Henri Félix Camille Beaulieu (known as Henri Beylie; 30 November 1870 – 1944) was a French accountant, naturist, anti-militarist, anarchist and then communist. He wrote many articles in radical journals. In his later years he was active in the Committee of Social Defence (CDS), an organization that helped political prisoners and exiles.

Early years

Henri Félix Camille Beaulieu was born in Paris on 30 November 1870. His parents were Charles Beaulieu and Jeanne Beylie. a seamstress. At a young age, he was a non-commissioned officer in the African Battalions, but was dismissed for "collective revolt and protest". On returning to the metropolis, he mixed in libertarian circles in Montmartre and began to publish articles in ''La Revue Libertaire'' (1893–94). After anarchists staged several attacks in Paris in 1893, there was a wave of arrests. In January 1894, Beylie, Henri Gauche and Henri Guerin were arrested questioned by a judge. Gauche and Guerin were the editors of ''La revue libertaire'' (Paris, December 1893 – February 1894). The three briefly took refuge in Brussels, Belgium.

Naturist anarchist

After his return to France, Henri Beaulieu worked as a plumber for the Northern Railway, then in 1895, he became a bank employee. He participated in "

naturist Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...

" libertarian groups led by

Henri Zisly Henri Zisly (born in Paris, 2 November 1872; died in 1945)
was a French

Émile Gravelle Émile Gravelle (1855–1920) was a French individualist anarchist and naturist activist, writer and painter.Etudes Jean-Jacques Rousseau Musée Jean-Jacques Rousseau - 1996 Le fondateur du Naturianisme est Émile Gravelle. Né en 1855 à Doua ...

and Henri Zisly published four numbers of ''L'État Naturel'' which advocated naturism, vegetarianism and veganism. Between 1895 and 1898 the three men published the monthly ''La Nouvelle Humanité'', which proclaimed that humans would be released from slavery through a healthy diet and outdoors living. Writing under the pseudonym Henri Beylie, he contributed to various other libertarian publications. He was in contact with the paper ''Tribune Libre'' published in

Charleroi, Pennsylvania Charleroi ( ) is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, along the Monongahela River, 21 miles south of Pittsburgh. Charleroi was settled by Walloons in 1890 and incorporated in 1891. The 2020 census recorded a population of 4,210. There has ...

by French miners who had emigrated to the US. On 10 September 1898, Beylie married Clémentine Bontoux and found work as an accountant. The naturist group was dissolved in 1898, and he joined the fight to defend

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...

. In the summer of 1899, Beylie left this cause, dissatisfied with the way that

Sébastien Faure Sébastien Faure (6 January 1858 – 14 July 1942) was a French anarchist, freethought and secularist activist and a principal proponent of synthesis anarchism. Biography Before becoming a free-thinker, Faure was a seminarist. He engaged ...

was handling the case. He continued to contribute to various anarchist publications. In 1901, another naturist group was formed, and from June to October 1901 Beylie edited ''Le Bulletin de l'Harmonie''. In 1901, he also contributed to the ''Cercle d’études sociales'' (Circle of Social Studies: CES) in Paris. In February 1902, the naturist group dissolved due to disagreement between those such as Beylie and Zisly who thought it was necessary to make a radical break by retiring from the world, and those who thought the excesses of urban civilization could be moderated without sacrificing the benefits of progress. In 1902, Beylie and

Georges Butaud Georges Butaud (6 June 1868 – 26 February 1926) was a French individualist anarchist and veganism activist. He advocated naturist anarchism and founded an early vegan restaurant in Paris. Biography Butaud was born on 6 June 1868 in Marchien ...

co-founded the "milieu libre" anarchist society, with the goal of "creating and developing a free environment in France". Early in 1903, this gave rise to the ''Milieu Libre de Vaux'' (Free Commune of Vaux) located in

Essômes-sur-Marne Essômes-sur-Marne (, literally ''Essômes on Marne'') is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population centre, Abbot. See also * Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of t ...

, Picardy. G. Butaud was the facilitator. From November 1903, the anarchist colony was the target of an attack some libertarian journalists, and the 5–12 December 1903 issue of ''Le Libertaire'' published a negative report on the colony. Beylie and Butaud answered in the colony's monthly bulletin of December 1903, giving a positive report of ten months of communism. However, in February 1907, the experiment came to an end.

Anarcho-communist

In December 1902, Beylie was one of the founders of the ''Ligue antimilitariste'', along with fellow anarchists

Georges Yvetot Georges Louis François Yvetot (20 July 1868 – 11 May 1942) was a French typographer, anarcho-syndicalist and anti-militarist. He was secretary general of the '' Fédération des Bourses de travail'' (Federation of Workers' Councils) and deputy ...

, Paraf-Javal,

Albert Libertad Joseph Albert (known as Albert Libertad or Libertad) (24 November 1875 – 12 November 1908) was an individualist anarchist militant and writer from France who edited the influential anarchist publication ''L'Anarchie''. Life and work He was born ...

and

Émile Janvion Émile Janvion (10 April 1866 – 21 July 1927) was a French teacher, an anarcho-syndicalist leader, a founder of the ''Confédération générale du travail'' (CGT) and a leader of the anti-militarist movement. He came to hold national syndicalis ...

. This was to become the French section of the ''

Association internationale antimilitariste The ''Association internationale antimilitariste'' (''AIA''; International Anti-Militarist Association) was a pacifist association founded in Amsterdam in 1904 that was dedicated to fighting militarism. Although technically open to all political vi ...

'' (AIA), which was the subject of intense police surveillance. Beylie was secretary-treasurer of the league. In 1903, he published the brochure ''Le militarisme. Ses causes, ses conséquences, les moyens de le combattre''. Beylie was a member of the First of May society, whose members were arrested on the night of 29 April 1906 when they were putting up a poster in the street of Paris called the ''Manifeste abstentionniste et antimilitariste'', and were accused of anarchist propaganda. They were later pardoned. From 24–31 August 1907, he attended the International Anarchist Congress in Amsterdam with

Pierre Monatte Pierre Monatte (15 January 188127 June 1960) was a French trade unionist, a founder of the ''Confédération générale du travail'' (CGT, Generation Confederation of Labour) at the beginning of the 20th century, and founder of its journal ''La Vi ...

Benoît Broutchoux Benedict Broutchoux (7 November 1879 – 2 June 1944) was a French anarchist opposed to the reformist Émile Basly during a strike in the north of France, in 1902. Further reading * * Phil Casoar, Stéphane Callens, ''Les aventures � ...

, René de Marmande, Amédée Dunois and others. In 1908, he joined the Anarchist Federation of the Seine and Seine-et-Oise. Beylie became a member of the Committee of Social Defence (CDS), an organization that helped political prisoners and exiles. From 1909 to 1912, he worked for the ''Bulletin du Comité de Défense Sociale''. At the end of 1910 the police accused him of inciting soldier to abandon their arms and desert. In February 1912, representing the CDS, he was a member of the committee that prepared the funeral of Albert Aernoult. From March to May 1912, Beylie participated in the Anti-Parliamentary Revolutionary Committee (RAC) of the ''

Confédération Générale du Travail The General Confederation of Labour (french: Confédération Générale du Travail, CGT) is a national trade union center, founded in 1895 in the city of Limoges. It is the first of the five major French confederations of trade unions. It is ...

'' (CGT). He led a campaign for abstention from the municipal elections in May. In December 1912, he participated on the board of ''Le Libertaire'', and in 1913, the following year, was a supporter of ''La Bataille Syndicaliste''. Beylie was registered by the police in the ''

Carnet B A carnet may refer to: in international law: *A legal authorisation, usually in the context of document allowing the importation of certain goods to countries without paying customs duty. Three types exist: ** ATA Carnet, for temporary importation ...

'' list of anarchists. With the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–18), he was mobilized in the 14th Territorial Infantry Regiment and assigned to an office job. In April and May 1918, he helped found the pacifist paper ''La Plèbe''. After the war, he was again active in the CDS. He was a delegate to the congresses of the Anarchist Union (UA) in Paris in 1920 and 1923. At the 1923 congress, he was elected to the board of ''Le Libertaire'', to which he contributed. In March 1932, he was appointed secretary of the CDS. In January 193,7 he was still secretary of CDS and working as an accountant in Paris. Henri Beylie died in 1944.

Publications

He wrote for many journals, including: * ''La Revue Libertaire'' (1893–94) * ''L'État Naturel'' (1894–98) * ''La Nouvelle Humanité'' (1895–98) * ''La Débâcle Social'' (1896) * ''Bulletin de l'Harmonie'' (1896–1901) * ''La Vérité'', weekly organ of libertarian communist, (1896–97) * ''Tribune Libre'' (1896–1900) * ''Vérité'' (1896–97) * ''Le Cravacheur'' (1898) * ''Le Naturien'' (1898) * ''Le Cri de Révolte'' (1898–99) * ''L'Homme Libre'' (1899) * ''Le Bulletin de l'Harmonie'' (1901) * ''Émancipation'' (1901) * ''Le Flambeau'' (1901–02) * ''Le Réveil de l'Esclave'' (1902–03) * ''L'Insurgé'' (1903–09) * ''Revue Communiste'' (1903–4) * ''L'Ennemi du Peuple'' (1903–1904) * ''Nouvelle Humanité'' (1905) * ''L'Ordre'' (1905–07) * ''Ordre Naturel'' (1905) * ''Terre et Liberté'' (1905–06) * ''Le Combat Social'' (1907–09) * ''Vie Naturelle'' (1907–14) * ''Bulletin du Comité de Défense Sociale'' (1909–12) * ''L'Insurgé'' (1910–11) * ''La Plèbe'' * ''Le Libertaire'' He was the author of two pamphlets: * *

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beylie, Henri 1870 births 1944 deaths Anarchist writers Anarcho-communists French anarchists French libertarians French male non-fiction writers French naturists French political writers Social nudity advocates