The Social Base of Nineteenth-Century Andalusian Anarchism in Jerez de la Frontera

Abstract

Nineteenth-Century Andalusian Anarchism in Jerez de la Frontera Most studies of Andalusian anarchism have underemphasized the extent to which petty producers and skilled workers participated in the movement. By focusing on supposedly millenarian insurrections, many historians have overemphasized the distinction between anarchism and syndicalism and overlooked the degree to which many forms of late nineteenth-century Spanish anarchism were dominated by small property owners and skilled workers who were devoted to re-establishing workers' control of production through political trade unions.I In Jerez de la Frontera, the largest and richest city in Cadiz Province, Andalusia, incendiarism, insurrection, and strikes were endemic throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century. The city famous for sherry became practically synonymous with anarchism, and the anarchists there were primarily skilled workers and petty producers who were directly or indirectly dependent upon sherry production and sale, and highly organized agricultural day laborers who exerted wage pressure and carried on strikes after mid-century. When wine prices began to fluctuate rapidly after 1863, ending a half century of unparalleled growth, the small wine producers were especially hurt. Declining prices and rising costs eroded profits and made it difficult to withstand bad years. Between I897 and I907, many small vineyard owners, economically the most important peasants in