Syndicalism

Throughout the 19th century, trade unions became a privileged strategy for creating mechanisms to protect workforce against abuses from patrons and the liberal state. Syndicalism often carries revolutionary aims and defends the autonomy of the working classes in the democratic or violent processes leading to the fair organization of production and administration in any given society.

This database contains extra-European and/or diasporic syndicalist journals that evince the political effectiveness of workers aggrupations in a wide variety of historical contexts. They bear witness to the awareness of various collectives around the world about the ties linking capitalism and colonialism, and to their organized resistance against productive systems often based on racialized socio-economic relationships. Publications such as The Negro Worker (1928-1931), Nous Créoles (1964-1970), Combat Reunionnais (1971-1987), or the numerous editorial projects of Madagascan activist Jean Ralaimongo (1895-1944) are some telling examples of workforce struggles in colonial contexts to access labor rights, but also citizenship and more broadly human rights.