The Red Legion was a Portuguese anarcho-syndicalist terrorist group linked to the General Confederation of Labour (CGT).

History

The group was created because of social conflicts in the workers' movement, which was at its height during the time of the

First Portuguese Republic The First Portuguese Republic (; officially: ''República Portuguesa'', Portuguese Republic) spans a complex 16-year period in the history of Portugal, between the end of the History of Portugal (1834-1910), period of constitutional monarchy ma ...

. It was not long before the conflicts between the workers with the authorities and bosses began to increase, as did the strength of the Red Legion. From December 1919 to May 1925, the Red Legion swept the country with a wave of bombing, gunfire and violence, mainly in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, against conservative government officials and prominent figures in industry. They were responsible for more than 200 attacks during its existence. It drew mostly from extremist elements within the Syndicalist Youth Federation. On 15 May 1925 the movement carried out the double shooting of the police commander, Colonel

João Maria Ferreira do Amaral João Maria Ferreira do Amaral (4 March 1803 – 22 August 1849) was a Portuguese military officer and politician. While he was governor of Macau, he was assassinated by several Chinese men, triggering the Battle of Passaleão between Portuga ...

. The attempt failed and, in the repression that followed the

28 May 1926 coup d'état The 28 May 1926 coup d'état, sometimes called 28 May Revolution or, during the period of the Corporatism, corporatist ''Estado Novo (Portugal), Estado Novo'' (), the National Revolution (), was a military coup of a nationalist origin, that put a ...

, hundreds of workers and artisans allegedly tied to the organisation were deported by the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

, being sent to the various colonies of

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

. On the morning of 4 July 1937, five members of the Red Legion made a failed attempt on the life of

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese statesman, academic, and economist who served as Portugal's President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal, President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1 ...

. A bomb was placed in a sewer collector where Oliveira Salazar's vehicle passed, when he went to Sunday Mass in the private chapel of his friend Josué Trocado, on Avenida Barbosa du Bocage, in Lisbon. The explosion missed Salazar, in what the local priests determined an "act of god". One of the perpetrators Emídio Santana fled to London, but he was captured by British police and returned to Portugal, where he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

References

{{reflist 1919 establishments in Portugal 1925 disestablishments in Portugal Anarchism in Portugal Defunct anarchist militant groups Political organisations based in Portugal Terrorism in Portugal

History

See also

References