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Introduction: Cultural Politics and Transnational Anarchism in Puerto Rico

Kirwin R. Shaffer

in Black Flag Boricuas: Anarchism, Antiauthoritarianism, and the Left in Puerto Rico, 1897-1921

This introductory chapter positions anarchism in Puerto Rico as a unique entity in the movement's history. In Puerto Rico, anarchists expressed their concerns and visions through their own brand of ... More

This introductory chapter positions anarchism in Puerto Rico as a unique entity in the movement's history. In Puerto Rico, anarchists expressed their concerns and visions through their own brand of cultural politics, which was directed against Puerto Rican and U.S. colonial rulers in order to promote an antiauthoritarian spirit and countercultural struggle over how the island was being run and the future directions that it should pursue. Alongside this was a consistent anticlericalism against one of the perceived central pillars of cultural authoritarianism in Puerto Rico dating to the days of Spanish rule: the Roman Catholic Church. Moreover, while cultural politics reflected one way that anarchists engaged in debates over Puerto Rico-specific issues, many of these cultural debates were actually linked transnationally.Less

Transatlantic Radicalism: A Short Introduction

Frank Jacob and Mario Keßler

Frank Jacob and Mario Keßler (eds)

in Transatlantic Radicalism: Socialist and Anarchist Exchanges in the 19th and 20th Centuries

This chapter introduced key problems related to rather understudied ties between radicals in their European, American, and thereby transatlantic contexts. It tries to highlight the issues individuals ... More

This chapter introduced key problems related to rather understudied ties between radicals in their European, American, and thereby transatlantic contexts. It tries to highlight the issues individuals faced with regard to the genesis and the later use of existent networks of transnational radicalism. Furthermore, the introduction highlights the structure of the book that will in the first part focus on organizational ties of radical political parties as well as press networks that connected Europe with the Americas (ch. 2-5). The second part then discusses the roles of individuals who acted as mediators between the two continents in many different ways (ch. 6-10).Less

El Comunista: Radical Journalism and Transnational Anarchism, 1920–1921

Kirwin R. Shaffer

in Black Flag Boricuas: Anarchism, Antiauthoritarianism, and the Left in Puerto Rico, 1897-1921

This chapter investigates these Bayamón anarchists in 1920 and early 1921, through the newspaper El Comunista. The paper became the longest-running, most financially successful anarchist newspaper in ... More

This chapter investigates these Bayamón anarchists in 1920 and early 1921, through the newspaper El Comunista. The paper became the longest-running, most financially successful anarchist newspaper in the island's history. El Comunista stridently attacked U.S. militarism and interventionism in the Caribbean Basin, offered a qualified opposition to calls for Puerto Rican independence, and found growing distribution throughout and financial backing from Spanish-speaking anarchist groups in the United States. The distribution, support for the Bolsheviks, and fervent attacks on U.S. policies led the Wilson administration in Washington to target the Bayamón anarchists during the Red Scare. The resulting closure of the newspaper spelled the end to the most successful anarchist organization to emerge on the island.Less