Constance Bantman

Ana Cláudia Suriani da Silva

In a period of turmoil when European and international politics were in constant reshaping, immigrants and political exiles living in London set up periodicals which contributed actively to national and international political debates. Reflecting an interdisciplinary and international discussion, this book offers a rare long-term specialist perspective into the cosmopolitan and multilingual world of the foreign political press in London, with an emphasis on periodicals published in European languages. It furthers current research into political exile, the role of print culture and personal networks as intercultural agents and the dynamics of transnational political and cultural exchange in global capitals. Individual chapters deal with Brazilian, French, German, Indian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Spanish American, and Russian periodicals. Overarching themes include a historical survey of foreign political groups present in London throughout the long 19th century and the causes and movements they championed; analyses of the press in local and transnational contexts; and a focus on its actors and on the material conditions in which this press was created and disseminated. The Foreign Political Press in Nineteenth-Century London is a useful volume for students and academics with an interest in 19th-century politics or the history of the press.

Politics from a Distance

The Foreign Political Press in Nineteenth-Century London

This biography charts the life and fascinating long militant career of the French anarchist journalist, editor, theorist, writer, campaigner and educator Jean Grave (1854-1939), from the run up to the 1871 Paris Commune to the eve of the Second World War. Through Grave, it explores the history of the French and international anarchist communist movement over seven decades: its “heroic period” (1880-1890s), shaken by terrorist violence and intense repression, the emergence of syndicalism, national and international solidarity campaigns, the divisions over the First World War, and post-war division and relegation. Through Grave, a “sedentary transnationalist,” the study investigates the networked and transnational organisation of the anarchist movement, addressing the paradox of Grave’s international influence alongside his deep rootedness in Paris by emphasizing the movement’s global print culture and staggering circulations.

Jean Grave and the Networks of French Anarchism, 1854-1939

This book is a study of political exile and transnational activism in the late-Victorian period. It explores the history of about 500 French-speaking anarchists who lived in exile in London between 1880 and 1914, with a close focus on the 1890s, when their presence peaked. These individuals sought to escape intense repression in France, at a time when anarchist-inspired terrorism swept over the Western world. Until the 1905 Aliens Act, Britain was the exception in maintaining a liberal approach to the containment of anarchism and terrorism; it was therefore the choice destination of international exiled anarchists, just as it had been for previous generations of revolutionary exiles throughout the nineteenth century. These French groups in London played a strategic role in the reinvention of anarchism at a time of crisis, but also triggered intense moral panic in France, Britain and beyond. This study retraces the lives of these largely unknown individuals - how they struggled to get by in the great late-Victorian metropolis, their social and political interactions among themselves, with other exiled groups and their host society. The myths surrounding their rumoured terrorist activities are examined, as well as the constant overt and covert surveillance which French and British intelligence services kept over them. The debates surrounding the controversial asylum granted to international anarchists, and especially the French, are presented, showing their role in the redefinition of British liberalism. The political legacy of these 'London years' is also analysed, since exile contributed to the formation of small but efficient transnational networks, which were pivotal to the development and international dissemination of syndicalism and, less successfully, to anti-war propaganda in the run up to 1914.

Exile and Transnationalism in the First Globalisation

The French Anarchists in London, 1880-1914

Dave Berry

This collection presents exciting new research on the history of anarchist movements and their relation to organised labour, notably revolutionary syndicalism. Bringing together internationally acknowledged authorities as well as younger researchers, all specialists in their field, it ranges across Europe and from the late nineteenth century to the beginnings of the Cold War. National histories are revisited through transnational perspectives—on Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland or Europe as a whole—evidencing a great wealth of cross-border interactions and reciprocal influences between regions and countries. Emphasis is also placed on individual activist itineraries—whether of renowned figures such as Errico Malatesta or of lesser-known yet equally fascinating characters, whose trajectories offer fresh perspectives on the complex interplay of regional and national political cultures, evolving political ideologies, activist networks and the individual. The volume will be of interest to specialists working on the history of anarchism and/or trade unionism as well as the political or social history of the countries concerned; but it will also be useful to students and the general reader looking for discussion of the most recent thinking on the historiography of labour and anarchist movements or those wanting a comprehensive overview of the history of syndicalism.

The Individual, the National and the Transnational

New Perspectives on Anarchism, Labour and Syndicalism

Bert Altena

This edited volume reassesses the ongoing transnational turn in anarchist and syndicalist studies, a field where the interest in cross-border connections has generated much innovative literature in the last decade. It presents and extends up-to-date research into several dynamic historiographic fields, and especially the history of the anarchist and syndicalist movements and the notions of transnational militancy and informal political networks. Whilst restating the relevance of transnational approaches, especially in connection with the concepts of personal networks and mediators, the book underlines the importance of other scales of analysis in capturing the complexities of anarchist militancy, due to both their centrality as a theme of reflection for militants, and their role as a level of organization. Especially crucial is the national level, which is often overlooked due to the internationalism which was so central to anarchist ideology. And yet, as several chapters highlight, anarchist discourses on the nation (as opposed to the state), patriotism and even race, were more nuanced than is usually assumed. The local and individual levels are also shown to be essential in anarchist militancy.

Scales of Analysis in Anarchist and Syndicalist Studies

Reassessing the Transnational Turn

This edited volume reassesses the ongoing transnational turn in anarchist and syndicalist studies. It presents and extends up-to-date research into several dynamic historiographic fields, and especially the history of the anarchist and syndicalist movements and the notions of transnational militancy and informal political networks. Contributors include Davide Turcato, Ruth Kinna, Isabelle Felici, Kenyon Zimmer, Pietro Di Paola, Raymond Craib, Nino Kühnis, and Martin Baxmeyer.

Constance Bantman

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