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The July Revolution: Barcelona 1909
A spirited eye-witness account of revolutionary upheaval and state repression.
The “Tragic Week" in Spain, which took place in July 1909, began as anti-conscription riots, but soon evolved into a widespread uprising attacking the pillars of Spanish Church and State. It is known today mostly for its most famous martyr, Francisco Ferrer, the radical educator and founder of the Modern School who was executed by the Spanish army. But Ferrer was only one of hundreds of people who died that week in a brutal crackdown on anarchists and other radicals. Thousands were indicted by military courts, including at least fifty who received life sentences. In The July Revolution , the full story of these events is told for the first time in English, by an astute newspaper editor and eye-witness to the events. In a lively translation by Slava Faybysh and with a detailed historical Introduction by James Michael Yeoman, the notorious week is given its historical due and situated in its proper context of Spain’s imperial ambitions and the revolutionary stirrings that were precursors to the Spanish Civil War.
The “Tragic Week" in Spain, which took place in July 1909, began as anti-conscription riots, but soon evolved into a widespread uprising attacking the pillars of Spanish Church and State. It is known today mostly for its most famous martyr, Francisco Ferrer, the radical educator and founder of the Modern School who was executed by the Spanish army. But Ferrer was only one of hundreds of people who died that week in a brutal crackdown on anarchists and other radicals. Thousands were indicted by military courts, including at least fifty who received life sentences. In The July Revolution , the full story of these events is told for the first time in English, by an astute newspaper editor and eye-witness to the events. In a lively translation by Slava Faybysh and with a detailed historical Introduction by James Michael Yeoman, the notorious week is given its historical due and situated in its proper context of Spain’s imperial ambitions and the revolutionary stirrings that were precursors to the Spanish Civil War.
240 pages, Paperback
Published July 21, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 14, 2021
For one week 'Terror Week' in July 1909, the people of Barcelona rose up and attacked the state and the church.
Spain was fighting a guerrilla was being fought in the Riff Valley of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The Spanish Army was being shot to pieces.
The war was going so bad that conscription was instituted (but let rich people buy there way out) which meant mostly the poor. No one wanted to fight this war.
In July, a demonstration turned into a full scale insurrection. with the looting of Government agencies, Churches, Friaries and Monasteries were attacked, burned and desecrated. Nuns were raped and Priests killed.
After the insurrection was put down with huge casualties of the populace, the Government decided to prosecute the rebels.
The man they chose to represent those who had create the insurrection was Francisco Ferrer. Ferrer had been a thorn in the side of the Government and this was there was of dealing with him.
The first third of the book is an introduction to the situation in Spain at that time. The second third is the translation of a book written by Leopoldo Bonafulla who was a well known agitator and was involved with the insurrection, the third is a recount of the aftermath of the execution of Ferrer.
Spain was fighting a guerrilla was being fought in the Riff Valley of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The Spanish Army was being shot to pieces.
The war was going so bad that conscription was instituted (but let rich people buy there way out) which meant mostly the poor. No one wanted to fight this war.
In July, a demonstration turned into a full scale insurrection. with the looting of Government agencies, Churches, Friaries and Monasteries were attacked, burned and desecrated. Nuns were raped and Priests killed.
After the insurrection was put down with huge casualties of the populace, the Government decided to prosecute the rebels.
The man they chose to represent those who had create the insurrection was Francisco Ferrer. Ferrer had been a thorn in the side of the Government and this was there was of dealing with him.
The first third of the book is an introduction to the situation in Spain at that time. The second third is the translation of a book written by Leopoldo Bonafulla who was a well known agitator and was involved with the insurrection, the third is a recount of the aftermath of the execution of Ferrer.
February 18, 2022
A book about anarchists in Spain and it's not about the civil war? I'll take it. Well written and informative.
September 3, 2026
A moving account of the "Tragic Week" that began in Barcelona in July 1909 as a spontaneous protest against conscription for a royal war on the Rif in northern Morocco. This protest then escalated into an all-out iconoclastic attack on the Catholic Church in the Catalan port city. In turn, the State opportunistically pinned the blame for the anti-clerical uprising on rationalist educator Francisco Ferrer i Guardia, founder of the anarchist Modern School. Despite an extremely weak prosecutorial case, based almost entirely on hearsay (an indictment that certainly would not pass the smell test in any constitutional system), and widespread national and international protests, Ferrer was summarily executed by firing squad at the Montjuïc fortress on October 13, 1909.
What an absolute injustice! I truly feel for the plight of comrade Ferrer, the anarchist martyr. The author highlights his plight movingly here, given that he was Ferrer's friend and comrade.
May he RIP! Long live the Modern School!
What an absolute injustice! I truly feel for the plight of comrade Ferrer, the anarchist martyr. The author highlights his plight movingly here, given that he was Ferrer's friend and comrade.
May he RIP! Long live the Modern School!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews