The anarchist inquisition: terrorism and the ethics of modernity in Spain, 1893-1909

“The Anarchist Inquisition” examines how a nascent international human rights discourse grew out of a broader “ethics of modernity” in response to anarchist terrorism and state repression in Spain from 1893-1909. As authorities enhanced the scope of their arrests and torture and curtailed civil liberties in response to the bombing of a procession in Barcelona in 1896, an international movement for the rights of the victims of the Spanish state was born. In the next decade, several more instances of governmental brutality sparked campaigns that mobilized notions of human rights, even if they did not use the exact term. Using police records, press coverage, and correspondence between diplomats, activists and politicians in archives across Spain, France, the Netherlands, and England, I place Spain at the center of the story of how terrorism catalyzed the development of human rights.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Mark Bra