Paris Commune

The Paris Commune was a radical self-governing government established by an uprising in Paris in 1871. It lasted from March to May, before French government forces crushed it.

Central Committee of the National Guard: The body of National Guard delegates that governed Paris after the collapse of imperial authority in March 1871. It transferred authority to the Commune after the National Guard’s victory in the uprising.
Franco-Prussian War: The 1870–1871 war in which Prussia and its German allies defeated France and brought down the Second French Empire. The war’s defeat and Paris siege destabilized the government and armed the capital’s citizens.
Louise Michel: A French teacher, anarchist, and Communard who served as an ambulance worker and fought during the defense of Paris. Her activism and later memoir made her one of the Commune’s most enduring public figures.
Versailles government: The French national government that operated from Versailles during the Commune and led the campaign to retake Paris. It represented the rival authority that crushed the Commune and restored national control.
National Guard (France): A French citizen militia whose Paris units became a major political and military force during the Franco-Prussian War. Its armed battalions defended the Commune and supplied much of its political base.
Siege of Paris (1870–1871): The Prussian siege of Paris from September 1870 to January 1871, marked by hunger, bombardment, and civilian hardship. The siege strengthened the National Guard and intensified distrust of the national government.
Élisabeth Dmitrieff: A Russian socialist organizer who helped found the Union of Women for the Defense of Paris and Care of the Wounded. Her organizing linked women’s labor activism to the Commune’s defense and social program.
Deportation to New Caledonia: The forced exile of thousands of people convicted for involvement in the Paris Commune to the French colony of New Caledonia. It was a major punishment imposed on Communards after the uprising’s defeat.
Paris Commune Council: The elected governing council of Paris from March to May 1871. This council enacted the Commune’s policies and appointed executive commissions.
French Third Republic: The French republican regime established in 1870 and lasting until 1940. The fledgling Republic’s government, based at Versailles, confronted the Commune for control of France.

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