François Dumartheray (1842-1931) was a French anarcho-communist activist. He was a member of the International Workingmen's Association and the

Jura Federation The Jura Federation represented the anarchist, Bakuninist faction of the First International during the anti-statist split from the organization. Jura, a Swiss area, was known for its watchmaker artisans in La Chaux-de-Fonds, who shared anti- ...

, and collaborated with

Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activis ...

in the journal '' Le Révolté''.

Biography

François Dumartheray was born in

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

, into a poor peasant family. Having only received a primary school education, he worked as a waiter in a cafe and later as a salesman. He joined the Icarians of ''L'Avenir'' in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, where a local branch of the International Workingmen's Association (IWA) was established in 1868. On 13 March 1870, Dumartheray was elected as a member of the federal commission of the IWA. In May 1870, he was arrested for his participation in the IWA, but was amnestied following the proclamation of the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

. He took refuge in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, where he was elected to the Congress of the

in September 1873. At the Congress, he proposed that only manual labourers would be permitted to join the International. In February 1876, Dumartheray published the pamphlet ''Aux travailleurs manuels partisans de l'action politique'', in which he advocated for "

anarchist communism Anarcho-communism, also known as anarchist communism, (or, colloquially, ''ancom'' or ''ancomm'') is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retains resp ...

" - in the first documented use of the term. Along with

Élisée Reclus Jacques Élisée Reclus (; 15 March 18304 July 1905) was a French geographer, writer and anarchist. He produced his 19-volume masterwork, ''La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes'' ("Universal Geography"), over a period of ...

, Dumartheray promoted the adoption of anarchist communism by the

Anti-Authoritarian International Over the past 150 years, anarchists, anarcho-syndicalists and libertarian socialists have held many congresses, conferences and international meetings in which trade unions, other groups and individuals have participated. The First Internatio ...

, quickly gaining support from the Italian anarchists. In August 1877, he returned to France in disguise and using the pseudonym "Versoix", in order to participate in the constitution of a French anti-authoritarian federation at a congress in

La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...

. During the

1877 French legislative election The 1877 general election to the Chamber of Deputies of the Third Republic was held on 14 and 28 October 1877, during the ''Seize Mai'' crisis. President Patrice de MacMahon dissolved the Chamber of Deputies elected in 1876, in the hope of a co ...

, Dumartheray published the federation's abstentionist manifesto. In 1878, his paper ''Avante-Garde'' was shut down and he returned to Geneva, where he,

and Georges Herzig founded the newspaper '' Le Révolté'' in February 1879. By this time, a split had ruptured the International, as collectivists from Spain and democratic socialists from Belgium rejected the anarchist communist approach. Anarchist communism was finally adopted by at Jura Federation's congress of 1880, in the last act of the International. That year, Dumartheray was offered amnesty by the French government of Jules Grévy, but he decided not to return to France and largely ceased political activities. He remained in Geneva until 1927. He died and was cremated on 8 September 1931.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dumartheray, François 1842 births 1931 deaths 19th-century people from Savoy Anarcho-communists French anarchists French emigrants to Switzerland Jura Federation Members of the International Workingmen's Association People from Haute-Savoie