Josep Llunas i Pujals (30 January 1852–23 May 1905) was a Catalan

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

ist. He joined the Spanish Regional Federation of the

International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA; 1864–1876), often called the First International, was a political international which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, social democratic, communist, and anarchist g ...

(FRE-AIT) in 1872 and, by the 1880s, became one of the leading exponents of

anarcho-syndicalism Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchism, anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade uni ...

in Spain. In 1881, he co-founded the

Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region The Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region (, FTRE) was a Spanish anarchist organization founded in the Barcelona Workers' Congress of 1881 by the initiative of a group of Catalans, Catalan anarcho-syndicalists headed Josep Llunas i Pujals, Ra ...

(FTRE), which he conceived of as an anarchist

trade union federation Organizers within trade unions have sought to increase the bargaining power of workers in regards to collective bargaining by acting in collaboration with other trade unions. Multi-union organizing can take place on an informal basis, or on a ...

capable of establishing a

classless society A classless society is a society in which no one is born into a social class like in a class society. Distinctions of wealth, income, education, culture, or social network might arise and would only be determined by individual experience an ...

. He was at the centre of a dispute between

collectivist In sociology, a social organization is a pattern of relationships between and among individuals and groups. Characteristics of social organization can include qualities such as sexual composition, spatiotemporal cohesion, leadership, struct ...

and communist anarchists, during which he took the side of the former. He left the labour movement after the anarchist movement adopted

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

tactics, and spent the last year of his life in

sports journalism Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism has its roots in coverage of horse racing and boxing in the early 1800s, mainly targeted towards elites, and into t ...

Biography

Josep Llunas i Pujals was born in the

province of Tarragona Tarragona (; ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, Teruel, Zaragoza, Lleida and Barcelona and by the Mediterranean Sea. The province's po ...

in 1852. He worked as a

typographer Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...

and moved to the Catalan capital of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, where he worked in the

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

industry. Llunas began his political career as a member of the

Federal Democratic Republican Party The Federal Democratic Republican Party (, PRDF) was a Spanish political party founded in 1868 during the Glorious Revolution that was active until 1912. Its ideology was federal republicanism and progressivism. History In 1868, the left-wing ...

, before gravitating towards

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

and a progressive approach to

Catalan nationalism Catalan nationalism promotes the idea that the Catalan people form a distinct nation and national identity. A related term is Catalanism (, ), which is more related to Regionalism (politics), regionalism and tends to have a wider meaning, most pe ...

. In the early 1870s, he joined a printers'

and became secretary of a Catalan workers'

social centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

. Through these organisations, in 1872, he joined the Spanish Regional Federation of the

(FRE-AIT) and was elected as

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of its local federation in Barcelona. At this time, he came under the influence of the Russian anarchist

Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. Sometimes anglicized to Michael Bakunin. ( ; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, s ...

. By the 1880s, Llunas had become one the leading figures of the Spanish labour movement, alongside Rafael Farga Pellicer and

Anselmo Lorenzo Anselmo Lorenzo Asperilla (21 April 1841 – 30 November 1914) was a Spanish anarchist activist and writer. He is known for his leading role in the early stages of the Spanish anarchist movement, for which he became known as "the grandfath ...

. From Barcelona, Llunas and Farga headed the

syndicalist Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goal of gainin ...

faction of the FRE-AIT. They upheld the central role of

s in creating a post-capitalist society and believed that the FRE ought to operate legally, rather than clandestinely, which put them in opposition to

insurrectionary anarchist Insurrectionary anarchism is a revolutionary theory and tendency within the anarchist movement that emphasizes insurrection as a revolutionary practice. It is critical of formal organizations such as labor unions and federations that are based o ...

tendencies. Llunas himself became the main advocate of

during the late 19th century in Spain. In 1881, Llunas and Farga disbanded the rump FRE and established the

(FTRE) in its place. Under the leadership of the Catalan syndicalists, the FTRE was set up to be a specifically anarchist organisation. Llunas and Farga, along with their fellow syndicalists Antonio Pellicer Paraire, Francisco Tomás and Eudaldo Canibell, established a five-person commission to lead the new FTRE. The establishment of the FTRE provoked a fierce debate between

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

and collectivist anarchists over both strategy and ideological goals. Llunas took the side of the collectivists, aligned with the newspaper ''El Productor''. In September 1882, Llunas gave the

keynote speech A keynote in public speaking is a talk that establishes a main underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address. The keynote establishes the framework fo ...

at the Second Congress of the FTRE in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. He convinced the congress to adopt a collectivist economic programme, despite vocal criticisms from the Andalusian communist Miguel Rubio. By the time of the organisation's Third Congress, held in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

the following year, many Andalusian communists had already broken away from the FTRE, causing it to lose 20% of its members. The federal commission was moved to

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

and all of its members, including Llunas himself, were replaced. He subsequently turned his attention away from the FTRE and towards his new publication, ', a Catalan language periodical which became famous for its

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, ...

and anarchist satire. He also contributed to a number of Spanish language anarchist publications, including ''Acracia'' and ''El Productor''. In these publications he developed his collectivist theory on the role of the trade union in the establishment of a

, which he believed would be based on

collective ownership Collective ownership is the ownership of private property by all members of a group. The breadth or narrowness of the group can range from a whole society to a set of coworkers in a particular enterprise (such as one collective farm). In the la ...

federalism Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...

and

workers' self-management Workers' self-management, also referred to as labor management and organizational self-management, is a form of organizational management based on self-directed work processes on the part of an organization's workforce. Self-managed economy, ...

. He centred the FTRE in this analysis, holding it up as an example of an anarchist trade union, organised from the bottom-up, which brought together workers of different crafts into

industrial unions Industrial unionism is a trade union organising method through which all workers in the same Industry (economics), industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industrie ...

and regional federations. Internal antagonisms within the anarchist movement were exacerbated by the

Mano Negra affair The Black Hand () was a presumed secret, anarchist organization based in the Andalusian region of Spain and best known as the perpetrators of murders, arson, and crop fires in the early 1880s. The events associated with the Black Hand took pla ...

. Llunas travelled to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

to express his support for the syndicalist faction around Juan Serrano Oteiza, but they eventually succumbed to pressure and lost ground to the anti-syndicalists. In July 1885, he participated in the First Socialist Gathering in

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The area has long been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental significance during the time of the Phylloxera plague. Currently it is known f ...

. By the 1890s, communist anarchism and insurrectionary anarchism had supplanted collectivism as the leading tendencies of the Spanish anarchist movement. In 1893, Llunas attempted to protest the anarchist adoption of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

, writing critical articles on the issue in ''La Tramontana'', but he was unable to stop it. In August 1895, Llunas joined the organising committee of the Catalan General Association of Freethinkers, which sought to defend nascent Spanish democracy against

reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...

attacks. In 1896, Llunas was arrested and imprisoned as part of the

Montjuïc trial The Montjuïc trial was a trial of anarchist suspects in the military Montjuïc Castle following the 1896 terrorist attack on the Barcelonean Corpus Christi procession. About 400 suspects were arrested, from whom 87 were put on trial and fiv ...

s. He was forced to close down ''La Tramontana'' and cease his political activism. By the turn of the 20th century, Llunas had lost his influence over the labour movement and turned instead towards

, contributing to '' Los Deportes'' and ''Barcelona Sport''. He died in 1905.

Selected works

* ''Estudios filosófico-sociales'' (1882) * ''La revolució: poema en tres cants'' (1886) * ''El Ariete Socialista Internacional'' (1887) * ''Qüestions socials'' (1891) * ''Los partits socialistes espanyols'' (1892) * ''La Ley y la clase obrera'' (1893)

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

International Institute of Social History: Barcelona 1893-1897
{{DEFAULTSORT:Llunas i Pujals, Josep 1852 births 1905 deaths 19th-century newspaper founders 19th-century newspaper publishers (people) Anarchists from Catalonia Anarchist writers Anarcho-syndicalists Collectivist anarchists Journalists from Catalonia Members of the International Workingmen's Association People from Reus Print journalists Spanish sports journalists Spanish syndicalists Typesetters

Biography

Selected works

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links