Uploaded November 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This video is a short history of the Paris Commune which existed in the summer of 1871. It was the first workers revolution and supposed to be the beginning of an overthrow of the old capitalist and imperial systems! It used a combination of socialist and anarchist ideas and is often times considered both the first anarchist AND the first socialist revolution.
Sources:
voyagesphotosmanu.com/industrialization_in_france.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune
Image attribution: marxists.org/history/france/paris-commune/images/index.html
Twitter: twitter.com/Viki1999Yt
Transcript: (At least as much as YT let's me put here)
In 1871 for a few months during the summer there was something unusual going on in Paris. A completely functional democratic commune was formed by the working people and they brought reforms that could still be considered revolutionary today. Anarchists, Marxists and other socialists worked together on this project which was supposed to be the beginning of a worldwide workers revolution. But let’s take a step back and see how we got there.
As I am sure you are well aware, during the mid-18th century the industrial revolution happened which led to the people who used to be farmers to be unemployed since new farming equipment meant that farming required less work and the introduction of private property centralized all farm land in the hands of wealthy elites. Those new unemployed farmers went to the cities to work in the new industrialized factories.
One of those cities was Paris and it had huge amounts of factories that needed workers. Of course, since this was before unions or labor rights the workers had to work for 12 sometimes 18 hours a day every day without weekends or vacations to look forward to. For some reason those people weren’t happy and there where multiple riots and demonstrations throughout the century.
The French government at the time was the 2nd French empire ruled by Napoleon. … No no not that one. His nephew. Napoleon the third. He tried to emulate his uncle in every way he could but he never managed it. And the fact that they were back to an emperor didn’t quite please the people either. The climate in Paris was revolutionary. The high number of alienated workers cramped in small places and the availability of new socialist and anarchist literature gave Paris the potential of revolution.
But while Napoleon the third and his government where going about the usual business of suppressing workers, making themselves richer and granting themselves privileges, across the border there was someone provoking them. The Prussians under Bismarck wanted a confrontation to get Elsass and Loraine and to unify the smaller German states into a single German empire. The Germans sent a letter which the French didn’t like and a week later napoleon had declared a that he would invade them.
A wave of nationalism swept across France. The workers and revolutionaries of Paris focused on banding together with the bourgeoisie against the Prussians and forgot about that class struggle and stuff like that. They where going to destroy the Prussians and rule Europe just like they did under Napoleon the first! And then the French army got itself surrounded and the emperor was captured by the Germans.
Upon loosing their head of government the rest of the French leader ship decided that this was as good a time as any to proclaim the 2nd French republic! Which immediately got destroyed. And then they proclaimed the 3rd French republic! And the Prussians promptly surrounded the capital city of Paris. And asked for Elsass and Loraine plus a lot of money in exchange for peace. The government declared that they would not give up an inch of territory to the Prussian invader! The Prussians dug trenches around Paris and decided to wait until the French would give up.
Weeks turned to months and nothing much happened besides the fact that the food and coal supply got lower. At the time there where 50 thousand professional soldiers and 120 thousand recruits who were loyal to the government and 300 thousand men from the national guard. After some more starving and suffering there was a proposal for an armistice with the Germans. The condition was that the French army had to give up their arms. The national guard was exempted from this because the government argued they needed them to keep order.
Now the national guard was mostly made up of civilians and they where organized by the districts they where from. They mostly reflected the opinions of the workers of Paris and the surrounding provinces which was inspired by socialist and anarchist writing. They weren’t exactly disciplined and even demanded to elect their own officers and sometimes refused to follow orders unless they had democratically decided if they were okay with that. Can you imagine that? Democracy in the army?
This video is a short history of the Paris Commune which existed in the summer of 1871. It was the first workers revolution and supposed to be the beginning of an overthrow of the old capitalist and imperial systems! It used a combination of socialist and anarchist ideas and is often times considered both the first anarchist AND the first socialist revolution.
Sources:
voyagesphotosmanu.com/industrialization_in_france.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune
Image attribution: marxists.org/history/france/paris-commune/images/index.html
Twitter: twitter.com/Viki1999Yt
Transcript: (At least as much as YT let's me put here)
In 1871 for a few months during the summer there was something unusual going on in Paris. A completely functional democratic commune was formed by the working people and they brought reforms that could still be considered revolutionary today. Anarchists, Marxists and other socialists worked together on this project which was supposed to be the beginning of a worldwide workers revolution. But let’s take a step back and see how we got there.
As I am sure you are well aware, during the mid-18th century the industrial revolution happened which led to the people who used to be farmers to be unemployed since new farming equipment meant that farming required less work and the introduction of private property centralized all farm land in the hands of wealthy elites. Those new unemployed farmers went to the cities to work in the new industrialized factories.
One of those cities was Paris and it had huge amounts of factories that needed workers. Of course, since this was before unions or labor rights the workers had to work for 12 sometimes 18 hours a day every day without weekends or vacations to look forward to. For some reason those people weren’t happy and there where multiple riots and demonstrations throughout the century.
The French government at the time was the 2nd French empire ruled by Napoleon. … No no not that one. His nephew. Napoleon the third. He tried to emulate his uncle in every way he could but he never managed it. And the fact that they were back to an emperor didn’t quite please the people either. The climate in Paris was revolutionary. The high number of alienated workers cramped in small places and the availability of new socialist and anarchist literature gave Paris the potential of revolution.
But while Napoleon the third and his government where going about the usual business of suppressing workers, making themselves richer and granting themselves privileges, across the border there was someone provoking them. The Prussians under Bismarck wanted a confrontation to get Elsass and Loraine and to unify the smaller German states into a single German empire. The Germans sent a letter which the French didn’t like and a week later napoleon had declared a that he would invade them.
A wave of nationalism swept across France. The workers and revolutionaries of Paris focused on banding together with the bourgeoisie against the Prussians and forgot about that class struggle and stuff like that. They where going to destroy the Prussians and rule Europe just like they did under Napoleon the first! And then the French army got itself surrounded and the emperor was captured by the Germans.
Upon loosing their head of government the rest of the French leader ship decided that this was as good a time as any to proclaim the 2nd French republic! Which immediately got destroyed. And then they proclaimed the 3rd French republic! And the Prussians promptly surrounded the capital city of Paris. And asked for Elsass and Loraine plus a lot of money in exchange for peace. The government declared that they would not give up an inch of territory to the Prussian invader! The Prussians dug trenches around Paris and decided to wait until the French would give up.
Weeks turned to months and nothing much happened besides the fact that the food and coal supply got lower. At the time there where 50 thousand professional soldiers and 120 thousand recruits who were loyal to the government and 300 thousand men from the national guard. After some more starving and suffering there was a proposal for an armistice with the Germans. The condition was that the French army had to give up their arms. The national guard was exempted from this because the government argued they needed them to keep order.
Now the national guard was mostly made up of civilians and they where organized by the districts they where from. They mostly reflected the opinions of the workers of Paris and the surrounding provinces which was inspired by socialist and anarchist writing. They weren’t exactly disciplined and even demanded to elect their own officers and sometimes refused to follow orders unless they had democratically decided if they were okay with that. Can you imagine that? Democracy in the army?
