history these principles, the barriers to establishworkers issued a statement denouncing ing secular school or union premises were their employers as ‘capitalist ogres’ who considerable, particularly in Spain, given they characterised as ‘exploiters without that the permits required to establish them conscience’, determined to see workers were rarely forthcoming. As drop ‘lifeless through Instances one anarchist newspaper fatigue produced by exAnarchists abounded lamented in 1901, ‘it is a cess of work’ as a result were deeply shame that while there is no of their ‘thirst for gold… of workers distrustful of impediment for us going to which never satiates’. The throwing the education end of the strike showed the tavern, or to the bullfights rocks at provided by or to church - on the cona distinct slight of hand notable trary, it is encouraged that we the Catholic by both employers and targets... Church... bend to these places where the colonial authorities, we can only stupefy ourselves who worked together. – barriers are raised to dignify or to make The vast majority of the bakers on strike cultured men of ourselves. Rest assured were Spaniards, working in Gibraltar by that if attempting to create a Catholic virtue of having a permit to enter the garriclub or a drinking establishment, or build a son. When the bakers declared themselves bullring, or install a religious community… to be on strike, the employers dismissed not only one, but twenty permits would be them and so the colonial authorities were obtained’. Anarchism was, then, not just a able to withdraw their permits and expel political worker’s movement, but a broader them from the Rock. social one too.
Overall, for those involved in the anarchist movement, these were exciting times. Gains were being made. Moreover, anarchists believed in regularly practicing revolutionary activity in the hope that a General Strike would break-out; one that would lead to revolution and a fundamental re-organisation of society. Indeed, in 1902 a substantial strike did occur and we will come to that in the third of these articles. But first, next time, a curious incident involving a British labour organisation – the Social Democratic Federation, or SDF. The SDF arrived in Gibraltar in 1898 and tried to displace the Rock’s various anarchist organisations, much to the delight of employers. But the experiment was short-lived. For the time being, anarchism held strong on the Rock.
Anarchists
The speed with which the could often Círculo established itself in be fairly Gibraltar was remarkable. puritanical in In the 1880s, governors of their tastes... Gibraltar did not report back to London a single instance of labour unrest. However, from 1890 until 1902, there were several strikes, sometimes as many as four or five a year. In 1890, one strike secured the right of workers and employers to jointly organise the hiring and paying workers, severely reducing the ability of employers to blacklist workers or unfairly dock wages, and demonstrating the power of the new movement. When employers tried to reverse this agreement by locking men out of work, a number of attacks on foremen and employers began, reflecting the anarchist belief in violent tactics where necessary. Four men who were accused of intimidating and assaulting strike-breakers were arrested and sentenced to hard labour in the Moorish Castle. When the Police came to convey the prisoners to the Moorish Castle, they found themselves set about by a crowd of fifty A number of people throwing stones at attacks on them. The result was that the foremen and army were called to disperse employers the protestors at bayonet began... point. Violence towards employers and, at times, the colonial authorities became commonplace during times of industrial unrest. In particular, instances abounded of workers throwing rocks at notable targets such as strike breakers, foremen and employers. Likewise, the use of dramatic revolutionary rhetoric peppered the speeches of union leaders, newspapers, and pamphlets. During a baker’s strike of 1893, striking GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JANUARY 2016
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