The St. Imier Congress was a meeting of 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 anti-authoritarian apostates of the First International in September 1872.

Background

Among the ideological debates within the socialist First International,

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and Mikhail Bakunin disagreed on the revolutionary role of the working class and political struggle. Following the demise of the 1871

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 ...

, the International debated whether the proletariat should create its own state (Marx's position) or continue making commune attempts (Bakunin's position). Marx arranged the International's 1872 Congress in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, the Netherlands, where the Swiss Bakunin could not attend without arrest in Germany or France. The Hague Congress sided with Marx and expelled Bakunin from the International over aspects of his dissent and person, causing a split that would ultimately end the organization. International delegates of the minority opposed to Bakunin's expulsion met early in the September 1872 Hague Congress, in which 16 delegates (Spanish, Belgian, Dutch, Jurassic, and some American and French) privately decided to band together as anti-authoritarians. Before the vote, they presented a signed Minority Declaration, in which they expressed that the Congress's business ran counter to their represented countries' principles. They wished to remain administrative contact and maintain federative autonomy within the International in lieu of splitting it. Following the Hague Congress, anti-authoritarian minority delegates traveled to Brussels and issued a statement that they would not recognize the Congress's proceedings. They considered the circumstances around Bakunin's expulsion as unjust and encouraged anti-authoritarian federations to protest. The group continued on to Switzerland, where some met with Bakunin in Zurich.

Congress

Earlier, in late August, the Italian Federation and Jura Federation began to plan an international alternative congress in Switzerland. The Italians and

Errico Malatesta Errico Malatesta (4 December 1853 – 22 July 1932) was an Italian anarchist propagandist and revolutionary socialist. He edited several radical newspapers and spent much of his life exiled and imprisoned, having been jailed and expelled from ...

arrived in Zurich during the Hague Congress. They were joined by Andrea Costa and The Hague delegates

Adhémar Schwitzguébel Adhémar Schwitzguébel (August 15, 1844, in Sonvilier – July 23, 1895, Evilard) was a Swiss anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the ...

, Carlo Cafiero, and those from Spain. Bakunin presented his drafts for an Alliance organization to serve allied delegates in the International, but few took the effort seriously. The international alternative congress met in St. Imier on September 14 and 15, 1872. The group of 16 included Bakunin, the Zurich group, and a Russian group from Zurich. Prior to the international congress, Schwitzguébel read a report. The group then resolved to reject as unjust the Hague Congress and its General Council's authoritarianism. A second resolution upheld the honor of the expelled Bakunin and Guillaume, and recognized the two within the Jura International. The alternative congress followed these proceedings. In four groups, the delegates wrote resolutions on September 15 and 16. All four of the resolutions were passed unanimously on the 16th. Its first resolution held that the Hague Congress majority's sole intent was to make the International more authoritarian, and resolved to reject that Congress's resolutions and the authority of its new General Council. The second resolution, the St. Imier pact, was a "pact of friendship, solidarity, and mutual defense" joining all interested federations against the General Council's authoritarian interests. The third resolution condemned the Hague Congress's advocacy for a singular path to proletariat social emancipation. It declared that the proletariat's first duty is to destroy all political power, rejected political organization (even temporary) towards this end as even more dangerous than contemporary governments, and advocated for uncompromising solidarity between proletarians internationally. The resolutions were bolder in language than the Hague Congress's Minority Declaration, likely on account of Bakunin's presence.

Delegates

The St. Imier Congress delegates included: Italian Federation * Andrea Costa * Carlo Cafiero * Mikhail Bakunin *

Lodovico Nabruzzi Lodovico Nabruzzi (25 June 1846 – 12 February 1916) was an Italian journalist and anarchist. He played a leading role in the dissensions between the revolutionary and evolutionary Italian socialists. He spent several years in exile in Switzerlan ...

Giuseppi Fanelli Giuseppe Fanelli (13 October 1827 – 5 January 1877) was an Italian revolutionary anarchist, best known for his tour of Spain 1868, introducing the anarchist ideas of Mikhail Bakunin. Life and revolutionary path Fanelli was born in Naples, I ...

Jura Federation *

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 ...

Spanish Federation * *

Rafael Farga Rafael Farga i Pellicer (1844–1890), also known as the "Just Pastor of Pellico", was a Catalan typesetter, political cartoonist, painter, syndicalist, anarchist and journalist from Spain. Works and collaborations *''Garibaldi. Historia Libera ...

Nicolás Alonso Marselau 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), ...

Tomás González Morago Tomás González Morago (n/a-1885) was a notable Spanish anarchist. Morago, who was an engraver, was also a prominent member of the labor organization Primera Internacional in Spain. Accounts cite him as the first and greatest of the Spanish an ...

French sections * * American sections * Gustave Lefrançais

References

Bibliography

* {{Portal bar, Anarchism, Socialism, Switzerland 1872 conferences 1872 in politics Anarchism in Switzerland History of anarchism History of socialism Jura Federation International Workingmen's Association Political congresses 1872 in Switzerland September 1872 events