Stuart Christie facts for kids

Stuart Christie (born July 10, 1946 – died August 15, 2020) was a Scottish writer and publisher. He believed in anarchism, which is a political idea that suggests people can live together peacefully without a government. When he was 18, Christie was arrested because he was carrying explosives. He planned to use them to try and stop the leader of Spain, General Francisco Franco.

Later, some people thought he was part of a group called the Angry Brigade, but he was found not guilty of those charges. He started a publishing company called Cienfuegos Press. He also created online channels and magazines that shared ideas about anarchism and libertarian socialism, which focuses on freedom and fairness for everyone. His life story, Granny Made Me an Anarchist, was published in 2004.

Stuart Christie's Life Story

Growing Up and Early Beliefs

Stuart Christie was born in Partick, a part of Glasgow, Scotland. He grew up in Blantyre with his mother and grandparents. He became interested in anarchism when he was quite young. He often said his grandmother helped him understand these ideas. She taught him about right and wrong, which matched well with the ideas of libertarian socialism and anarchism.

In 1962, when he was 16, Stuart joined the Anarchist Federation in Glasgow. He also became active in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). This group protested against nuclear weapons. He liked the more active approach of groups like the Direct Action Committee and Committee of 100. He took part in a protest at the Faslane Naval Base on February 14, 1963.

Attempt to Stop General Franco

In July 1964, when Stuart Christie was 18, he traveled from London to Paris. There, he picked up some plastic explosives from an anarchist group called Defensa Interior.

Before he left England, he was asked on a TV show if he thought it was right to try and stop General Franco. He said yes. When the show was shown after his arrest, these comments were removed.

Christie traveled into Spain and was arrested in Madrid on August 11, 1964. He had the explosives with him. He faced a military trial and could have been executed. Instead, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Another person, Fernando Carballo Blanco, received a thirty-year sentence.

Stuart spent three years in Carabanchel Prison. While there, he studied for his A-Level exams. He also met other anarchist prisoners, including Miguel García García and Luis Andres Edo. Christie was later set free. The official reason given by the Spanish government was that his mother had asked for his release.

Returning to Britain

Industrial Workers of the World members protesting in Australia in 1981, asking for Stuart Christie's wife Brenda to be released from prison.

After he was released from prison, Stuart Christie continued his work in the British anarchist movement. He helped restart groups like the Anarchist Black Cross and the newspaper Black Flag with Albert Meltzer. He was accused of being involved with the Angry Brigade, but he was found innocent.

He then started a publishing company called Cienfuegos Press. For several years, he ran this company from Sanday, Orkney, an island in Scotland. While there, he also worked on a local newspaper called The Free-Winged Eagle.

Stuart Christie also had different writing and journalism jobs. He was an editor for a British version of Pravda, a newspaper from the Soviet Union. He also worked on Argumenty i Fakty during the last years of the Soviet Union and the early years of Russia.

Stuart Christie's Books and Publications

In 2004, a new version of his life story, Granny Made Me an Anarchist, was published. This book had been released before in three parts. The other parts were called General Franco Made Me a Terrorist and Edward Heath Made Me Angry.

Stuart Christie also wrote other books with Albert Meltzer, including The Floodgates of Anarchy. His other books include Stefano Delle Chiaie: Portrait of a Black Terrorist. This book was about an Italian neo-fascist. He also wrote We, the Anarchists! A study of the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI) 1927–1937.

As a publisher, Stuart Christie started Cienfuegos Press in 1972. He also edited the Cienfuegos Anarchist Review from about 1977 to 1982. He founded other publishing groups like Refract Publications (1982) and The Meltzer Press (1996). Later, he started Christiebooks and Read 'N' Noir. His book The Christie File was published by Cienfuegos Press in 1980. He also edited The Hastings Trawler, a monthly magazine that ran from 2005 to 2006.

Christie also translated a book into English. It was the life story of Francisco Sabate Llopart, called Sabate: An Extraordinary Guerrilla, written by Antonio Téllez Solá.

Personal Life

Stuart Christie was married to Brenda Christie for more than 50 years. Brenda passed away from cancer in June 2019 at the age of 70. Stuart Christie himself died at 74 years old, also from cancer, on August 15, 2020.

See also

• Colin Ward
• In Spanish: Stuart Christie para niños