The general strike of 1913 (french: grève générale de 1913, nl, algemene staking van 1913) was a major

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It was the third general strike aimed at forcing

electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of: * Voting systems, such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant-ru ...

and, like the general strike of 1902, was particularly aimed at ending the system of

plural voting Plural voting is the practice whereby one person might be able to vote multiple times in an election. It is not to be confused with a plurality voting system which does not necessarily involve plural voting. Weighted voting is a generalisation of p ...

. It officially lasted between 14 and 24 April and brought out between 300,000 and 450,000 workers on strike. Despite its large participation, it was relatively peaceful.

Planning

Unlike the poorly organised 1902 strike, the general strike of 1913 was led by the

Belgian Workers' Party The Belgian Labour Party ( nl, Belgische Werkliedenpartij, BWP; french: Parti ouvrier belge, POB) was the first major socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party was officially disbanded in 1940 and superseded by the Belgian Socialist ...

(POB-BWP) and meticulously planned. The POB-BWP spent ten months in planning during the aftermath of the 1912 election and instructed workers to put aside money in advance. The party was also able to maintain control throughout the strike, preventing flare-ups of violence between strikers and police. The magnitude of the strike varied by economic sector and company but was strongest among

coal miners People have worked as coal miners for centuries, but they became increasingly important during the Industrial revolution when coal was burnt on a large scale to fuel stationary and locomotive engines and heat buildings. Owing to coal's strategic ro ...

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

. It was supported financially by a number of leading Belgians Liberals, including

Émile Francqui Émile Francqui (; 25 June 1863 in Brussels – 1 November 1935 in Brussels) was a Belgian soldier, diplomat, business man and philanthropist. Career As an orphan, Émile Francqui was sent to a military school when he was just 15 years old. ...

and

Raoul Warocqué Raoul Warocqué (Brussels, 4 February 1870 – Brussels, 28 May 1917), was a Belgian industrialist from Wallonia. Biography Raoul was the great-grandson of Nicolas Warocqué, the founder of the prominent Warocqué family. His father was Arthur ...

, who believed that the only way to stop continued Catholic Party dominance was to end the plural voting system.

Outcome

The failure of the 1902 general strike had partly been due to the consensus between Catholic and Liberal politicians to block further electoral reform. In 1913, however, there was no such agreement between these parties; and the Catholic prime minister,

Charles de Broqueville Charles Marie Pierre Albert, 1st Count de Broqueville (4 December 1860 – 5 September 1940) was the prime minister of Belgium, serving during World War I. Before 1914 Charles de Broqueville was born into an old noble family with its roots in ...

, was willing to compromise. A commission was created, officially to review the

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

for

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and provincial elections, in the expectation that it would recommend the suppression of plural voting. The German invasion of Belgium in August 1914 and the subsequent occupation delayed the implementation of the commission's proposal. In 1918, King Albert forged a post-war "Government of National Union" and brought about one man, one vote universal male suffrage, but the last restrictions on women's voting were not lifted until 1948.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

De grootste stakingen uit de Belgische geschiedenis
at ''

De Standaard ''De Standaard'' (meaning ''The Standard'' in English) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and F ...

'' {{Belgian general strikes 1913 Belgian_general_strike General Strike, 1913 General Strike, 1913 General Strike, 1913 1913 labor disputes and strikes Suffrage April 1913 events

Planning

Outcome

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links