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Anarchism in French Guiana has a short, and little recorded, history. The only continental territory in Latin America to remain under European control into the 21st century, Guiana has not seen the same political developments as most countries in the region. Still, anarchism has existed to some degree, mainly through the presence of political prisoners deported to the colony. In the modern era, anarchism has had a minor presence in the Guianan political milieu.
Located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America and inhabited by Amerindians indigenous peoples, Guiana was first encountered by Europeans in 1498 when Christopher Columbus reached it, naming the region the "Land of Pariahs". Several attempts to colonize Guiana were made by European states, all of them failing, until the late 17th century when France somewhat successfully colonized the region. While it switched hands many times during the next few centuries, it eventually returned to the French.
The history of French Guiana since colonization can be said to largely have been defined by imprisonment, escape, and rebellion. Many slaves brought from Africa in the region escaped between the mid-17th century and onwards, forming independent maroon communities together with indigenous tribes. Contemporary communities of escaped slaves in neighboring Brazil, such as Palmares (1605–1694) and its leader Zumbi, have sometimes been upheld by modern anarchists as examples of early anti-colonialism, decentralization, and democracy. [1] [2]
These communities of free escaped slaves often waged war against the French colonial settlements. Additionally, slave revolts were relatively frequent. A prominent was one in 1796, when riots broke out after plantation owners refused to obey the abolition of slavery enacted by the French First Republic. After the execution of the same man that had carried out said abolition, Maximilien de Robespierre, in 1794, 193 Jacobin supporters - political radicals whose involvement in the French Revolution and one-time alliance with the revolutionary sans-culottes had an immense impact on the later development of revolutionary and libertarian thought - were deported to Guiana. They were the first of many political prisoners to come. When in 1797 Jean-Charles Pichegru and others were sent to the colony as prisoners, they found that only 54 of the deportees were still alive, the rest had either succumbed to tropical diseases or escaped. [3]
Another slave revolt came in 1804, when Napoleon reintroduced slavery in France's American colonies. After the French Revolution of 1848, in which early anarchists like Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Joseph Déjacque participated, slavery was again abolished, leading to a massive increase in the maroon population.
From the mid-19th century, French Guiana became one of France's primary penal colonies, seeing a massive influx of both criminal and political prisoners over the next century. One early prisoner was Louis Charles Delescluze, arrested and deported in 1853, who after his release in 1859 became associated with the International Workingmen's Association, later becoming a prominent leader of the revolutionary libertarian socialist Paris Commune. The Communard, who was killed on the barricades, wrote an account of his imprisonment in Guiana; De Paris à Cayenne, Journal d'un transporté. [4]
Most political prisoners were placed on the Îles du Salut, especially the notorious Devil's Island, which was active as a prison between 1852 and 1953. It became controversial for its reputation of harshness and brutality. Violence between prisoners was common, tropical diseases were rife, and guards were often corrupt. While most prominently known for its connection to the Dreyfus affair, many French anarchists were imprisoned on the island as well, during the late 19th and early 20th century. Many of them were illegalists, engaging in propaganda of the deed and individual reclamation.
The most prominent anarchist imprisoned in French Guiana was the illegalist Clément Duval (1850–1935), who - unable to work after being wounded in the Franco-Prussian War - turned to theft. Duval, a member of the Panther of Batignolles, was first sentenced to death for burglary (and stabbing the policeman arresting him repeatedly), but later had the sentence commuted to hard labor on Devil's Island. He spent the next 14 years in prison, attempting escape over 20 times. In April 1901, he succeeded and fled to New York City, where he lived until the age of 85. His memoirs were published in 1929, titled Outrage: An Anarchist Memoir of the Penal Colony.
In 1894, an anarchist-led prison revolt broke out on Devil's Island. The troubles began in September, when a jailer killed the anarchist Francois Briens. On 21 October, the jailer was stabbed to death. In the following manhunt, Achille Charles Simon - an accomplice of the executed bomber Ravachol - was shot after being found hiding, as were the anarchists Marsevin, Lebault and Léon-Jules Léauthier (the later of which had been sentenced for trying to stab the Serbian Minister in Paris to death [5] ). In the following chaos, the guards killed numerous anarchist prisoners, among them Dervaux, Boesie, Garnier, Benoit Chevenet, Edouard Aubin Marpaux, Mattei, Maxime Lebeau, Mazarquil, Henri Pierre Meyrveis, Auguste Alfred Faugoux, Thiervoz, and Bernard Mamert. Others died long after, due to the rough conditions and torture, among them Mamaire and Anthelme Girier. [6]
Other anarchist prisoners in French Guiana included Marius Jacob, an illegalist burglar who spent fourteen years in Cayenne and was one of the inspirations for the author Maurice Leblanc's character Arsène Lupin, the Bonnot Gang members Jean De Boe (who after his escape in 1922 fled to Brussels, becoming a noted anarcho-syndicalist) and Eugène Dieudonné (who was pardoned, after escaping prison in December 1926), and Paul Roussenq, who spent a whole twenty years in Guiana on charges of military insubordination, later visiting the Soviet Union (becoming a firm critic of it) and being interned by Vichy France. [7]
French Guiana remains part of France, now as an overseas department and region, not a separate territory. It remains the only territory in continental Latin America that have not been decolonized by its associated European power, and has little autonomy from France itself. The region's political situation is dominated by Guianese Socialist Party, in addition to other left-wing parties like the Democratic Forces of Guiana, Walwari, and the Decolonization and Social Emancipation Movement. In 2004 the French anarcho-communist movement Alternative libertaire established a local group in French Guiana. Alternative Libertaire Guyane is engaged in primarily anti-colonialism, but also labor struggles, immigrant rights, housing issues, and so on. [8]
The history of French Guiana dates back to the period prior to European colonization. Prior to the arrival of the first Europeans, there was no written history in the territory. It was originally inhabited by a number of Native American peoples, among them the Kalina (Caribs), Arawak, Galibi, Palikur, Teko, Wayampi, and Wayana. The first Europeans arrived in the expeditions of Christopher Columbus, shortly before 1500.
A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to a correctional facility located in a remote location it is more commonly used to refer to communities of prisoners overseen by wardens or governors having absolute authority.
The penal colony of Cayenne, commonly known as Devil's Island, was a French penal colony that operated for more than 100 years, from 1852 to 1953, in the Salvation Islands of French Guiana.
Cayenne is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "fert aurum industria", which means "work brings wealth".
Papillon is an autobiographical novel written by Henri Charrière, first published in France on 30 April 1969. Papillon is Charrière's nickname. The novel details Papillon's purported incarceration and subsequent escape from the French penal colony of French Guiana, and covers a 14-year period between 1931 and 1945.
The Salvation Islands are a group of small islands of volcanic origin about 11 kilometres off the coast of French Guiana, 14 kilometres north of Kourou, in the Atlantic Ocean. Although closer to Kourou, the islands are part of Cayenne commune (municipality), specifically Cayenne 1er Canton Nord-Ouest.
Clément Duval was a famous French anarchist and criminal. His ideas concerning individual reclamation were greatly influential in later shaping illegalism. According to Paul Albert, "The story of Clement Duval was lifted and, shorn of all politics, turned into the bestseller Papillon."
Illegalism is a tendency of anarchism that developed primarily in France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland during the late 1890s and early 1900s as an outgrowth of individualist anarchism. Illegalists embrace criminality either openly or secretly as a lifestyle. Illegalism does not specify the type of crime, though it is associated with theft and shoplifting.
Alexandre Jacob, known as Marius Jacob, was a French anarchist illegalist. A clever burglar equipped with a sharp sense of humour, capable of great generosity towards his victims, he became one of the models for Maurice Leblanc's character Arsene Lupin.
Anarchism in France can trace its roots to thinker Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who grew up during the Restoration and was the first self-described anarchist. French anarchists fought in the Spanish Civil War as volunteers in the International Brigades. According to journalist Brian Doherty, "The number of people who subscribed to the anarchist movement's many publications was in the tens of thousands in France alone."
Théodule Meunier was a French anarchist who, along with Emile Henry and Auguste Vaillant, was responsible for a series of bombings in Paris, France during early 1892. The three specifically targeted both civilian and government buildings which included boulevard cafes, the homes of magistrates, police stations and the Chamber of Deputies.
Moishe Tokar was a Jewish anarchist who attempted to assassinate the Russian general Sergei Gershelman.
Articles related to the French overseas department of Guiana(Région Guyane) include:
Contemporary anarchism within the history of anarchism is the period of the anarchist movement continuing from the end of World War II and into the present. Since the last third of the 20th century, anarchists have been involved in anti-globalisation, peace, squatter and student protest movements. Anarchists have participated in violent revolutions such as in the Free Territory and Revolutionary Catalonia and anarchist political organizations such as the International Workers' Association and the Industrial Workers of the World exist since the 20th century. Within contemporary anarchism, the anti-capitalism of classical anarchism has remained prominent.
French Guiana is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. It borders Brazil to the east and south and Suriname to the west.
Anarchism in Belgium began to spread after the fall of the Paris Commune, when many Communards, including Élisée Reclus, took refuge in Brussels. At the time, the Belgian César de Paepe defended a mutualism inspired by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, which proposed to organize production and distribution by relying on independent workers' associations without the intermediary of the State.
Îlet la Mère is the biggest island of the Rémire islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the commune of Cayenne, French Guiana. The island is located 11 kilometres off the coast. Îlet la Mère was the location of a penal colony from 1852 until 1875. Between 1981 and 2001, it was home to a monkey farm operated by the Pasteur Institute. Since 28 December 2000, the island is a protected area and managed by Conservatoire du littoral.
Route nationale 1 (RN1) is a highway in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. The highway connects Cayenne with Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and measures 258 kilometres (160 mi). The highway is the busiest road of French Guiana.
Domingos Passos was an anarchist and syndicalist activist from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A black man, he was a son of two ex-slaves freed right after the abolition. His birth date is unknown and there is almost no records about his early years. Working as a carpenter, he became involved with the civil construction workers union and was converted to anarchism. Soon, Passos stood out for his activism and rhetoric, becoming one of his union's leaders. He was also elected to represent the civil construction workers at the Third Brazilian Workers' Congress, in 1920.
Léon-Jules Léauthier (1874–1894) was a French anarchist who attempted to assassinate the Serbian ambassador to France in 1893. He was sentenced to the Salvation Islands penal colony of Cayenne, French Guiana, where he died within a year during a prisoner revolt.
