Asturian miners' strike of 1934

The Asturian miners' strike of 1934 was a major strike action which took place in Asturias in northern Spain soon developing into armed insurrection against the Spanish government.^[1]

Background

Following the victory of the parties of the right in the General Election of 1933, the parties of the left became concerned that the new government would move towards authoritarianism and infringe worker's rights. As a result, they called a general strike. However the strike immediately exposed differences on the left between the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) linked Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), which organised the strike and the anarcho-syndicalist union, the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), which was sceptical of the value of strike action as a political tactic. As a result, the strike failed in much of Spain.

Asturian miners' strike

In several mining towns in Asturias, local unions gathered small arms and were determined to see the strike through. The strike began on the evening of October 4, with the miners occupying several towns, attacking and seizing local Civil and Assault Guard barracks.^[2] The following day saw columns of miners advancing along the road to Oviedo, the provincial capital. With the exception of two barracks where fighting with government troops continued, the city was taken by October 6. The miners proceeded to occupy several other towns, most notably the large industrial centre of La Felguera and set up town assemblies or 'revolutionary committees', to govern towns they controlled.^[3]

The government responded by organising troops led by Francisco Franco to retake the towns from the miners. These troops were carried on the CNT-controlled railways to Asturias without resistance by the anarchists. On October 7, delegates from the anarchist controlled seaport towns of Gijón and Avilés arrived in Oviedo to request weapons to defend against a landing of government troops. Ignored by the socialist UGT controlled committee, the delegates returned to their town empty handed and government troops met little resistance as they recaptured Gijón and Avilés the following day.^[4] The capture of the two key ports effectively spelled the end of the strike.

Aftermath

In the armed action taken against the uprising some 3,000 miners were killed in the fighting with another 30,000^[5]-40,000 taken prisoner,^[6] and another thousands sacked from their jobs.^[7] The repression of the uprising carried out by the colonial troops was very harsh including looting, rape and summary executions.^[8][9] According to Hugh Thomas 2,000 persons died in the uprising: 230-260 members of the army forces, 33 priests, 1,500 miners in combat and 200 killed in the repression (among them the journalist Luis de Sirval, who pointed out the tortures and executions and was arrested and killed by three officers of the Legion).^[5] The government suspended Constitutional guarantees, almost all the left's newspapers were closed, hundreds of town councils^[10] and mixed juries were suspended and the torture in prisons was widespread.^[11]

References

1. ^ Payne, Stanley G. (1973). "A History of Spain and Portugal (Print Edition)". University of Wisconsin Press (Library of Iberian resources online) Vol. 2, Ch. 25: 637. http://libro.uca.edu/payne2/payne25.htm. Retrieved 17 April 2010. 
2. ^ Jackson, Gabriel. The Spanish Republic and the Civil War,1931-1939. Princenton University Press. Princenton. 1967. pp.154-155
3. ^ Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.131
4. ^ Jackson, Gabriel. The Spanish Republic and the Civil War,1931-1939. Princenton University Press. Princenton. 1967. p.157
5. ^ ^{a b} Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. 2001. London. p.136
6. ^ Jackson, Gabriel. The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939. Princeton University Press. Princeton. 1967. p.161
7. ^ Beevor, Antony. The battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Penguin Books. 2006. London. p.32
8. ^ Beevor, Antony. The battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Penguin Books. 2006. London. pp.31-32
9. ^ Jackson, Gabriel. The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939. Princeton University Press. Princeton. 1967. pp.159-160
10. ^ Graham, Helen. The Spanish Civil War. A very short introduction. Oxford University Press. 2005. p.16
11. ^ Jackson, Gabriel. The Spanish Republic and the Civil War,1931-1939. Princeton University Press. Princeton. 1967. p.160

Bibliography

• Beevor, Antony. The battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939. Penguin Books. 2006. London.

• García Gómez, Emilio. Asturias 1934. Historia de una tragedia. Pórtico. 2010. Zaragoza.

• Graham, Helen. The Spanish Civil War. A very short introduction. Oxford University Press. 2005.

• Jackson, Gabriel. The Spanish Republic and the Civil War,1931-1939. Princenton University Press. 1967. Princenton.

• Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. Penguin Books. 2001. London. ISBN 978-0-14-101161-5

External links

• 1934: The Asturias Revolt at libcom.org
• Republican Spain at countrystudies.us