|
Carlo Cafiero was born September 1, 1846 in Barletta, Italy. He was the
son of a wealthy family of Southern Italian bourgeoisie i.e. nobility. Carlo was considered the 'black sheep' of the
family. He became a revolutionary early in his life and eventually
supported and joined the international and later became the leader of the
Italian anarchist movement.
Cafiero studied in Naples, where
he graduated with a law degree. Following his graduation he traveled to Florence
where he joined the diplomatic core. Beginning 1870s he traveled
to Paris, and later to London, where he spent some time. He was in
London when he left his diplomatic career, renounced wealth and family, and
joined the revolution and socialist movement.
While in London, Cafiero was
introduced to Marx and Engels. He joined their "Internazionale"
movement, an Association of Working Men. He was tasked to recruit citizens
in Italy to join into Marx' ideology. However, Italy had become strongly
influenced by Bakunin's anarchism and Mazzini's republican movement.
During an assembly in Naples where he was revitalizing the old section of the
Internazionale he was arrested and imprisoned for a short time.
In 1872 he met Bakunin in Locarno (Switzerland)
where he spent a month discussing Bakunin's ideas and objections to Marx and Engels’
ideology. After a year of hard work in recruiting Italians for Marx and
Engels Cafiero joined Bakunin's anarchist movement.
Cafiero sold his inheritance (mostly land) to finance the establishment of an international center for the revolution
on a farm in Switzerland that he purchased. Bakunin would live on that
property that became known under the name 'La
Baronata' an later also served as a shelter for revolutionaries on the run from
their governments.
In 1875 Cafiero joined the editorial staff of the first socialist daily paper, ‘La Plebe’,
in Milan.
In April 1877, Cafiero, Malatesta, Ceccarelli, the Russian Stepniak together
with 30 other comrades began an insurrection in the province of
Benevento. They conquered the villages of Letino and Gallo. During their
departure from Gallo, government troops arrested Cafiero and his comrades.
He remained in prison until his trial almost 1 years later, were he was acquitted
of all charges in August 1878.
Cafiero wrote some of his most important works during his time in prison: 'The Compendium of The Capital', published later by 'La Plebe Editions' in Milan. The work was appreciated and praised even by Marx who found it superior to other similar works. Cafiero
moved to Marseilles in 1878 where he worked as a cook. In October he and Malatesta
were arrested and deported from France. He found refuge in Switzerland,
where he met Kropotkin.
In 1881 Cafiero returned to London, where he remained
until March 1882 when he returned to Italy. Cafiero wanted to take part in the
upcoming electoral campaign. On April 5 he was arrested without being charged.
After one month of incarceration he became very depressed and attempted suicide
by cutting his vein. After significant local protest, Cafiero was released
and was given the choice of being deported either to Barletta, his birth town, or exile to Switzerland.
In February 1883 with Cafiero's mental capacities deteriorating he left for Florence.
He was later found in a grotto. After thorough evaluation he was committed
to a mental institution in Florence and was transferred in 1891 to a mental institution
in Nocera Inferiore, where he died in 1892.
|
