Petroleum Revolution facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Petroleum Revolution |
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| Part of the Sexenio Democrático | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Committee of Public Health Spanish Regional Federation of the IWA |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Emilio Castelar Agustí Albors † |
Severino Albarracín |
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The Petroleum Revolution (in Valencian: La Revolució del Petroli) was a workers' uprising that happened in Alcoy, Alicante, Spain in 1873. It's called the Petroleum Revolution because workers used torches soaked in petroleum as their symbol. People said the city smelled of petroleum during those days.
This event showed how much social conflict there was in Alcoy at the time. Workers faced very tough living conditions. They organized themselves and were among the first in Spain to create a group called the International Workingmen's Association (AIT). During the Petroleum Revolution, workers took control of Alcoy for several days in July 1873. This happened during a big strike that turned into a riot against the city's mayor, Agustí Albors. The mayor ordered his guards to shoot at the protesters. In response, the workers attacked the town hall. The mayor died during the revolt, and other city leaders were trapped.
The city declared itself independent from July 9 to 13, 1873. It was led by a group called the Committee of Public Health, with Severino Albarracín in charge. The protesters demanded higher wages and shorter workdays. The revolt ended when the national army arrived and took back control of the city. Many revolutionaries faced harsh punishments, and workers saw almost no improvements in their lives. Over 600 workers, including young people aged 12 to 17, were put on trial. Many faced very serious consequences.
Contents
Why the Revolution Started
During the First Spanish Republic, Alcoy was one of the few Spanish cities with many factories. It had industries making paper, textiles (cloth), and metal products. This brought many people to the city and created a new way of working called the capitalist system. Machines started doing jobs that people used to do. This led to some workers destroying machines, hoping to protect their jobs and improve their lives.
Life for Alcoy's Workers
About one-third of Alcoy's 30,000 people worked in factories. This included women and children. For example, 5,500 people worked in 175 textile companies, and 2,500 worked in 74 paper factories. Their living conditions were very difficult. Sadly, 42% of children in Alcoy died before they turned five years old.
These harsh conditions helped the Spanish Regional Federation of the International Workingmen's Association (FRE-AIT) grow very quickly. By the end of 1872, this group had over 2,000 members. This was almost a quarter of all the workers in Alcoy.
Workers Organize for Change
In early 1873, the FRE-AIT decided to set up its main office in Alcoy. Key leaders like Severino Albarracín were part of this group. On March 9, about ten thousand people marched through Alcoy's streets. They gathered in the bullring and all agreed to ask for higher wages and shorter work hours.
What Happened During the Revolution
When the Federal Republic was declared on June 8, the FRE-AIT leaders believed it was time for a big social change. On June 15, they asked workers to get ready for action. They wanted to remove all special advantages that powerful people had. On July 6, a leader named Tomás González Morago wrote a letter saying that a social revolution was about to begin in Spain.
The General Strike Begins
On July 7, the FRE-AIT leaders called a meeting for all workers in Alcoy. They met in the bullring and decided to start a general strike the next day. They demanded a 20% increase in wages and a reduction of the workday from 12 to 8 hours.
The strike began on July 8. Leaders like Severino Albarracín said they were ready "to win in any way" and use "all available means, even by force if necessary." Another leader, V. Fambuena, wrote that 10,000 workers were ready to face anything. He encouraged others to work hard for their cause.
Conflict at City Hall
On July 9, factory owners met at the town hall. They rejected the workers' demands, and the mayor, Agustí Albors, supported them. Workers then demanded that the mayor resign and be replaced by a new revolutionary group.
Workers gathered in the main square in front of City Hall. While they waited, Mayor Albors ordered the city guards to fire at them. One person died, and several were injured. The workers fought back, taking up arms and seizing control of the streets. They held some factory owners hostage, later releasing them after money was paid to help fund the strike. They also set fire to some factories.
Mayor Albors and 32 guards stayed inside City Hall, waiting for help from the government. After being surrounded for twenty hours, during which the building and nearby ones burned, they had to give up. Mayor Albors died violently during the fight. Some say he tried to escape but was found and killed. Fifteen other people also died, including seven guards and three workers.
Aftermath and Consequences
The leaders of the International Commission left Alcoy on the night of July 12 and went to Madrid. One leader, Francisco Tomás, later explained that the Alcoy uprising was a "purely revolutionary socialist workers' movement." He said it was different from other political movements happening at the time.
After the events, many workers faced severe punishment. Between 500 and 700 workers were arrested, and 282 of them were put on trial. Many were sent to prison. In 1876, a special pardon called an amnesty released many prisoners. Another amnesty happened in 1881. The last twenty people on trial were found not guilty in 1887, fourteen years after the events. Six of them were still in prison at that time.
These events caused problems between the republicans and the workers' groups. Some thinkers, like Friedrich Engels, criticized how the workers' movement was led during the uprising.
See also
- Revolución Cantonal
- Syndicalist
