Back

Today in Labor History January 9, 1905: French anarchist Louise Michel died. Michel was a leader in the Paris Commune and cofounder of the Women’s Battalion. She also cofounded the journal “Le Libertaire,” with Sebastien Faure. 100,000 mourners attended her funeral. Before the Commune, she was a school teacher. After the Commune, while in prison, she wrote children’s books.

During the Commune, workers took over all aspects of economic and political life. They enacted a system that included self-policing, separation of the church and state, abolition of child labor, and employee takeovers of abandoned businesses. Churches and church-run schools were shut down. The Commune lasted from March 18 through May 28, 1871. Michel was elected head of the Montmartre Women’s Vigilance Committee. She also participated in the armed struggle against the French government.

Ultimately, the French Army quashed the commune, slaughtering up to 20,000 men, women and children. The authorities forced Michel to turn herself in by threatening to kill her mother. When asked if she had anything to say in her defense, she replied: “Since it seems that any heart which beats for freedom has the right only to a lump of lead, I too claim my share. If you let me live, I shall never stop crying for revenge and l shall avenge my brothers. I have finished. If you are not cowards, kill me!”

They deported her to New Caldonia, where she lived for the next seven years, working as a teacher for the children of both the French colonists and the indigenous Kanak people. Her ongoing struggle against French colonialism and her support for the Kanak people, including participation in their 1878 revolt against the French colonialists, is remembered today in their local museum of anarchism.

You can read my longer bio of Michel here: https://michaeldunnauthor.com/2024/04/20/louise-michel/

#workingclass #LaborHistory #anarchism #LouiseMichel #paris #commune #Revolution #teacher #books #author #writer #prison #indigenous #school #children @bookstadon