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Towards a timeline of anarchism in Britain
Rob Ray
25 May 2017
In his 1978 book Slow Burning Fuse, which Freedom republished in 2014 and will be reprinting at this year’s London Anarchist Bookfair with full index, historian John Quail put together a unique timeline covering the period 1880-1930, picking out some of the key moments in the history of the British anarchist movement. A similar timeline covering the 87 years since then however hasn’t been produced—until now.
The project below doubtless contains mistakes, partiality in its decisions, and possibly even glaring holes, but it aims to give an overview of sorts for the movements of 1931 onwards, from the solidarity with Spanish anarchism that drove interwar organising, to post-war squatters, ’60s countercultures, anti-nuclear and anti-fascist work, the explosion of ’90s green direct action and today’s tenacious refugee solidarity. To start the process of building a history of anarchism on a rainy Atlantic island.

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