La Mano Negra
La Mano Negra (Spanish, in English, "The Black Hand") was an alleged secret and violent anarchist organization that was founded in Andalucia, Spain at the end of the 19th century.
Although local anarchist groups denied the organization, the police carried out a strong repression against anarchists based on four crimes committed by La Mano Negra at the end of 1882, and the first months of 1883.
The results of the ensuing revolt were that 15 peasants were condemned to death, of which 7 where executed in the Plaza del Mercado in Jerez de la Frontera, on June 14 of 1884. The trial was covered by Leopoldo Alas (Clarín) for the Jerez newspaper El Día, who also reported on the condition of Andalusian peasants.
Even today it is not clear if La Mano Negra existed, or if it was an invention of the government of Práxedes Mateo Sagasta to combat the revolts of the countryside in the south of Spain, as Vicente Blasco Ibáñez claimed in his novel La Bodega.
See also
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References
- Diario Bahía de Cádiz: La Mano Negra: Luces y Sombras, Carlos Alberto Cabrera, Toñi Caravaca.