Manuel Pardiñas Serrato (1880 – 12 November 1912) was an Aragonese

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 ...

assassin Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

, responsible for the of José Canalejas, the

Prime Minister of Spain The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government (), is the head of government of Spain. The prime minister nominates the Spanish government departments, ministers and chairs the Council of Ministers (Spain), Council of Mini ...

Biography

Manuel Pardiñas Serrato was born in the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

ese town of

El Grado El Grado is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to 2009 data ( INE), the municipality has a population of 506 inhabitants. There is a large reservoir, managing the waters of river Cinca in this town's munic ...

in 1880. He moved to

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

for work, before emigrating to France in 1901. Due to his anarchist activities, he was soon wanted by the French police and forced to flee to the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. He attempted to find work at the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

, but soon emigrated to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. With a number of Cuban anarchists, he moved to

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, where he joined an anarchist group led by Pedro Esteve. He later went to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he made contact with an international anarchist committee. He then went to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, where he reunited with a number of other emigrants from Tampa. At this time, several European leaders, including Spanish king

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...

, had been targetted for assassination by anarchists. Following the suppression of the Tragic Week uprising, in 1910, a new liberal government was formed under José Canalejas as

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. On 23 September 1912, when a railway workers' strike broke out in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, Pardiñas reportedly discussed the rail stoppage with representatives of financial institutions, including the

Bank of Liverpool The Bank of Liverpool was a financial institution founded in 1831 in Liverpool, England. In 1918, it acquired Martins Bank, and the name of the merged bank became the Bank of Liverpool and Martins Ltd. The name was shortened to Martins Bank Ltd ...

. By the following week, the strike had escalated and spread nationwide, with 65,500 workers declaring themselves in favour of a

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

. On 3 October, the Canalejas responded by suspending the right to strike and mobilising military reservists to take over the railways. At a meeting in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, Pardiñas' anarchist group decided to assassinate Canalejas for his role in suppressing the strike, as well as other policies which they saw as

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

and

colonialist Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

. On 10 November 1912, Pardiñas returned to Spain and went 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 carry out the deed. On 12 November, while Canalejas was making his way home, he stopped outside the in

Puerta del Sol The Puerta del Sol (, English: "Gate of the Sun") is a public square in Madrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre ('' Km 0'') of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous ...

. There Pardiñas shot the prime minister with a

Holland & Holland Holland & Holland Limited is a British gunmaker and luxury clothing retailer based in London, England, which sells handmade sporting rifles and shotguns. The company holds two Royal Warrant of Appointment (United Kingdom), royal warrants. His ...

pistol, before turning the gun on himself and immediately committing suicide.

Biography

References

Bibliography

Further reading