or impoverished, feudal Andalusia, with which the CNT
and the Spanish anarchist movement is most closely associated. However,
this new study shows that Valencia in the 1920s and 1930s was anything
but tranquil. The vertiginous growth of the CNT between 1918 and
1920 led to the province being a major target of government repression.
The situation there was considered by one Interior Minister as more
worrying than in Barcelona. Later, in the 1930s, urban Valencia
became the focus of a fierce struggle between hard-line revolutionaries
linked to the anarchist FAI and more moderate trade unions, whilst
numerous local insurrections broke out in rural areas of the province.
Eventually, these two factions would form an uneasy truce in time
to lead the Valencian left in the battle to overcome the military
coup of July 1936 and secure this vital economic region for the
Republican side.
… In providing the first English-language study of this important
movement, Dr Purkiss fills a significant gap in the historiography
of the Spanish left. Drawing on a wide range of previously underused
primary sources, he shows that not only was Valencia a hugely important
source of anarchist support, but that the local movement was far
more radical than has previously been thought. He thus provides
a vital insight into the origins of the revolutionary and anti-clerical
violence which swept the province in the early months of Civil War,
introducing us to the ‘expropriators’ and ‘men
of action’ whose activities terrified bourgeois Valencia in
the 1930s.
Published in association with the Cañada
Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies
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Acknowledgements
Glossary of Organisations
Introduction
1: Valencian Politics, Society and Economy at the Beginning
of the Twentieth Century
Blasquismo and the labour movement
Origins of the CNT in Valencia
2: The Rise of the CNT in Valencia, 1918–1920
Urban labour protest and the sharpening of class conflict
Anarcho-syndicalism becomes a mass movement Sindicatos Únicos:
the emblem of the new unionism
The CNT and the republicans: a relationship turned sour
The tide turns: repression and recession in 1920
Anarchism and the Valencian peasantry, 1918–20
The FNOA in Valencia
1919 in the Valencian campo: a peasant revolt?
Anarchism and rebellion in El Camp de Túria
Anarchism and popular culture
3:
Anarchist Violence, the Grupos and Repression, 1920–1923
Meeting ‘terror with terror’: the escalation of
repression
Aftermath of the Trienio: decline of the rural unions
Effects of pistolerismo and repression on the CNT
4: Culture, Ideology, and Conspiracy: The Battle for
Control of the CNT
The battle of ideas within the CNT
‘Some books and a Browning’: the revolutionary
role of culture
The nature of anarchist culture and its dissemination
The anarchist press under Primo de Rivera
5: The Re-organisation of the CNT, 1930–1932:
Consolidation and Conflict
The proclamation of the Republic in Valencia
‘The same dogs with different collars’: rupture
between the CNT and the Republic
Protest and unemployment
Expansion of the anarchist cultural sphere
Women in anarchist culture
The libertarian and syndicalist youth movements
6: ‘Revolutionary Gymnastics’,
Expropriations and the Split Within the CNT
Atracos and atentados
Industrial conflict, winter 1932–1933
Marginalisation of the moderates and the January 1933 uprising
The deepening of the split in the CNT
The 1933 elections and the December uprising
7: The Fascist Danger and the Search for Working-class
Unity, 1934–1936
October 1934 in Valencia and its aftermath
Green shoots of recovery: re-unification and re- organisation
The July coup in Valencia
Conclusion
Bibliography
Notes
Index
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“From the latter part of the 19th century to the end
of the Spanish Civil War in 1939, anarchism was a potent political
and social force in Spain, expressed in unions, political
associations, and groups practicing direct action. Anarchism
won adherents for many reasons – some for its idealism about
a future society, some for its organization. For many people,
it was the promise of rapid deliverance from a society deemed
profoundly unequal in condition and opportunity. Numerous
incidents testified to the appeal of anarchism, notably in
Catalonia and Andalusia. Anarchist movements and activities,
especially in Catalonia, have been much studied since the
1970s in several excellent accounts. This work is devoted
to anarchism in the city and province of Valencia, hitherto
absent from significant study. Purkiss demonstrates the central
importance of anarchism in this area and its impact on national
politics. His focus is on the CNT – the anarchist union and
its culture, organization, and activities during the tumultuous
years of the Second Spanish Republic, 1931–1939. This
very intensive study of one area is primarily for specialists,
but it is also extremely valuable for anyone interested in
the history of Spain and the origins of its civil war. Highly
recommended.” Choice
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Publication Details
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Hardback ISBN: |
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978-1-84519-461-1 |
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Page Extent / Format: |
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320 pp. / 229 x 152 mm |
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Release Date: |
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May 2011 |
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Illustrated: |
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With Maps |
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Hardback Price: |
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£55.00 / $74.95 |
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