The Casas Viejas incident, also known as the Casas Viejas massacre, took place in 1933 in the village of

Casas Viejas Casas Viejas is a city located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 6,754 inhabitants. Casas Viejas is located in the '' Ruta del Toro''. Main sights * Cueva del Tajo de las Figuras *Iglesi ...

, in Cádiz Province,

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

Background

The

anarchist movement The history of anarchism is as ambiguous as anarchism itself. Scholars find it hard to define or agree on what anarchism means, which makes outlining its history difficult. There is a range of views on anarchism and its history. Some feel anar ...

spread across

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was based on the ideas of

Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (; 1814–1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist, socialist and founder of collectivist anarchism. He is considered among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major founder of the revolutionary s ...

and propagated by

Giuseppe Fanelli Giuseppe Fanelli (13 October 1827 – 5 January 1877) was an Italian revolutionary anarchist, best known for his tour of Spain 1868, introducing the anarchist ideas of Mikhail Bakunin. Life and revolutionary path Fanelli was born in Naples ...

. It urged oppressed workers to unite and organize against their oppressors: the state, the latifundista landowners, and the Church. It quickly took a hold among the long-exploited agricultural workers in

, who joined the ''

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo ( en, National Confederation of Labor; CNT) is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionar ...

'' (CNT) or the more radical ''

Federación Anarquista Ibérica The Iberian Anarchist Federation ( es, Federación Anarquista Ibérica, FAI) is a Spanish organization of anarchist militants active within affinity groups in the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) anarcho-syndicalist union. It is often ...

'' (FAI) and had some limited success in improving wages and working conditions. The anarchist movement was opposed by the government of Spain, which had been a republic since April 1931.

Incident

In January 1933, workers of the CNT marched in the streets, demonstrated and believed that they were starting a revolution. Somehow during the demonstrations, two guards were wounded. The government's attempt to stamp out such revolutionary zeal came to a tragic head during January 11–12, 1933. The Civil Guard and

Assault Guard The Cuerpo de Seguridad y Asalto ( en, Security and Assault Corps) was the heavy reserve force of the blue-uniformed urban police force of Spain during the Spanish Second Republic. The Assault Guards were special police and paramilitary units cr ...

arrived in Casas Viejas on January 11. Many of the villagers fled, but some anarchists tried to resist arrest and barricaded themselves in the home of an anarchist, Francisco Cruz Gutiérrez, who was nicknamed ''Seisdedos'' (meaning "Six fingers"). When guards under the command of Captain Rojas arrived, they set the house on fire with the anarchists and their families still inside. One anarchist,

Maria Silva Cruz Maria Silva Cruz (20 April 1915 – 23 August 1936) was a Spanish anarchist and a hero of the Casas Viejas Uprising in Spain. She was also known as "La Libertaria." Biography Silva Cruz was born and raised in Casas Viejas (now Benalup-Casa ...

, survived the fire and emerged with a child, a boy, still alive. Soldiers and police then arrested anyone in the village who possessed a gun, marched them to the smoking ashes of the cottage and their dead colleagues, and shot them in the back. Twenty-four people died during the incident.

Legacy

The massacre led to national outrage and weakened the position of the revolutionary left. There was considerable debate about whether the orders to kill had been issued by the President of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres (6 July 1877 – 18 February 1949) was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic, and then—from 1931 to 1936—as its president. Early life ...

. That has never been proved, but it is believed to have contributed to his defeat in the following general election.

Socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

, who had once supported the government, began to withdraw support for the new republic.

References

{{Coord, 36, 20, N, 5, 48, W, region:ES_type:city, display=title 1933 in Spain Anarchism in Spain Massacres in Spain Conflicts in 1933 Anti-anarchism History of Andalusia