Louise Michel

Louise Michel (1830–1905) was a French teacher, revolutionary, and anarchist who became a prominent figure in the Paris Commune.

Théophile Ferré: Théophile Ferré was a French revolutionary and member of the Paris Commune, executed in 1871. Michel’s close relationship with Ferré connected her personal life to the Commune’s defeat and repression.
Paris Commune: The Paris Commune was a revolutionary municipal government that ruled Paris from March to May 1871. Michel’s prominence arose through her activism and armed defense of this short-lived government.
Deportation to New Caledonia: The French government deported thousands of Communards to New Caledonia after the suppression of the Paris Commune. Michel spent years in exile there after refusing to seek a reduced sentence.
Anarchist feminism: Anarchist feminism links opposition to patriarchy with opposition to state power and other coercive hierarchies. Michel’s militancy and advocacy for women’s emancipation connect her legacy to this tradition.
Victorine Brocher: Victorine Brocher was a French Communard, memoirist, and later anarchist activist. Brocher’s life offers a fellow woman’s account of participation in the Commune and its aftermath.
Franco-Prussian War: The Franco-Prussian War was a conflict between France and Prussia and its German allies from 1870 to 1871. The war’s defeat and siege of Paris created the crisis in which Michel became a revolutionary.
Amnesty of 1880: The French amnesty of 1880 allowed many people convicted for participation in the Paris Commune to return from exile. The amnesty ended Michel’s deportation and brought her back to political life in France.
Communard memory: Communard memory is the political and cultural remembrance of the Paris Commune and its defeated participants. Michel’s reputation helped shape how later generations remembered the Commune’s militants.
Élisée Reclus: Élisée Reclus was a French geographer and anarchist thinker. Reclus belonged to the anarchist milieu Michel joined after the Commune.
Siege of Paris: The Siege of Paris was the German encirclement of the French capital from September 1870 to January 1871. During the siege, Michel organized aid and joined the political mobilization that preceded the Commune.

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