Francisco Ascaso Abadía (1 April 1901 – 20 July 1936) was an Aragonese carpenter and prominent

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...

figure in Spain. Ascaso lived a life of crime and violence being involved in the deaths of multiple high-profile government officials and as a result frequently detained. By the time of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, he had created and been involved in numerous anarchist operations and organizations alongside his close friend

Buenaventura Durruti José Buenaventura Durruti Dumange (14 July 1896 – 20 November 1936) was a Spanish anarchist revolutionary involved with the CNT and the FAI in the periods before and during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. Durruti played an influe ...

. He was killed during the civil war. Ascaso was the cousin of

Joaquín Ascaso Joaquín Ascaso Budría (5 June 1906 – 12 March 1977) was an Aragonese anarcho-syndicalist and President of the Regional Defence Council of Aragon between 1936 and 1937. An anarcho-syndicalist activist from an early age, he led the con ...

, the President of the Regional Defence Council of Aragon.Jesús Mestre i Campi, ''Diccionari d'Història de Catalunya'', Edicions 62. 1998, ; p. 68

Anarchism

In 1922 or 1923, Ascaso would meet Juan Garcia Oliver and

, and soon form the

Los Solidarios ''Los Solidarios'' (; or The Solidaristic) was a Anarchism in Spain, Spanish anarchist militant group, established in 1922 to combat the rise of ''pistolerismo'' and company union, yellow syndicalism, which represented the interests of business ...

in response to ongoing attacks on leaders of the labour movement and the assassination of

Salvador Seguí Salvador Seguí i Rubinat (23 September 1887, in Lleida – 10 March 1923, in Barcelona), known as ''El noi del sucre'' ("the sugar boy" in Catalan) for his habit of eating the sugar cubes served him with his coffee, was a Catalan anarcho-synd ...

. The group would become involved in the deaths in many prominent leaders of the time such as Spanish Prime Minister

Eduardo Dato Eduardo Dato e Iradier (12 August 1856 – 8 March 1921) was a Spanish political leader during the Spanish Restoration period. He served three times as Spanish prime minister: from 27 October 1913 to 9 December 1915, from 11 June 1917 to 3 No ...

. Ascaso and Durruti would soon begin a lifelong friendship. Ascaso was drawn to Durruti for their shared disdain for the "bolshevization",

bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

and false hoods" of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

. Ascaso and Oliver soon moved to

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of Bages county, located in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. Crossed by the river Cardener, it is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged aro ...

in order to avoid detection from police. Upon arriving they were imprisoned on suspected drug trafficking. Although they were capable of convincing the police captain that they were just there to file papers for legal emigration and therefore avoided incarceration. While living in Manresa, Ascaso learned of Durruti's arrest and trial. He would gather the funds of the Los Solidarios and travel to

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

hoping to aid Durruti in achieving a pardon however this would not happen. Ascaso and Oliver decided that to remain within Manresa would be unwise and so moved to

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

. Ascaso and Oliver become embroiled in a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

to assassinate then

Archbishop of Zaragoza The Archdiocese of Saragossa (; ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Zaragoza (Saragossa in English), part of the autonomous community of Aragón. The archdiocese heads the ecclesiastical ...

Juan Soldevila y Romero Juan Soldevila y Romero (29 October 1843 – 4 June 1923) was a Spanish Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Zaragoza from 1901 until his death, and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1919. Biography Juan Sold ...

which they would successfully execute on 23 June 1923. Ascaso was arrested for his involvement however he escaped prison with the aid of Durruti and In June 1923, Ascaso and Durruti fled to France in protest of the dictatorship of

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, Grandee, GE (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a Spanish dictator and military officer who ruled as prime minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during the last years of the Resto ...

, Eduardo Dato's successor and then Prime Minister of Spain. Ascaso and Durruti would go onto support the Revolutionary Committee in France at the time as a way of "organizing a revolutionary center in France". Ascaso's method of organization also included the gathering of

comrade In political contexts, comrade means a fellow party member. The political use was inspired by the French Revolution, after which it grew into a form of address between socialists and workers. Since the Russian Revolution, popular culture in t ...

s and arms to further their ideals. In late December, 1924, Ascaso and Durruti were informed of the Revolutionary Committee's dire financial situation and so were instructed to travel to

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

which they promptly did with the intention of collecting funds. Ascaso and Durruti spent time in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

Island,

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

, J.A. J.A would often engage with Ascaso and Durruti on the topic of anarchism, encouraging them to spread anarchist theory, Ascaso and Durruti ― who believed that

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

was a necessary element of anarchism ― agreed. They soon left Havana fearing harassment from the police. In late March 1925 Ascaso and Durruti were seeking refuge in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

however soon left, feeling guilty over living in a luxury hotel juxtaposed to the poor neighborhoods. By late February 1926 Ascaso set off to Europe specifically, France. They arrived on 30 April 1926. On 25 June 1926 Ascaso was arrested by French Police, sentenced to six months, with intent to harm the King of Spain who was visiting France at the time. Upon being arrested Ascaso alongside Durruti and Jover Cortes were informed that they would be handed over to the Argentina government. An initiative entitled the Durruti-Ascaso-Jover Asylum Support Committee by The Anarcho-Communist Union was formed intending for the three men's release. They staged protests and hunger strikes against the police. Although the French government remained firm in their goals. While negotiating for their delivery talks began to become troublesome with both governments accusing each other of negligence. After a period of time the talks fell through and by 27 May 1927 all three men were freed and deported to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In November 1927 Ascaso and Durruti arrived in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France. In January 1928 Ascaso and Durruti traveled to Paris for the purpose of meeting with Joaquín Cortés as well as anarchist groups of the time. They were soon arrested upon arrival "infractions of the law on foreigners". They were sentenced to six months and were released in early October 1928 and arrived in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

by Late October. The two men lived with Augustin Souchy. Soon Paul Kampfmeyer, a former anarchist and member of the Berlin

Social Democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

party who had previously aided anarchists

Nestor Makhno Nestor Ivanovych Makhno (, ; 7 November 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ( , ), was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary and the commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine during the Ukrainian War o ...

and

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born Anarchism, anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europ ...

escape

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, came in contact with the two men aiming to provide them with residency permits. During their time in Berlin fear of arrest was omnipresent so the men began to plan leaving. Ascaso returned to Spain by 1931. He returned from a deportation to Africa in 1932 to become an editor of Solidaridad Obrera (Workers' Solidarity) and secretary of the Catalan CNT. He supported CNT militias and opposed political alliances with organizations. During the

, while living in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Ascaso would form the Antifascist Militias Committee. Ascaso alongside Durruti and the CNT would attack army depots and the prison ship ''Uruguay'' with home-made grenades and improvised armoured cars. Ascaso was one of the 500 to die in the assault of Atarazanas barracks. Ascaso was buried in

Montjuïc Cemetery Montjuïc Cemetery, known in Catalan as Cementiri del Sud-oest or Cementiri de Montjuïc, is located on one of the rocky slopes of Montjuïc hill in Barcelona. History It was opened on 17 March 1883 by the city of Barcelona as its main cemeter ...

alongside Durruti.

Legacy

He was remembered as a "saint" of anarchist movement and as a hero of the Catalan

proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian or a . Marxist ph ...

Personal life

Ascaso's was the brother of fellow anarchists Alejandro Ascaso and Domingo Ascaso who all frequently worked together. Alejandro was born on 17 October 1889. Domingo was killed in Barcelona during the 1937 May Riots. He also had a sister named Maria. In 1927 he started a relationship with Berthe Fabert. In 1924 Ascaso settled in Paris and worked in a plumbing factory which aggravated his

respiratory The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies gr ...

problems.

Gallery

File:Ascaso2.jpg, Buenaventura Durruti and Francisco Ascaso with their wives. File:Francisco Ascaso 1936.jpg, Ascaso during the Spanish Civil War File:FranciscoAscaso.jpg, Ascaso's grave

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascaso, Francisco 1901 births 1936 deaths Anarchists from Aragon Carpenters Spanish revolutionaries Spanish rebels Spanish military personnel killed in the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) People from Hoya de Huesca Burials at Montjuïc Cemetery Confederación Nacional del Trabajo members