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İlkel Asiler: 19. ve 20. Yüzyıllarda Toplumsal Hareketin Arkaik Biçimleri Üzerine İncelemeler
Eric J. Hobsbawm’ın klasikleşmiş eseri İlkel Asiler, köylü isyanlarından binyılcı hareketlere, mafia’ya, İspanyol anarşizminin isyancılığı ile köylü tasavvurlarına, İtalyan fasci’leri ile komünist hareketin ilişkisine, şehirlerde güruhların ayaklanmalarına ve 20. yüzyılın komünist işçi kalkışmalarına bakarak isyanın, eşkıyalığın tarihini ele alıyor. Avrupa’da eşkıyalığın, isyanın, ayaklanmanın siyasal hareketlerle nasıl buluştuğuna; dinsel inançların siyasal bilinçte nasıl akıp yaşadığına odaklanıyor. İlkel ile modern arasında varlığını sürdüren, dönüşse de yok olmayan bir direniş şeklinin hikâyesini anlatıyor; kan ve gözyaşı kadar efsane, iman ve ısrarın asi hikâyesini…
Güruh yoksuldu; “onlar” zengindi; hayat temelde yoksullar için adil değildi. Güruhun tutumunun temeli, sayısız sokak baladında görülebilecek olan bu tür şeylerdi: Ben hapiste bir tutukluyum Çünkü yeterince param yok Altından bir anahtarla Açılmayacak kapı yok. Londra’da ya da Sevilla’da, soyguncuların ve haydutların anarşist ayaklanmasının idealleştirilmesinde her zaman büyük bir lord ya da devletle sorun yaşayan, her zaman ihanet gören, her zaman intikamını alan yasa dışı insanlar vardır. E. J. HOBSBAWM
Güruh yoksuldu; “onlar” zengindi; hayat temelde yoksullar için adil değildi. Güruhun tutumunun temeli, sayısız sokak baladında görülebilecek olan bu tür şeylerdi: Ben hapiste bir tutukluyum Çünkü yeterince param yok Altından bir anahtarla Açılmayacak kapı yok. Londra’da ya da Sevilla’da, soyguncuların ve haydutların anarşist ayaklanmasının idealleştirilmesinde her zaman büyük bir lord ya da devletle sorun yaşayan, her zaman ihanet gören, her zaman intikamını alan yasa dışı insanlar vardır. E. J. HOBSBAWM
267 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
About the author
Eric J. Hobsbawm
199 books1,827 followersEric John Ernest Hobsbawm was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. His best-known works include his tetralogy about what he called the "long 19th century" (The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848, The Age of Capital: 1848–1875 and The Age of Empire: 1875–1914) and the "short 20th century" (The Age of Extremes), and an edited volume that introduced the influential idea of "invented traditions". A life-long Marxist, his socio-political convictions influenced the character of his work.
Hobsbawm was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and spent his childhood mainly in Vienna and Berlin. Following the death of his parents and the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, Hobsbawm moved to London with his adoptive family. After serving in the Second World War, he obtained his PhD in history at the University of Cambridge. In 1998, he was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour. He was president of Birkbeck, University of London, from 2002 until his death. In 2003, he received the Balzan Prize for European History since 1900, "for his brilliant analysis of the troubled history of 20th century Europe and for his ability to combine in-depth historical research with great literary talent."
Hobsbawm was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and spent his childhood mainly in Vienna and Berlin. Following the death of his parents and the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, Hobsbawm moved to London with his adoptive family. After serving in the Second World War, he obtained his PhD in history at the University of Cambridge. In 1998, he was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour. He was president of Birkbeck, University of London, from 2002 until his death. In 2003, he received the Balzan Prize for European History since 1900, "for his brilliant analysis of the troubled history of 20th century Europe and for his ability to combine in-depth historical research with great literary talent."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
April 6, 2022
Eric Hobsbawm was a British historian who wrote many books on Socialism, Nationalism, and Capitalism. He was a contemporary of other Marxist historians such as Christopher Hill, EP Thompson, and Sheila Rowbotham.
Primitive Rebels is his first major work and inspects rebellion from the time of Robin Hood onwards, concentrating on the 19th Century risings in Southern Italy and Andalusia, as well as The Mafia, social bandits similar to Robin Hood, and the social rituals of groups interested in making changes in society.
Careful analysis of these social movements will allow us to better understand the modern protest movements springing up on an almost monthly basis around the world.
Primitive Rebels is his first major work and inspects rebellion from the time of Robin Hood onwards, concentrating on the 19th Century risings in Southern Italy and Andalusia, as well as The Mafia, social bandits similar to Robin Hood, and the social rituals of groups interested in making changes in society.
Careful analysis of these social movements will allow us to better understand the modern protest movements springing up on an almost monthly basis around the world.
September 19, 2016
Hobsbawm's early book, Primitive Rebels, isn't really about anything primitive, or rebels as such. It's basically about education, or what you do when you don't have any. Or not enough. Or one specifically political, in a proper Marxist sort of way. Yeah, I know. You're shocked out of your shoes that another.book of purported history is really just propaganda from another leftist British historian. Get over it. I had to. Hibsbawm's narrowly focused subject is social rebellion in Southern Europe between the time of Napoleon until the arrival of a suitable translation of Das Capitol to a town near you. Some of the material in this book remains fairly interesting to this day, though Hobsbawm admits his sources used are scant, and now dated. Gramsci's theory of the north versus the south is ever present throughout this text, naturally. Social, meaning pre-political, uprisings are sketched as either conservative in nature, or those more radically inclined are allied to messianic concepts, if not with actual functioning religious sects. Some of Hobsbawm's suggestions seem mostly intuitive, as Bakuninists being unable to get a sufficient foothold in the cities they wished to destroy because working classes needed them to work in, but lweak on factual buttressing. The background theme that Hobsbawm insists on is that the revolting masses utilized what they had ready on hand, usually not requiring much if any thought, which was weak beer until Marxism came along. Until the suffering masses received their political education, they were forced to wallow in their social(primitive) revolts. I couldn't help but think that the "build a barn" approach to social problems which conservatives sometimes espouse contrasts mischievously with the "burn a barn down" approach that Hobsbawm's primitive rebels often utilized to vocalize their discontent. This conforms with Hibsbawm's message that revolt before Marx is in essence a mug's game. Ultimately, this book prompts some thought, but, alas, not enough to make me grateful that I've read it.
July 23, 2020
Some chapters were interesting but overall the writing and structure was extremely disjointed and difficult to follow. Here's an example "sentence":
'Some of the finest examples come from Asia in the 20th century, e.g. The Bengali Terrorist movement, which owed little of any of its ritual to the West European tradition, but drew its inspiration from Hindu religion, stressing the cult of the goddess Kali and combining the advocacy of revolution with that of the construction of a temple in a spot 'far from the contamination of modern cities and as yet little trodden by man, in a high and pure air steeped in calm and energy' and of a new order of devotees, some of whose members should be sanyasis and most unmarried men who would return to an ashram when the allotted work of Indian liberation was accomplished.'
... I mean, COME ON!
'Some of the finest examples come from Asia in the 20th century, e.g. The Bengali Terrorist movement, which owed little of any of its ritual to the West European tradition, but drew its inspiration from Hindu religion, stressing the cult of the goddess Kali and combining the advocacy of revolution with that of the construction of a temple in a spot 'far from the contamination of modern cities and as yet little trodden by man, in a high and pure air steeped in calm and energy' and of a new order of devotees, some of whose members should be sanyasis and most unmarried men who would return to an ashram when the allotted work of Indian liberation was accomplished.'
... I mean, COME ON!
July 13, 2025
Many interesting details, but also many flaws and finally lacking structure and an argument.
In his book Hobsbawm draws attention to different forms of social rebellion that predate a class consciousness in the Marxist sense. The first chapters of the book is dedicated to cases from Italy, primarily the South (+ Andalusian anarchists). In these chapters he provides a lot of interesting insights into the country’s social history, some of it building on his own research, most of it on Italian research literature. He acknowledges that these groups could flourish due to the feudal character of society characterized by latifundia, hence they are not very well suited for highlighting a general European tendency (Northern Italy included). Moreover some of them were actually powerful elites like the Bourbon dynasty, or after the unification segments of the Northern Italian elite (as in the case of the mafia).
A similar problem appears in the superficial chapter on urban mobs, where it seems to me that he sets ut to refute Engels’ concept of the “lumpenproletariat” but finally has to accept its viability.
The best chapter of the book is the one on labour sects in Britain, which deals with the big importance of nom-conformist religiosity for the formation of the British labour movement, at least outside major urban centers. He ascribes the strong importance of those religious element which lead to a resurgence in non-conformism to the fact that already the bourgeois revolution expressed itself in religious, not secular terms in Britain. The phenomenon is, however, not as specifically British as Hobsbawm asserts, as pietist religiosity played an important role in Northern Europe as well, with the notable exception of Denmark. A well known result of this are he restrictive rule on alcohol sale and consumption in these countries. Moreover, German Social Democrats had hard times with finding supporters among workers in traditionally Catholic cities and regions, where many Catholic workers rather joined church lead worker associations than socialist unions or the Social Democratic Party. Notable exception can be found (Munich, Mainz), but this phenomenon accounts for the weakness of the Social Democrats in the industrial heartlands of the Rhineland and the Ruhr Area around 1900, and it was thoroughly discussed in the Social Democratic Press.
Another interesting chapter deal with rituals among early labour movements which were in parts derived from the artisan tradition or adapted from masonic rituals (which were based on artisan initiation rituals as well). With the growing influence of secular socialist movements they gradually disappeared before the mid-19th century. Hobsbawm ascribes this to Marx’ critique of such activities, which in my opinion can only apply to the few countries where his ideas were influential. Th question why rituals later became so important for Marxist movements, is not discussed.
In his book Hobsbawm draws attention to different forms of social rebellion that predate a class consciousness in the Marxist sense. The first chapters of the book is dedicated to cases from Italy, primarily the South (+ Andalusian anarchists). In these chapters he provides a lot of interesting insights into the country’s social history, some of it building on his own research, most of it on Italian research literature. He acknowledges that these groups could flourish due to the feudal character of society characterized by latifundia, hence they are not very well suited for highlighting a general European tendency (Northern Italy included). Moreover some of them were actually powerful elites like the Bourbon dynasty, or after the unification segments of the Northern Italian elite (as in the case of the mafia).
A similar problem appears in the superficial chapter on urban mobs, where it seems to me that he sets ut to refute Engels’ concept of the “lumpenproletariat” but finally has to accept its viability.
The best chapter of the book is the one on labour sects in Britain, which deals with the big importance of nom-conformist religiosity for the formation of the British labour movement, at least outside major urban centers. He ascribes the strong importance of those religious element which lead to a resurgence in non-conformism to the fact that already the bourgeois revolution expressed itself in religious, not secular terms in Britain. The phenomenon is, however, not as specifically British as Hobsbawm asserts, as pietist religiosity played an important role in Northern Europe as well, with the notable exception of Denmark. A well known result of this are he restrictive rule on alcohol sale and consumption in these countries. Moreover, German Social Democrats had hard times with finding supporters among workers in traditionally Catholic cities and regions, where many Catholic workers rather joined church lead worker associations than socialist unions or the Social Democratic Party. Notable exception can be found (Munich, Mainz), but this phenomenon accounts for the weakness of the Social Democrats in the industrial heartlands of the Rhineland and the Ruhr Area around 1900, and it was thoroughly discussed in the Social Democratic Press.
Another interesting chapter deal with rituals among early labour movements which were in parts derived from the artisan tradition or adapted from masonic rituals (which were based on artisan initiation rituals as well). With the growing influence of secular socialist movements they gradually disappeared before the mid-19th century. Hobsbawm ascribes this to Marx’ critique of such activities, which in my opinion can only apply to the few countries where his ideas were influential. Th question why rituals later became so important for Marxist movements, is not discussed.
July 3, 2023
Sicuramente una pietra miliare della trattazione della devianza da un punto di vista storico. Un capolavoro del suo genere, prima opera veramente storica dell'autore (e che autore, oltretutto). Tuttavia, si sente moltissimo il fatto di essere stata pubblicata nel 1960: emblematica in questo senso la trattazione sulla mafia, alquanto datata (non poteva materialmente conoscere gli eventi degli anni '70-'90) tanto da rischiare di farla sembrare a un lettore poco esperto dell'argomento quasi sconfitta dal fascismo. Nonostante ciò, resta l'elevatissima trattazione del fenomeno primitivo di rivolta sociale (il banditismo sociale, politico ed economico) che è certamente la base degli studi successivi. Seppur piuttosto difficile, consigliato a chi è interessato alla tematica della devianza (non è certo una lettura estiva).
October 22, 2025
Un libro excelente. He extraído tanto para el TFG como para consideraciones personales sobre los diversos temas que trata más de 4000 palabras. En comparación en la biografía de Franco que leí este año saqué tan algo menos de mil (unas 907). Es un libro harto interesante, aunque no tiene 5 estrellas ya que su lectura puede hacerse pesada en algunas partes, que como he leído a otra persona comentar, están escritas de manera algo enrevesada.
Recomiendo esta lectura, o por lo menos los últimos apéndices, que transcriben y describen la experiencia de muchos de los objetos de estudio histórico de Hobsbawm como sujeto.
Recomiendo esta lectura, o por lo menos los últimos apéndices, que transcriben y describen la experiencia de muchos de los objetos de estudio histórico de Hobsbawm como sujeto.
February 3, 2013
If I ranked books based solely on the cool things they referenced this book would be a five. I loved the discussions over anarchism and the Lazzeretti's. But the fact is, that Hobsbawm is factually wrong on some things, archaic and convoluted on others, and basically has a premise that doesn't hold up on its own. In fact, half way through the book he gives up trying to prove it and starts rambling. This book was fun to read but not a great example of the academic Marxist perspective.
August 26, 2026
A book I should have read decades ago. Hobsbawm - modestly claiming no expertise in many of the "primitive rebel" movements examined here - dissects the "mafia", mobs and malcontents against the backdrop of the wrenching changes unleashed by early industrial capitalism in far-flung reaches of Europe. One of the many things that stood out for me is his view that the American Revolution, like its French counterpart, was secular in nature. This was uncontroversial in 1959 when viewed from a European prism. But in America's current and deeply polarised political climate, it would have the Religious Right - which has no interest in the truth - seeing Red.
A masterpiece of the historian's craft.
A masterpiece of the historian's craft.
June 9, 2008
Hobsbawn spent a large part of his career attacking and in many cases mystifying what anarchism (especially in Spain) was really about. I cannot recommend this book to anyone interested in the connections between early anarchisms and recent ones including the anti-globalization movement. No one should overlook H's relentlessly Stalinist reading of history, but he was one of the great marxist historians and this is a good book on late 19th social movements (by no means archaic). Serious readers in social movement history will be better served by Christopher Hill, EP Thompson, and most recently Silvia Federici. Her Caliban and the Witch gets to the heart of "primitive" social movements, with emphasis on the radical positions of women throughout those struggles. Fans of Hobsbawn are better served by his more recent work on the 20th Century, where is proves a very fine critic of the cold war, even his beloved state socialism. I have not read his recently released memoir, but his best books were the ones on the 18th, 19th, 20th century, The Age of Extremes, the Age of Revolution, the Age of Empire. Each of those is masterful in sweep and scope, and (rare for a marxist historian of hte british camp) include decent accounts of art and science.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2010
Not all the claims made are tenable, but he makes them well. Regardless, it'll be a world-view shifter for most who read it.
July 17, 2024
Another day, another Hobsbawm banger, excellent analysis of pre-political rebels from many viewpoints, sometimes suffers from its age, but banger overall.
October 13, 2026
It really is my fault for giving Hobsbawn another chance.
My first foray into Hobsbawm's writing was on the Industrial Revolution. I characterized that book as a wondering collection of random stats that his graduate students found either at his behest or for a class. This book is no different. Ask yourself what do the Sicilian Mafia, Millennarians, and Derbyshire coal miners have in common? They were all social movements, frequently violent, in 19th Century Europe. Hobsbawm's attempts to impose some complex theories or theorists onto these movements (?) seems far-fetched and superficial. Does anyone really believe that any of these groups are sitting in a cafe talking about Gramsci, Bakunin, or Marx? The fact that Italian communists were organized into Fascios (but not Fascists) questions whether they heard of Marx. Were Mafiosi discussing Anarchism under Bakunin? Hardly.
Once again, it looks like Hobsbawm had his students invade archives around Europe looking for examples of peasant unrest. There are documents and quotes from bandits defending their actions in terms of Robin Hood stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Maybe that happened, but not in a widespread fashion. As a historian, this book is a mess! Hobsbawm assumes the reader is familiar with the many different aspects of peasant revolts, criminal bands, secret societies, etc. Readers may have an idea of the Mafia. A few readers may have a passing understanding of Millenarianism. Beyond that, they almost certainly have no knowledge of Derbyshire coal miners or Bengali Hindus, and certainly not in an antisocial 19th Century setting. Some chapters were completely indecipherable to this reader. What makes a Millenarian a rebel? What makes a law-abiding coal miner a rebel? What do Bakunin or Marx have to do them?
I am most familiar with books on organized crime, so I read and re-read the chapter on Mafias multiple times. If a reader is interested in the formation of the Italian Mafia in the 19th Century, please read Henner Hess' Rebels and Mafiosi. Hobsbawm's analysis is a hot mess. To begin, Hobsbawm does not define or describe a Mafia. He instead says they (he includes the Sicilian Mafia, the Neapolitan Camorra, and something similar in Southern Calabria) exhibit the same two qualities. First, they are social movements, but not pure social movements; and second, they are generally unorganized (p. 30). He is trying to describe them as a social movement against the latifunda system and absentee landlords. Then, he is arguing that their lack of structure, even though he acknowledges a system of ranks, is unorganized because there is so little coherent (or documented) beliefs. Further efforts to describe high and low Mafias based on location, activity, and class make even less sense. This chapter, one of the longest in the book, jumps around between ideas so frequently as to be impossible to read in a linear or chronological fashion. Add in ethnographic studies on Albanians and conflate Mafiosi with peasant communists, and no reader can realistically follow what Hobsbawm is saying.
Overall, this is another mish-mash of data and ideas with very little, if any unifying themes or analysis. Hobsbawm drops names, ideas, events, and groups into such a big pot that the many different flavors cancel each other out and the result is a water stew or a burnt mess of dregs. He is trying to impose a framework of anarchism or communism on top of social phenomena that quite likely never considered such ideas. By starting a book on criminal bands and ending it with labor fraternities, Hobsbawm confuses every group by trying to show how they were similar when they most definitely were not similar. It takes a very rare breed of intellectual to get anything from this book.
My first foray into Hobsbawm's writing was on the Industrial Revolution. I characterized that book as a wondering collection of random stats that his graduate students found either at his behest or for a class. This book is no different. Ask yourself what do the Sicilian Mafia, Millennarians, and Derbyshire coal miners have in common? They were all social movements, frequently violent, in 19th Century Europe. Hobsbawm's attempts to impose some complex theories or theorists onto these movements (?) seems far-fetched and superficial. Does anyone really believe that any of these groups are sitting in a cafe talking about Gramsci, Bakunin, or Marx? The fact that Italian communists were organized into Fascios (but not Fascists) questions whether they heard of Marx. Were Mafiosi discussing Anarchism under Bakunin? Hardly.
Once again, it looks like Hobsbawm had his students invade archives around Europe looking for examples of peasant unrest. There are documents and quotes from bandits defending their actions in terms of Robin Hood stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Maybe that happened, but not in a widespread fashion. As a historian, this book is a mess! Hobsbawm assumes the reader is familiar with the many different aspects of peasant revolts, criminal bands, secret societies, etc. Readers may have an idea of the Mafia. A few readers may have a passing understanding of Millenarianism. Beyond that, they almost certainly have no knowledge of Derbyshire coal miners or Bengali Hindus, and certainly not in an antisocial 19th Century setting. Some chapters were completely indecipherable to this reader. What makes a Millenarian a rebel? What makes a law-abiding coal miner a rebel? What do Bakunin or Marx have to do them?
I am most familiar with books on organized crime, so I read and re-read the chapter on Mafias multiple times. If a reader is interested in the formation of the Italian Mafia in the 19th Century, please read Henner Hess' Rebels and Mafiosi. Hobsbawm's analysis is a hot mess. To begin, Hobsbawm does not define or describe a Mafia. He instead says they (he includes the Sicilian Mafia, the Neapolitan Camorra, and something similar in Southern Calabria) exhibit the same two qualities. First, they are social movements, but not pure social movements; and second, they are generally unorganized (p. 30). He is trying to describe them as a social movement against the latifunda system and absentee landlords. Then, he is arguing that their lack of structure, even though he acknowledges a system of ranks, is unorganized because there is so little coherent (or documented) beliefs. Further efforts to describe high and low Mafias based on location, activity, and class make even less sense. This chapter, one of the longest in the book, jumps around between ideas so frequently as to be impossible to read in a linear or chronological fashion. Add in ethnographic studies on Albanians and conflate Mafiosi with peasant communists, and no reader can realistically follow what Hobsbawm is saying.
Overall, this is another mish-mash of data and ideas with very little, if any unifying themes or analysis. Hobsbawm drops names, ideas, events, and groups into such a big pot that the many different flavors cancel each other out and the result is a water stew or a burnt mess of dregs. He is trying to impose a framework of anarchism or communism on top of social phenomena that quite likely never considered such ideas. By starting a book on criminal bands and ending it with labor fraternities, Hobsbawm confuses every group by trying to show how they were similar when they most definitely were not similar. It takes a very rare breed of intellectual to get anything from this book.
September 29, 2026
A strange, sad experience to be reading this book in 2026. There's an obsolescence to it; a sense of eavesdropping on a conversation that ended decades ago, or hearing a sermon to a god that failed, that isn't present in Hobsbawm's more enduring works. This is partly because - as his introduction states quite firmly - this book was intended to open a new direction of study, and many writers have since travelled that way. Primitive Rebels simply succeeded in its aim, which was to be superseded by further scholarship. However, it was also built on some assumptions about socialism and the imminent direction of history which simply didn't come to pass - these assumptions being absolutely central to the book in a way they aren't for Bandits or his Age of... cycle. Hobsbawm is always very readable, and this book absolutely has value for people fixated on the history of sectarian religion (i.e. me), but it lacks the continuing appeal and relevance of his more famous works.
(As a sidenote, I put this book aside for a long time until I could read Norman Cohn's contemporaneous Pursuit of the Millennium. This was a good idea, as the middle chapters of Primitive Rebels do seem to be in conversation with it, even if he only mentions Cohn by name once, and in a backhanded sort of way. In my review of that work I commented that Cohn's goal of attacking Marxism by conflating it with the violent millenarian sects of the Middle Ages ironically made him echo Marxist points; it was funny here to see Hobsbawm immediately take the view that, yes, millenarianism was absolutely a proto-revolutionary force. As I suspected, his scholarship on the subject ends up being more humane and human-focused than Cohn's own)
(As a sidenote, I put this book aside for a long time until I could read Norman Cohn's contemporaneous Pursuit of the Millennium. This was a good idea, as the middle chapters of Primitive Rebels do seem to be in conversation with it, even if he only mentions Cohn by name once, and in a backhanded sort of way. In my review of that work I commented that Cohn's goal of attacking Marxism by conflating it with the violent millenarian sects of the Middle Ages ironically made him echo Marxist points; it was funny here to see Hobsbawm immediately take the view that, yes, millenarianism was absolutely a proto-revolutionary force. As I suspected, his scholarship on the subject ends up being more humane and human-focused than Cohn's own)
September 14, 2025
Before the old legends die they perform a public service. Eric Hobsbawn looks at the Sicilian mafia, Brazilian cangaceiros (rural bandit kings) and "Robin Hood" outlaws like Jesse James, at least the Henry Fonda version from 1939, and Salvatore Giuliano of post-war Italy as personifying a crude but effective response to the encroachment on their territory by capitalism, the modern bureaucratic state and that ultimate symbol of both, the railroad. In that sense they are primitive, or premodern. These last holdouts from modernity are "social rebels", usually bandits, sometimes unwittingly at other times consciously, defending the folk around them from an oppressive new order signified by tolls, taxes, transportation and rural policemen. Social rebels are not revolutionaries. That category must be reserved for the likes of Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata or the Mau Mau of Kenya, who fought under a political banner and a program, no matter how inchoate. Primitive rebels are doomed by the forces of history but Hobsbawn champions them in offering another path than that of obligation to the state.
April 28, 2024
I admit to the blasphemy of finding Hobsbawm both drier and less historiographically engaged than the modern historian's I'm used to reading. This is one of his earlier texts, and though there's a generally keen level of insight and lots of great ideas, I found certain chapters dull and the age of the text shines through in a negative way. I guess I wouldn't not recommend it if someone told me they were interested, but it's not my thing. The way the appendix is done is great though, so credit where it's due.
The only other Hobsbawm I've read was a collection of his writing on Latin America, which was a bit better.
The only other Hobsbawm I've read was a collection of his writing on Latin America, which was a bit better.
January 20, 2026
The five stars is not about the writing style or lack of it. It is about a topic rarely written about. You can say whatever you like, but I would ask you which other history analyst are you quoting to compare with as to dismiss its analysis. It is a early work, but when you read all the following books, you can acknowledge the importance of this one. I read all his books, but specially this one I wanted to reread, and only for one reason; you can understand the present by understanding the past. I appreciate Owen`s Prologue to this edition. I agree.
March 5, 2023
This book wasn’t quite what I expected but I found it interesting nonetheless. Far from documenting such revolts as Luddite resistance to industrial capital, which Hobsbawm rightfully acknowledges is well documented (even in his own work I assume), this book instead focuses on the arcane and pre-political. I had never thought much of the mafia or secret brotherhoods as proto revolutionary groups, but now I can say I have.
August 10, 2023
Muy buen principio con los bandoleros y la Mafia y muy buen final hablando de Latinoamérica y pinceladas de las revoluciones añadidos a la versión original. Pero peca de querer meter con calzador la ideología en estos movimientos de la sociedad civil. No entendí el milenarismo o por qué ocupa 3 capítulos en este libro. Me habría parecido mejor una influencia de la cultura española e italiana en Latinoamérica
May 17, 2026
I found all of the chapters, taken individually, were really interesting but as others have pointed out thought the structure and argument was really lacking
Parts of the blurb on my copy betray that it was written for this edition specifically, so I'm not sure how much of this was the author's fault, but if it sought to 'shine a light on the origins of contemporary rebellion', it didn't do this at all for me
Parts of the blurb on my copy betray that it was written for this edition specifically, so I'm not sure how much of this was the author's fault, but if it sought to 'shine a light on the origins of contemporary rebellion', it didn't do this at all for me
October 16, 2019
Easily the most boring, driest book I've ever read. The fact that I started it about 10 months ago and managed to finish 15 other books in that time confirms how hard I found this one to read. I'd probably have given up a lot sooner had I not got through the first 50 pages at the airport when I started reading it - awful stuff and definitely not my type of book.
April 13, 2023
Çeviriden mi kaynaklı bilemiyorum, kitabı okurken çoğu yerde dağıldım.
Kitap modernizm ve marksizm öncesi toplumsal isyan hareketleri ve ilkel asileri anlatıyor.Çok titiz bir şekilde Avrupa'daki arkaik halk hareketlerini ve düzene başkaldıran yığınları örnekleriyle anlatmış fakat isimler,yerler,olaylar öyle birbirine karışıyor ki kitaptan uzaklaşıp dalıp gidiyorsunuz.
Kitap modernizm ve marksizm öncesi toplumsal isyan hareketleri ve ilkel asileri anlatıyor.Çok titiz bir şekilde Avrupa'daki arkaik halk hareketlerini ve düzene başkaldıran yığınları örnekleriyle anlatmış fakat isimler,yerler,olaylar öyle birbirine karışıyor ki kitaptan uzaklaşıp dalıp gidiyorsunuz.
August 23, 2020
As usual, Hobsbawm humbles the reader with the scope of his investigations. The interesting and geographically varied examples are colourfully written and informative but the value of this text surely lies in its illustration of the development of the intellectual Left.
October 1, 2017
Recomendado, sobre todo el capítulo sobre Colombia.
December 9, 2012
“Primitive Rebels” is a series of essays casting light on outmoded varieties of social disturbance. It is the author’s belief that his generation of scholars had been steeped in the grander movements of the socialist persuasion and had overlooked some of these archaic forms. In Primitive Rebels Hobsbawm’s research postulates that the advent of capitalism into old-fashioned peasant cultures destroyed their way of life, thus provoking them into primitive rebellious responses. In the end, there was a lot of social agitation, but these interest groups were not able to leverage their activism into something more lasting.
The setting for Primitive Rebels is western and southern Europe after the French Revolution, during the 150 years dating from 1800. Hobsbawm presents his case along two broad themes, one through rural mostly agrarian experiences in southern Europe and the other using urban mostly industrial episodes in northern Europe. Hobsbawm presents six articles on different types of social agitation.
The rural theme of Primitive Rebels is voiced through three approaches: peasant protests which usually possessed modest goals and little organization; the slightly better organized mafia families that rented land to the working class in an oligarchy of extortion but lost their import as political consciousness increased; and the millenarian movements that forecast a complete overthrow of the status quo but were unclear on how it would all come about. The urban theme also played out through three devices: unorganized city mobs that rebelled against rapacious prices and unemployment; labor sects with religious overtones standing in as working-class revolts; and ritual symbolism much in the fashion of trade unionism that faded quickly as modern social movements came to the fore. All of these forms of agitation possessed socialist implications, but in microcosm. They were primitive but not random.
Primitive Rebels is an accessible and well-documented read. Hobsbawm brings numerous examples to support his theory of the rise of capitalism provoking rebellious responses in traditional peasant cultures. Hobsbawm does an excellent job painting a picture of social movements outside the classic motives, tracing social agitation during the emergence of capitalism.
The setting for Primitive Rebels is western and southern Europe after the French Revolution, during the 150 years dating from 1800. Hobsbawm presents his case along two broad themes, one through rural mostly agrarian experiences in southern Europe and the other using urban mostly industrial episodes in northern Europe. Hobsbawm presents six articles on different types of social agitation.
The rural theme of Primitive Rebels is voiced through three approaches: peasant protests which usually possessed modest goals and little organization; the slightly better organized mafia families that rented land to the working class in an oligarchy of extortion but lost their import as political consciousness increased; and the millenarian movements that forecast a complete overthrow of the status quo but were unclear on how it would all come about. The urban theme also played out through three devices: unorganized city mobs that rebelled against rapacious prices and unemployment; labor sects with religious overtones standing in as working-class revolts; and ritual symbolism much in the fashion of trade unionism that faded quickly as modern social movements came to the fore. All of these forms of agitation possessed socialist implications, but in microcosm. They were primitive but not random.
Primitive Rebels is an accessible and well-documented read. Hobsbawm brings numerous examples to support his theory of the rise of capitalism provoking rebellious responses in traditional peasant cultures. Hobsbawm does an excellent job painting a picture of social movements outside the classic motives, tracing social agitation during the emergence of capitalism.
August 13, 2026
¿Tiene más años que el sol y posiblemente algunas de sus tesis han sido matizadas por la historiografía más actual? Sí. ¿La traducción es pedante y tienes que leer cada párrafo tres veces para entenderlo bien y sacarle jugo? Sí. Pero no he visto tanto amor y cariño al hablar de los campesinos andaluces en mi vida. Este libro no sólo te enseña el peso de los bandoleros en la Historia o de por qué son importantes los movimientos campesinos de la Italia del siglo XIX, es que te enseña a querer a estas gentes que no sabían leer pero tenían claro lo primordial: que son seres humanos y tienen derecho a la dignidad.
El capítulo de los bandoleros es maravilloso, igual que el de los campesinos en Andalucía y en Italia. El de la Mafia te recuerda lo que ya se sabe: Mafia mierda y sierva del capital. Malotes que sólo saben lamer botas de ricos pensando que son como ellos mientras torturan al que trabaja de sol a sol. Con el de las sectas obreras ves como el evangelismo fue, es y será basura religiosa para anestesiar obreros.
Y en general sales del libro no con odio a los ricos (no más del saludable que siempre hay que tener). Sales con ganas de echar un cable a todo el que lo necesite, darle un abrazo, decirle que todo va a salir bien y acompañarlo en la huelga. Eso ya son 5 estrellas mínimo.
El capítulo de los bandoleros es maravilloso, igual que el de los campesinos en Andalucía y en Italia. El de la Mafia te recuerda lo que ya se sabe: Mafia mierda y sierva del capital. Malotes que sólo saben lamer botas de ricos pensando que son como ellos mientras torturan al que trabaja de sol a sol. Con el de las sectas obreras ves como el evangelismo fue, es y será basura religiosa para anestesiar obreros.
Y en general sales del libro no con odio a los ricos (no más del saludable que siempre hay que tener). Sales con ganas de echar un cable a todo el que lo necesite, darle un abrazo, decirle que todo va a salir bien y acompañarlo en la huelga. Eso ya son 5 estrellas mínimo.
August 24, 2008
Conceptually interesting but sort of flat accounting of early forms of social rebellion. The book seems to be casting around for reasons to connect the various forms of "primitive" rebellion that it discusses. Hobsbawm went on to write some very highly regarded history books, but this early effort doesn't do much to illuminate the history of uprisings against the social order.
November 17, 2014
Interesting studies of 'primitive' social movements, which in Hobsbawm's terms means pre-'rational' and, practically speaking, pre-contemporary socialist movements. What makes this book special in his oeuvre is the relatively large role religion--although always 'primitive'--plays in the book. Good stuff.
April 29, 2015
I had to read this book for a class and its not one I would have chosen to read otherwise. I thought the ideas presented in it were interesting, but not presented in a way that made me want to keep reading the book. Books came up as suggesested readings based on this, and I may try some of those eventually, to see if an are written in a better style, while still in keeping with the subject.
August 4, 2013
Quite informative but more of a spur to further research on this matter for those who are interested. Though the Euro-centric focus of the book makes it a bit difficult to relate to for those who live outside of a European tradition.
March 25, 2015
For my Capstone I used this bookcase studies for a New Materialist analysis of Social Rebellions and autonomous extra-legal communities. Particularly the Social Bandit and Mafia analyzed through the lens Manuel De Landa's A New Theory of Society: Assemblage Theory and Social Complexity. P good fam
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