The “Sacred Duty of Repression”: Social Question and Revolutionary Fear. The Strike on August 1917. The Case of Ourense

Abstract

Abstract

During the days 13th to 21st of August 1917, the general strike extended to all of the Spanish State. It took place in the context of a particular conjuncture, characterized by the strong economic tensions in imbalances and inequality. In this paper, the events and particular characteristics of the general strike in the city of Ourense are presented, comparing with what happened in the rest of the national territory. In the local events the same factors that justified the strike for its strikers, similar developments and identical responses of the authorities are manifested. This study, however, does not want to be localized and has focused both on the knowledge of the facts and on the analysis of the social-economic framework to reflect on two general issues: the «revolutionary character» in which the strike was characterized, not least, the fact that advances and achievements in social and labor rights were mainly the fruit of the claim. Poor distribution of wealth, problems of subsistence, class struggle, precarious work and poor development of institutional mechanisms of social protection, constituted the framework in which the strike took place. At the same time, political actors, precisely because of the mentality of change and regeneration that permeated society, favored with their attitude the revolutionary perception of it. As a contribution to the historical memory of the workers ‘struggle in the city, this study has a previous historiography, both on the strike in Ourense, and on the development of workers’ associations in Galicia, with the closest antecedent being the work of Freán Hernández for the Vigo University. For the present essay, judicial and ecclesiastical documents, supplemented with press archives, as well as bibliographical material of circles and conservative authors or moderate moderates have been used, as primary sources. Due to their technical nature and the data they provide, we have also used the statistical information provided by the then-current Institute of Social Reforms.