This book analyzes the formation of a mass anarchist movement in Spain over the turn of the twentieth century. In this period, the movement was transformed from a dislocated collection of groups and individuals into the largest organized body of anarchists in world history: the anarcho-syndicalist National Confederation of Labour (Confederación Nacional del Trabajo: CNT). At the same time, anarchist cultural practices became ingrained in localities across the whole of Spain, layin...

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 society: 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 wer...