The First International, founded in London in 1864, and the anarchist ideas associated with this organization, took barely four years to take root in Spain. This rapid process was no accident. As historian Teresa Abelló has pointed out, the September Revolution of 1868, which ended the reign of Isabel II and inaugurated the Democratic Sexenium, created a favorable context for the expansion of these proposals. This period, with pedagogy as one of its key pillars, promoted political and union freedoms, fostering the growth of workers’ societies that had previously been restricted.
In this context, the women of the First International, often silenced by documentation and historiography, played a crucial role in shaping workers’ resistance, at least until January 1874, when the First Republic came to an end. Thus, their participation in public events was significant throughout Spanish territory. For example, following a strike by shoemakers in Barcelona, the newspaper La Federación (on September 1, 1872) highlighted how this mobilization had motivated women in the trade, leading over three hundred to join the corresponding section in just a few days. Among the many women found across the territory, even in towns like Vilafranca del Penedès, 50 kilometers from the Catalan capital, a section of weavers was established, organizing assemblies and solidifying their activities within the community.
In any case, their participation was not limited to propaganda or mobilization. Figures like Guillermina Rojas, Petronila Pellicer, Baudilia Pi, and Isabel Vilà also stood out as leaders in the educational field. From their work as teachers to their labor as workers, they made pedagogy a central axis for women’s emancipation. In this regard, institutions like the Ateneo Catalán de la Clase Obrera in Barcelona supported this transformative vision, promoting women’s schools led by these pioneers.
The legacy of all these women transcends their time. Their struggle for education, social justice, and equality marked a milestone in the history of the labor movement and anarchism. Despite the obstacles and invisibility imposed on them for decades, their role was essential in laying the foundations for women’s emancipation and demonstrating that they not only supported the workers’ cause but were active agents of change in a deeply unequal society.
Associate Professor of Contemporary History at the Rovira i Virgili University