Montjuïc Trial
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Montjuïc trial was a trial of
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 ...
suspects in the military
Montjuïc Castle Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Montjuïc or Montjuich, meaning "Jewish Mountain" in medieval Latin and Catalan, is a broad, shallow hill in Barcelona with a rich history. It was the birthplace of the city, and its st ...
following the 1896 terrorist attack on the Barcelonean Corpus Christi procession. About 400 suspects were arrested, from whom 87 were put on trial and five executed. Stories of forced confessions through
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
led to an 1898–1899 campaign for a
judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...
of the trial organized through
Alejandro Lerroux Alejandro Lerroux García (4 March 1864, in La Rambla, Córdoba – 25 June 1949, in Madrid) was a Spanish politician who was the leader of the Radical Republican Party. He served as Prime Minister three times from 1933 to 1935 and held sever ...
and his newspaper ''El Progreso''. Republican support for Lerroux from this action led to his rise as a
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
force in
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 ...
. Following the bombing,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
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 ...
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish people, Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Spanish Prime Minister, prime minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the ...
ordered mass arrests of Barcelonan workers. During this period, "Montjuïc" became synonymous with barbarous torture based on the treatment of anarchists and other prisoners there. The suspects were held without water or food. They were given salted cod to exacerbate their thirst. The suspects were stripped and, instead of sleeping, were made to march in their cells while holding leg weights. Those who collapsed were waked with burns from hot irons. Suspects had their toenails pulled, genitals and feet crushed, and craniums put into compression devices. They were electrocuted. Guards extinguished cigars on their bodies. Among the arrested there were also women, such as Teresa Claramunt, who, besides the tortures, reported the humiliating treatment that female prisoners received and their blackmailing by the guards to provide them with sexual favors. Though the bomber had fled the country, Cánovas had dozens of confessions by December. The prosecutor requested 28 death sentences and 59 life sentences. The military tribunal rejected all but five death sentences, which were fulfilled on May 4, 1897. An additional 20 suspects received prison sentences. The remaining 63 suspects were exonerated and deported elsewhere in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.


Response and legacy

The Spanish government lost the remainder of its international goodwill as news of its state-sponsored torture spread. The dispersed deportees, amplified by the international press, became celebrities as the living proof of the "crimes of Montjuïc". Deportees bared their scars before appalled meeting halls in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The Montjuïc-deported anarchist
Fernando Tarrida del Mármol Fernando Tarrida del Mármol (1861 – 1915) was a mathematics professor born in Cuba and raised in Catalonia best known for proposing "anarchism without adjectives", the idea that anarchists should set aside their debates over the most pref ...
's ''Les inquisiteurs d’Espagne (Montjuich, Cuba, Philippines)'' influentially brought the Montjuïc events to a wider audience. This international pressure exacerbated that which the Spanish government already felt in response to its treatment of
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 ...
n civilians.
Cuban independence The Cuban War of Independence (), also known in Cuba as the Necessary War (), fought from 1895 to 1898, was the last of three liberation wars that Cuba fought against Spanish Empire, Spain, the other two being the Ten Years' War (1868–187 ...
advocates used international disgust with Spanish barbarism to unite disparate groups. Cuban bourgeois separatists and anarchists put aside disagreements to organize against the Spanish military and government. Cuban revolutionaries in Europe housed Montjuïc deportees. In
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
and Cuba independence advocate
Ramón Emeterio Betances Ramón Emeterio Betances y Alacán (April 8, 1827 – September 16, 1898) was a Puerto Rican independence leader, abolitionist and medical doctor. He led the nations independence movement and was the primary instigator of the ''Grito de Lares' ...
led a campaign against Spanish backwardness. In London, Cuban advocates held a mass meeting in Hyde Park and a British anarchist "Spanish Atrocities Committee" held a large demonstration in
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...
in May 1897. The American public was more roiled by the Spanish atrocities than by the domestic 1886
Haymarket affair The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886 at Haymarket Square (C ...
. Anarchist and
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
Voltairine de Cleyre Voltairine de Cleyre (; November 17, 1866 – June 20, 1912) was an American anarchist, feminist writer and public speaker. Born into extreme poverty in Michigan, de Cleyre taught herself how to read and write, and became a lover of poetry. ...
's pamphlet ''The Modern Inquisition in Spain'' sold through its printing. American anarchists demonstrated outside the
Spanish embassy Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine ** Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
in New York. Anarchist
Michele Angiolillo Michele Angiolillo Lombardi (; 5 June 1871 – 20 August 1897) was an Italian anarchist, born in Foggia, Italy. He assassinated Spanish Prime Minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo in 1897 and was captured and executed by Spanish authorities i ...
assassinated Prime Minister Cánovas in retaliation for his role in the trial and its executions.


See also

*
Liceu bombing The Liceu bombing was a terrorist attack by the Spanish anarchist Santiago Salvador, who killed 20 to 30 people at Barcelona's Liceu, Grand Lyceum Theatre on 7 November 1893. The bombing was in response to the execution of Paulí Pallàs, who ...
, an attack earlier in the decade that ended with laborers tortured in Montjuïc


References


Bibliography

*


Further reading

* * * * * *


External links


Full text of ''Les inquisiteurs d'Espagne''
by
Fernando Tarrida del Mármol Fernando Tarrida del Mármol (1861 – 1915) was a mathematics professor born in Cuba and raised in Catalonia best known for proposing "anarchism without adjectives", the idea that anarchists should set aside their debates over the most pref ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montjuïc trial 1896 in Spain 1890s in Catalonia 1896 in politics Anarchism in Spain Torture in Spain Trials in Spain Anti-anarchism in Spain 19th-century trials