Natalie Behrends

@_amysalem alas no

Delegates from 24 countries gathered in Paris on July 14, 1889, the 100th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, at two separate congresses to form the Second or Socialist International. The two groups would merge at a second congress in Brussels in 1891. #OTD #France

Tomorrow!! The conference "Working-class Anti-imperialism and the Global Left: New Directions of Study" is taking place at @BristolUni thanks to the support of the #ELHN, @StudyLabHistory, Sorbonne Nouvelle and @UoBrisHistory. /1

In honor of #Juneteenth here is a paper talisman written by enslaved African Muslims in early America. These paper talismans were used for protection and to organize resistance. They also highlight the high levels of literacy.

📢 Call for Papers 📝 Precarious Labour - Open Call for Proposals 📆 Deadline 1 September 2023 The Precarious Labour Working Group will participate in the Fifth ELHN Conference with thematic sessions. More information about paper and session proposals: socialhistoryportal.org/news/articles/…

In honor of all the unsung heroes and to solidarity of workers all across the globe. Happy International Workers’ Day. #MayDay2023

It's Wojtek day!! On this day in 1942, Polish troops adopted a bear

“The Earth was made to be a Common Treasury of relief for all, both Beasts and Men...” #OnThisDay 1649: Gerrard Winstanley and a small group of 30-40 men and women (‘Diggers’) started digging and sowing vegetables on the wasteland of St George’s Hill, Surrey.

And in the US and other settler states, nationalism took on a very different valence as it tangled with questions of race, gender, and citizenship. Just one of many interesting directions for the old ‘national question’ scholarship to explore!

There is convincing evidence in the literature on nationalism in the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires to suggest that the nation was far from the most important category of identification for many of their citizens, particularly outside of bourgeois intellectual circles/

Excellent observations here by Jean-Numa Ducange! Very much looking forward to the book. I do still wonder how fixed the idea of the ‘nation’ was in the mind of socialists across the breadth of the Second International. Did they see it as an essential part of a socialist future?/

#OtD 22 Mar 1974 Scottish workers in the East Killbride Rolls Royce factory refused to work on plane parts from Pinochet's Chile. They kept the refusal up for 4 years, leaving the engines outside to rust, before they went missing one night

Two childhood friends meet during a protest. One is a factory worker, the other is a riot officer. Guy Burmieux and Jean-Yvon Antignac were childhood friends but they chose different paths in life. On April 6, 1972 in Brittany, France, Guy was part of a protest to get better working conditions. Jean-Yvon and other riot officers were called in to quell the protestors.

The best way for travelers to handle strikes is to view them as a cultural experience. In Marseille, I was surrounded by thousands marching in the streets. I enjoyed photographing striking parents with kids on their shoulders—and learned firsthand what labor action is all about.

Here’s Keir Hardie and his membership card of the Independent Labour Party (ILP). This year marks the 130th anniversary of the ILP’s founding. Check out their enormous archive (over 260 boxes!) and get in touch if you'd like to come see it: archives.lse.ac.uk/Record.aspx?sr…

Starting in 2014, I logged the price of every slice of pizza I ate in NYC. Almost 500 slices later, the results are in. Check it out here: elkue.com/nyc-slice/

Austro-Hungarian passport issued at Lemberg, 1877.

Santa is a Teamster