The Disinherited (group) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Disinherited |
|
|---|---|
| Los Desheredados | |
| Leader(s) | No leader |
| Dates of operation | September 26, 1882–1885 |
| Split from | Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region |
| Country |  Spain |
| Active regions |  Andalusia |
| Ideology | Anarcho-communism, illegalism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| Opponents |  Spain |
The Disinherited (Spanish: Los Desheredados) was a secret Spanish group of anarchists. They believed in using strong actions, sometimes violent, to spread their ideas. This was part of a belief called "propaganda of the deed".
Contents
How The Disinherited Group Started
In September 1882, a big meeting happened in Seville. It was the 2nd Congress of the Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region (FTRE). During this meeting, some members were kicked out. These members believed in "illegalism" and "anarcho-communism". This meant they thought that using illegal actions and sharing everything equally was the way to go.
The FTRE, however, preferred to work through legal and public ways. So, the members who disagreed, like Miguel Rubio and Francisco Gago, left. They then formed their own group called Los Desheredados.
Why They Formed a New Group
Three years later, Los Desheredados explained their reasons in their newspaper, The Social Revolution. They said that the FTRE leaders had hidden an important agreement. This agreement, from a meeting in London in 1881, supported "propaganda of the deed". This meant taking direct, often strong, actions to make their ideas known. Los Desheredados felt the FTRE was becoming too focused on legal methods.
Meetings and Growth
After being expelled, Los Desheredados held their own meetings. They had one at the end of 1882, and two more in Seville (1883) and Cádiz (1884). The FTRE even called the Cádiz meeting a "congress of the disturbers."
It was at the Seville meeting that they decided how their group would work. After this, they started to grow. In April 1885, The Social Revolution newspaper wrote about their growth. It also talked about the Black Hand incident.
As a result of the good spirit of that meeting, our group grew very well. This happened even though the FTRE leaders tried to stop us. They even played a part in the "Black Hand" story in Andalusia, acting like "slanderers."
They worked with the rich people (the bourgeoisie) to confuse workers who agreed with our ways. They mixed up our group with some individual actions that happened among other workers. After praising these workers and taking their money, the FTRE leaders then slandered them. They betrayed them to the rich people during a terrible time of trouble.
This quote shows how much disagreement there was within the Spanish anarchist movement. Los Desheredados accused the FTRE of working against them and with the wealthy.
Where They Operated
Los Desheredados mainly worked in the provinces of Malaga, Cádiz, and Seville. This area is known as Baja Andalucía. They also claimed to have members in some towns in the Valencia and Catalonia regions.
Their Beliefs and Methods
They strongly believed in using direct action, including violence, to speed up a "social revolution". They did not trust the FTRE's methods, which they saw as too slow and focused on legal rules. Los Desheredados supported the ideas from the 1881 London Congress. This meeting had favored using violence and working in secret.
Even though they supported "illegalism" and "propaganda of the deed", they didn't fully define their "anarcho-communism" ideas at first. They were more focused on "collectivist" ideas, where groups of workers own things together. It wasn't until mid-1885 that their specific ideas about anarcho-communism, also called libertarian communism, became clearer.
How They Organized
According to historian Josep Termes, Los Desheredados saw themselves as carrying on the work of the AIT. They declared that the wealthy class (the bourgeoisie) was "outside the law." They decided to organize into small, secret groups. Each group had only five to ten people. These were called "affinity groups". They believed that larger, more traditional worker groups were old-fashioned and too controlling.
The Decline of The Disinherited
The group faced many challenges, especially during the Mano Negra affair. This was a time when anarchists in Andalusia were heavily persecuted. This difficult period led to the decline of Los Desheredados.
Historian Miguel Iñiguez noted that the split caused by Los Desheredados showed how fragile the FTRE's unity was. It also showed that some anarchists wanted immediate action and rebellion. They felt the FTRE was not paying enough attention to the desperate situation of poor farmers in Andalusia.
See also
In Spanish: Los Desheredados para niños
