Highlights
for March 18
1871: Paris Commune Established
Ever since the French Revolution of 1789, the residents of Paris
had a reputation for rebelliousness and political radicalism.
Fearful of those tendencies, the national government of France had
never allowed Paris any political autonomy. But in 1871, a brief
period of total autonomy occurred under very special circumstances.
The Franco-Prussian war (1870-1871) had gone poorly for France, and
German troops besieged Paris. Emperor Napoleon III reluctantly
allowed Parisian men to form a National Guard to defend the city.
But at the end of February, 1871 the French government surrendered
to the Germans. The people of Paris, who had suffered greatly
during the siege and were generally opposed to the surrender, were
furious; the National Guard kept their weapons and intended to use
them. Realizing that they could never reach a final peace
settlement with the Germans until the citizens of Paris lay down
their weapons, the French government sent troops into Paris to
disarm the National Guard on March 18, 1871. But things worked out
differently. Instead of obeying their orders, the government's
soldiers fraternized with the National Guard and joined cause with
the citizens of Paris.
Rejecting the authority of the French government, the National
Guard organized elections for a Commune of Paris, whose members
took office on March 26. Radical Republicans and socialists
dominated the Commune, which quickly became the de facto authority
in Paris. In addition to efficiently administering Europe's second
largest city, the Commune initiated a whole range of progressive
reforms.
The communal experiment lasted only sixty days. On May 21, the
French government troops attacked Paris, and in a week of savage
civil war that left tens of thousands of Parisians dead, they
reoccupied the city. Although short-lived, the Paris Commune was a
remarkable experiment in participatory democracy and socialism in
what was then one of Europe's most developed urban centers.
A library of photographs, political cartoons, and other images from
the Paris Commune:
http://www.library.nwu.edu/spec/siege/
If
you have other Birthdays or events to add for this day please
E-Mail me.
 |
Today |
|
Tomorrow |
 |
