Tomás González Morago (n/a-1885) was a notable Spanish

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 ...

. Morago, who was an engraver, was also a prominent member of the labor organization Primera Internacional in

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 ...

. Accounts cite him as the first and greatest of the Spanish anarchist movement.

Biography

González Morago was the son of a

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimists (disambiguation), Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty ...

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, 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 ...

. He became drawn to

anarchism 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 necessa ...

due to his religious beliefs. In his view, it realized the teachings of the Gospel. He is recognized for possessing brilliant qualities, prompting peers such as Ericco Malatesta to call him as the greatest Spanish anarchist. However, he was described as unstable, spending days in bed with bouts of depression. Court documents showed that he was imprisoned by a district court in 1884 for forging bank notes. González Morago died as a young man in a

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

prison in 1885. An account stated that

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

was the cause of his death.

Works

In Madrid, González Morago owned an engraving shop, which also served as location for political meetings. By 1865, he was active in the Casino or Artistic Athenaeum of Madrid. Three years later, he was associated with the Castillian republicanism and became a follower of Emilio Castelar. Together with the typographer Anselmo Lorenzo and the shoemaker Francisco Mora, González Morago formed the nucleus of Madrid Federation, which was the local section of the Primera Internacional. Morago used the Geneva Alliance (Revolutionary Socialist Alliance) program as the basis for the group's propaganda. He established ''Solidaridad'', the group's publication, on January 15, 1879. This organ published González Morago's manifesto that resulted in the significant expansion of the federation in Spain. In the manifesto, he cited the role of internationalists in exploiting workers. He identified these as individuals who have scant knowledge of the people they exploit but have the capital to benefit from the works of other human beings. González Morago was expelled from the International on May 30, 1873. This decision was executed by the organization's General Council. González Morago was one of those who wanted to abolish the council after it expelled

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 ...

and

James Guillaume James Guillaume (February 16, 1844, London – November 20, 1916, Paris) was a leading member of the Jura federation, the anarchist wing of the First International. Later, Guillaume would take an active role in the founding of the Anarchist St. I ...

without fair hearing. Bakunin promoted the socialist democratic ideal and opposed the position adopted by the Primera Internacional Council, which was viewed by Spanish symphatizers as

Marxists Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectic ...

and authoritarian. In a confrontation at the headquarters of the Madrid Federation, González Morago, who also opposed the Marxists theses of the Internacional, countered the arguments of the so-called authoritarians leading to the expulsion of the Marxists by the Madrid Federation. Along with Francesc Tomàs i Oliver, González Morago is considered instrumental in the spread of Bakunin's ideas in the

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez Morago, Tomas 1885 deaths Anarchist theorists Anarcho-communists People from Madrid Spanish anarchists