Émile Basly
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Émile Basly (29 March 1854 – 11 February 1928) is one of the great figures of
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
ism in mining in the mineral field of
Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (; ; West Flemish: ''Nôord-Nauw van Kales'') was a former regions of France, administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new Regions of France, region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the ...
, France, along with Arthur Lamendin. He is primarily known for his participation in the
strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...
of 1884, when he became known as "the untameable miner" and "the
tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
of Lens". He was the inspiration for the character ''Etienne Lantier'' in
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...
's novel '' Germinal''.Zola, E. Germinal. trans. MacKenzie, R. 2011. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. pp. xxii


Early years

Émile Joseph Basly was born on 29 March 1854 in
Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...
, Nord. Basly entered mining as a ''galibot'' (
minor Minor may refer to: Common meanings * Minor (law), a person not under the age of certain legal activities. * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Mathematics * Minor (graph theory), a relation of one graph to an ...
) at the age of twelve. He was one of the leaders of the 1880 strike at the Compagnie des mines d'Anzin, which led to the creation in 1883 of the Union of Miners (Syndicat des ouvriers mineurs), of which Basly became general secretary. After the creation of the
Trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
of the minors of
Anzin Anzin (; older ; ) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France.Commune d' ...
in 1882, Basly became its
secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...
, and subsequently its president in 1891. He was delegate for the miners of Nord to the 1883 miners' congress in
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...
, where he vigorously supported their demands. Another strike began at Anzin in February 1884 after 140 workers, mostly union members, were dismissed. The company called in troops to defend the mines, and refused to make any concessions. The strike lasted 56 days, and was headline news in France, but failed completely. During this strike Basly emerged as a leader of the miners. He became secretary general of the Nord miners' union, president of the Pas-de-Calais miners' union. During the 1884 Anzin strike he came to Paris to defend the miners' grievances and demands before the Parliamentary Committee established to examine the strike. He spoke in several public meetings, and became well known in the press for his strong socialist views.


National deputy

Basly was elected deputy for Pas-de-Calais on 4 October 1885. Soon after the 1885 session opened Antide Boyer, Émile Basly, Zéphyrin Camélinat and others formed the "workers' group", a small socialist group independent of the extreme left. The members of the workers' group summarized their demands in a manifesto on 12 March 1886: Basly was reelected as Deputy for Pas-de-Calais on 22 February 1891, 20 August 1893, 8 May 1898, 27 April 1902, 6 May 1906, 24 April 1910, 26 April 1914, 16 November 1919 and 11 May 1924, holding office until his death on 11 February 1928. Basly became
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...
in 1900, and devoted the last ten years of his life to rebuilding the city, which had been completely destroyed during
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He continued to serve as mayor until his death there in 1928. Émile Basly died on 11 February 1928 in
Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...
, Nord. Rue Émile Basly is a street in Avion, named in his honor.


References


Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Basly, Emile 1854 births 1928 deaths People from Valenciennes French Section of the Workers' International politicians Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 6th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 8th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 9th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 11th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 13th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Mayors of Lens, Pas-de-Calais Members of the General Confederation of Labour (France)