Manchester University Press
12 No one is safe
Abstract
This chapter explores the consequences of dynamite promotion by the likes of Most, by looking at the explosion of anarchist terrorism that occurred in Europe in the 1890s. The epicentre of this wave of political violence was France, where radical magazines were read widely by a generation of unemployed and agitated young men, victims of economic recession and labour exploitation. One of these men, who went by the nom de guerre Ravachol, became the most infamous terrorist of the fin de siècle, detonating explosives in Paris and inspiring emulators who attacked the Chamber of Deputies, Parisian cafés and, in 1894, even assassinated the French president, Pierre François Sadi Carnot. This was one of several assassinations that took place over the course of the 1890s, taking the lives of kings, empresses and political leaders. The self-radicalisation that underpinned these attacks lay in stark contrast to the lingering notion that a global anarchist conspiracy lay behind the violence. The truth, that ‘lone wolves’ – or, as one radical dubbed them, ‘hot-heads’ – were carrying out attacks without the need for conspiracy presented a problem to law enforcement across the transatlantic world.
Abstract
This chapter explores the consequences of dynamite promotion by the likes of Most, by looking at the explosion of anarchist terrorism that occurred in Europe in the 1890s. The epicentre of this wave of political violence was France, where radical magazines were read widely by a generation of unemployed and agitated young men, victims of economic recession and labour exploitation. One of these men, who went by the nom de guerre Ravachol, became the most infamous terrorist of the fin de siècle, detonating explosives in Paris and inspiring emulators who attacked the Chamber of Deputies, Parisian cafés and, in 1894, even assassinated the French president, Pierre François Sadi Carnot. This was one of several assassinations that took place over the course of the 1890s, taking the lives of kings, empresses and political leaders. The self-radicalisation that underpinned these attacks lay in stark contrast to the lingering notion that a global anarchist conspiracy lay behind the violence. The truth, that ‘lone wolves’ – or, as one radical dubbed them, ‘hot-heads’ – were carrying out attacks without the need for conspiracy presented a problem to law enforcement across the transatlantic world.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Dedication iv
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- Dramatis personae ix
- Timeline xv
- Preface xxi
- Acknowledgements xxvi
- Prologue. The prophet of terror 1
- I Harbingers 11
- 1 Three bombs in Paris 13
- 2 ‘The Moloch of radicalism’ 30
- 3 For those in Hell 44
- 4 Breakers of worlds 59
- 5 Insurgents across borders 75
- II Conspirators? 91
- 6 Gathering storms 93
- 7 City of enemies 109
- 8 Chasing chimeras 125
- III Devils 147
- 9 Murder triumphant 149
- 10 The dynamite lesson 168
- 11 Thoughts that light fires 186
- 12 No one is safe 203
- 13 Of fright and fantasy 221
- 14 All towards its end 246
- Epilogue. Ouroboros 264
- Notes 269
- Bibliography 308
- Index 335
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Dedication iv
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- Dramatis personae ix
- Timeline xv
- Preface xxi
- Acknowledgements xxvi
- Prologue. The prophet of terror 1
- I Harbingers 11
- 1 Three bombs in Paris 13
- 2 ‘The Moloch of radicalism’ 30
- 3 For those in Hell 44
- 4 Breakers of worlds 59
- 5 Insurgents across borders 75
- II Conspirators? 91
- 6 Gathering storms 93
- 7 City of enemies 109
- 8 Chasing chimeras 125
- III Devils 147
- 9 Murder triumphant 149
- 10 The dynamite lesson 168
- 11 Thoughts that light fires 186
- 12 No one is safe 203
- 13 Of fright and fantasy 221
- 14 All towards its end 246
- Epilogue. Ouroboros 264
- Notes 269
- Bibliography 308
- Index 335
