Francesc Pi I Margall
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Francesc Pi i Margall (Spanish: Francisco Pi y Margall) (29 April 1824 – 29 November 1901) was a Spanish
federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...
and
republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
politician and theorist who served as president of the short-lived
First Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic ( es, República Española), historiographically referred to as the First Spanish Republic, was the political regime that existed in Spain from 11 February 1873 to 29 December 1874. The Republic's founding ensued after th ...
in 1873. He was also a historian, philosopher,
romanticist Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
writer, and was also the leader of the
Federal Democratic Republican Party The Federal Democratic Republican Party ( es, Partido Republicano Democrático Federal, PRDF) was a Spanish political party founded in 1868 during the Glorious Revolution that was active until 1912. Its ideology was federal republicanism and pro ...
and the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
. Pi was turned into a sort of
secular saint The term secular saint, which has no strict definition, generally refers to someone venerated and respected for contributions to a noble cause, but not recognized as a canonical saint by a religion. The ranks of secular saints, like those of religi ...
in his time. A disciple of
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, , ; 15 January 1809, Besançon – 19 January 1865, Paris) was a French socialist,Landauer, Carl; Landauer, Hilde Stein; Valkenier, Elizabeth Kridl (1979) 959 "The Three Anticapitalistic Movements". ''European Socia ...
, his theoretical contributions left a lasting effect on the development of the anarchist movement in Spain.


Early life

Pi was the son of a working-class textile worker in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern 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 ci ...
,
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
, and was born on 29 April 1824. Pi's father enrolled him in a religious school in 1831 where Pi acquired an education in the humanities and the
classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
. He was a member of the ''Societat Filomàtica'', enabling him to meet some of the main thinkers and writers of the
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
romanticist Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
movement. In 1837, he left to study law, earning a
licentiate degree A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. It may be similar to a master's degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universities in Europe, Latin Am ...
in 1847. He moved to
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
that year and began writing as a theater critic for the journal ''El Renacimiento'' and for ''El Correo,'' in which Pi's first political article was published. In need of further income, Pi also took a job for Martí, a Catalan bank.


Political life under the monarchy

Pi was involved in the revolution of 1854 that brought the
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
''espadón'' Baldomero Espartero back to power. He published ''La reacción y la revolución'' in that year, influenced by G.W.F. Hegel's
philosophy of history Philosophy of history is the philosophical study of history and its discipline. The term was coined by French philosopher Voltaire. In contemporary philosophy a distinction has developed between ''speculative'' philosophy of history and ''crit ...
and the thinking of the French
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, , ; 15 January 1809, Besançon – 19 January 1865, Paris) was a French socialist,Landauer, Carl; Landauer, Hilde Stein; Valkenier, Elizabeth Kridl (1979) 959 "The Three Anticapitalistic Movements". ''European Socia ...
. In 1856 he established a new journal, ''La Razón'', that was closed when the government of
Leopoldo O'Donnell Leopoldo O'Donnell y Jorris, 1st Duke of Tetuán, Grandee, GE (12 January 1809 – 5 November 1867), was a Spanish general and Grandee who was Prime Minister of Spain on several occasions. Early life He was born at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in t ...
was overthrown by
Ramón María Narváez Ramón María Narváez y Campos, 1st Duke of Valencia (5 August 180023 April 1868) was a Spanish general and statesman who served as Prime Minister on several occasions during the reign of Isabella II. He was also known in Spain as ''El Espad ...
. Pi fled to
Guipúzcoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...
in the Basque country until 1857, when
Nicolás María Rivero Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
asked him to return to Madrid to contribute to the Republican newspaper ''La Discusión''. At ''La Discusión'', Pi became acquainted with a number of leaders of the Spanish republican movement, including another future president of the First Republic,
Estanislao Figueras Estanislao Figueras y de Moragas ( ca, Estanislau Figueras i de Moragas ; 13 November 1819 – 11 November 1882) was a Spanish politician who served as the first President of the First Spanish Republic from 12 February to 11 June 1873. Figuera ...
. In 1864 he became the director of the newspaper. After the sergeants' revolt at
San Gil San Gil is a town municipality in the Department of Santander in northeastern Colombia, located roughly 300 km (192 mi) from Bogotá and 95 km from the department's capital, Bucaramanga. As of 2020, San Gil had a population of rou ...
in 1866, Pi fled to Paris, where he gave lectures and translated several of Proudhon's works and became familiar with French
positivism Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. G ...
. He developed ideas about revolutions and the philosophy of history, including a belief in an inevitable, progressive, and permanent movement in history toward greater freedom, embodied in
federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
constitutions. Throughout his life he would promote republicanism and social objectives through the federal idea. Pi returned from Paris after the success of the 1868 Glorious Revolution. He was elected deputy on behalf of
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern 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 ci ...
and was part of the Constituent Cortes that wrote the 1869 Constitution. During this time Pi became respected as a leader of the Republican party in the Cortes; he is officially named the head of the party in March 1870. He was replaced shortly thereafter by internal strife over the party's policy toward the
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
, conciliatory policy toward opposition groups, and electoral setbacks. He continued to adamantly promote the establishment of a
federal republic A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives ...
in place of a monarchy. He opposed the monarchy of
Amadeo I Amadeo ( it, Amedeo , sometimes latinized as Amadeus; full name: ''Amedeo Ferdinando Maria di Savoia''; 30 May 184518 January 1890) was an Italian prince who reigned as King of Spain from 1870 to 1873. The first and only King of Spain to come fro ...
during its short rule.


Presidency and later political life

When the
First Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic ( es, República Española), historiographically referred to as the First Spanish Republic, was the political regime that existed in Spain from 11 February 1873 to 29 December 1874. The Republic's founding ensued after th ...
was established in 1873 after the abdication of Amadeo I, the first president, Estanislao Figueras, appointed Pi as Minister of the Interior. During his ministerial tenure, Pi was responsible for the struggle against the '' cantonalist'' movement in the provinces. On Figueras's resignation on 11 June, Pi was named
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
. Pi presented to the Cortes an ambitious plan of reform, including a law formalizing a stricter
separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
, the reorganization of the army, reduction of the working day to eight hours, regulation of
child labor Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
, enhancements to the relationship between business and labor, new laws regarding the autonomy of the regions of Spain, and a program of universal education. His acquaintance with Proudhon enabled Pi to warm relations between the Republicans and the socialists in Spain. However, Pi was unable to rein in the instability of the Republic; on the 1 July, the more radical elements of the Republican party and federalists broke off and declared the government illegitimate, and new insurrections appeared in
Alcoy Alcoy ( ca-valencia, Alcoi) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 res ...
and Cartagena only a week later. Under pressure from the Cortes and many leading Republicans who accused him of dangerous weakness, Pi resigned the presidency on 18 July, only a little more than a month after he assumed the office. After the end of the Republic in 1874, Pi left political life for a decade. During this time, he returned his attentions to his writings; only a few months after the end of the Republic, he wrote a treatise on its events, ''La República de 1873''. He followed this with ''Las Nacionalidades'' and ''Joyas Literarias'' in 1876. The first volume of his ''Historia General de América'' was published in 1878, ''La Federación'' in 1880, and ''Las luchas de nuestros días'' and ''Observaciones sobre el carácter de don Juan Tenorio'' in 1884. In 1886, he returned to politics and was elected deputy for
Figueres Figueres (, ; , es, Figueras, ) is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museu ...
, in
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
, and again in 1891 and 1893. He was involved in the fragmentation of the Spanish Republican movement in this period together with Estanislao Figueras,
Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla (22 March 183313 June 1895) was a Spanish politician. He served as Prime Minister of Spain for a little over ten weeks, in the summer of 1871, and again for eight months, between June 1872 and February 1873. Biography Born ...
,
Emilio Castelar y Ripoll Emilio Castelar y Ripoll (7 September 183225 May 1899) was a Spanish republican politician, and a president of the First Spanish Republic. Castelar was born in Cádiz. He was an eloquent orator and a writer. Appointed as Head of State in 1873 i ...
, and Valentí Almirall. Pi was involved in the 1883 Republican Congress of Zaragoza that proposed a federal republican constitution for Spain; in 1894, he was instrumental in reforming the republican movement with a new manifesto for the Federal Party. In 1890, Pi founded the newspaper ''El Nuevo Régimen'', which campaigned for Cuban independence. Pi's promotion of federalism and regional autonomy earned him popularity among Catalan
anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
. Pi died on 29 November 1901 around 18:15 at his home in the calle del Conde de Aranda, in Madrid.


Political thought, practice and later influence

Pi i Margall became the principal translator of Proudhon's works into Spanish and later briefly became president of Spain in 1873 while being the leader of the Democratic Republican Federal Party. According to
George Woodcock George Woodcock (; May 8, 1912 – January 28, 1995) was a Canadian writer of political biography and history, an anarchist thinker, a philosopher, an essayist and literary critic. He was also a poet and published several volumes of travel wri ...
, "These translations were to have a profound and lasting effect on the development of Spanish anarchism after 1870, but before that time Proudhonian ideas, as interpreted by Pi, already provided much of the inspiration for the federalist movement which sprang up in the early 1860s." According to the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'' "During the Spanish revolution of 1873, Pi i Margall attempted to establish a decentralized, or “cantonalist,” political system on Proudhonian lines." Pi considered federalism to be a "unity in variety, the law of nature, the law of the world", an organization based on the bottom-up contract by "natural and spontaneous collective beings" (''La reacción y la revolución'', 1854). Pi i Margall was a dedicated theorist in his own right, especially through book-length works such as ''La reacción y la revolución'' (English: "Reaction and revolution" from 1855), ''Las nacionalidades'' (English: "Nationalities" from 1877), and ''La Federación'' from 1880. For prominent
anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence i ...
Rudolf Rocker Johann Rudolf Rocker (March 25, 1873 – September 19, 1958) was a German anarchist writer and activist. He was born in Mainz to a Roman Catholic artisan family. His father died when he was a child, and his mother when he was in his teens, so he ...
"The first movement of the Spanish workers was strongly influenced by the ideas of Pi i Margall, leader of the Spanish Federalists and disciple of Proudhon. Pi i Margall was one of the outstanding theorists of his time and had a powerful influence on the development of libertarian ideas in Spain. His political ideas had much in common with those of
Richard Price Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer, pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the French ...
,
Joseph Priestly Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...
(sic),
Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
,
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
, and other representatives of the Anglo-American liberalism of the first period. He wanted to limit the power of the state to a minimum and gradually replace it by a Socialist economic order." He was also a supporter of a decentralized version of
Iberian Federalism Iberism ( Aragonese, Basque, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish: ''Iberismo''; ast, Iberismu; Catalan and Occitan: ''Iberisme''), also known as pan-Iberism or Iberian federalism, is the pan-nationalist ideology supporting a unification of all ...
, framing the realization of such prospect in terms of "Iberian nations". He was wary of centralism (which was alien to the internal organization of the inhabitants of the Iberian peninsula and imposed on them, according to Pi), which he deemed to be, along with monarchy, one of the root reasons behind the state of decadence of the Peninsular peoples. He showed a special and naive affection for the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.


Bibliography


Works by Pi i Margall

* ''La España Pintoresca'', 1841. * ''Historia de la Pintura'', 1851. * ''Estudios de la Edad Media'', 1851. Published first on 1873. * ''El eco de la revolución'', 1854. * ''La reacción y la revolución'', 1855. * ''Declaración de los treinta'', 1864. * ''La República de 1873'', 1874. * ''Joyas literarias'', 1876. * ''Las nacionalidades'', 1877. * ''Historia General de América'', 1878. * ''La Federación'', 1880. * ''Constitución federal'', 1883. * ''Observaciones sobre el carácter de Don Juan Tenorio'', 1884. * ''Las luchas de nuestros días'', 1884. * ''Primeros diálogos'', not dated. * ''Amadeo de Saboya'', not dated. * ''Programa del Partido Federal'', 1894.


Works on Pi i Margall

* Conangla, J. ''Cuba y Pi y Margall''. La Habana, 1947. * Ferrando Badía, Juan. ''Historia político-parlamentaria de la República de 1873''. Madrid: Cuadernos para el Diálogo, 1973. * Grande Esteban, M. ''Unitarismo y federalismo'' (prefacio). Madrid: Emiliano Escolar Editor, 1981. * Hennessy, C. A. M. ''La República Federal en España. Pi y Margall y el movimiento republicano federal, 1868–1874''. Madrid: Aguilar, 1966. * Jutglar, Antoni. ''Federalismo y Revolución. Las ideas sociales de Pi y Margall''. Barcelona, 1966. * Jutglar, Antoni. ''La República de 1873, de Pi y Margall''. Barcelona, 1970. * Jutglar, Antoni. ''Pi y Margall y el Federalismo español''. 2 vols. Madrid: Taurus, 1974. * Martí, Casimir. ''L'orientació de Pi i Margall cap al socialisme i la democràcia.'' Artículo en Recerques nº38. Barcelona, 1974. * Molas, I. ''Ideari de Francesc Pi i Margall''. Barcelona, 1965. * Pi y Arsuaga, F. ''Pi y Margall. Lecciones de federalismo''. Barcelona, 1931. * Rovira i Virgili, A. Pròleg i notes a ''La qüestió de Catalunya davant el Federalisme. Escrits i discursos.'' (con especial dedicación a F. Pi i Margall). Barcelona, 1913.


References

;Citations ;Bibliography * ;External links
Biography


, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pi i Margall, Francesc 1824 births 1901 deaths 19th-century Spanish male writers Government ministers during the First Spanish Republic Left-libertarians Libertarian socialists Libertarian theorists Madrid city councillors Mutualists People from Barcelona Philosophy writers Political philosophers Politicians from Barcelona Politicians from Catalonia Presidents of the Executive Power of the First Spanish Republic Prime Ministers of Spain Spanish Esperantists 19th-century Spanish historians Spanish libertarians Spanish male non-fiction writers Spanish political writers Spanish republicans Spanish anarchists