Anarchism & Syndicalism
The International Anarchist Congress
Amsterdam, 26-31 August 1907
This is the story of the International Anarchist Congress that was held at the Plancius Hall in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 26 to 31 August 1907. The previous anarchist congress had been back in 1881 in London and was an attempt to re-launch the old International, though it inaugurated the age of "anarchist terrorism", moving the anarchist movement away from the masses of the working people.
The period between 1881 and 1907 saw huge changes within the workers' movement. By then, however, the anarchists had placed themselves firmly outside the sphere of labour, though some comrades did remain close to the workers. When the anarchist movement eventually understood that it had to put an end to its isolation, the result was the calling of an international congress to be held in Amsterdam which was to deal with the most important issues of the day: the attitude of anarchists to the new phenomenon of syndicalism and the question of anarchist organization.
In the introduction to the 1978 book "Dibattito sul sindacalismo: Atti del Congresso Internazionale anarchico di Amsterdam (1907)", labour historian Maurizio Antonioli examines the process that led to the Amsterdam Congress and its significance both within the labour movement and the anarchist movement. Antonioli then goes on to compile the various reports in anarchist journals of the time, producing what is possibly the most complete record of the Congress and the debates that lasted six days. We present here Antonioli's introduction together with a slightly abridged version of the rest of the book, having omitted some of the lesser debates and introductory speeches. With time we hope to include these also. The footnote numbers are those in the original text. Translation from Italian to English is by Nestor McNab.
Anarchism and/or Syndicalism, by Maurizio Antonioli
The International Anarchist Congress
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