Philadelphes
Encyclopedia
The Philadelphes was an irregular masonic
lodge founded in France in the 1750s and which became a centre for conspiratorial revolutionary activity. It had seemingly close ties with French revolutionary Charles Nodier
(presumed grand master of the prieure de' sion at the period.) Nodier even spoke of the secret society after he published his book on the subject in 1822.
In the beginning it was made up mainly of French émigrés. From 1852 onwards, it had close ties with the political group La Commune Révolutionnaire, which it appears to have founded, as all of the prominent members of one organization were members of the other. Although some associates of Blanqui
were involved, such as Jean Baptiste Rougé and Theophile Thoré, they did not play a prominent role. This was taken rather by Montagnards
or Jacobins
, most of them with a long track record of conspiratorial politics.
Aside from La Commune Révolutionnaire, they also founded the International Association
, which existed from 1855 to 1859. Its principal tasks, as set out in its constitution, consisted of spreading the doctrine of solidarity and preparing to implement "the ideal of our hearts, the Universal Democratic and Social Republic". However, despite trying to develop ties with English Chartist
s, it remained an organisation of émigrés in England
and America
. Although it has been claimed that this was the first form of international proletarianism, it remained a conspiratorial group more like Mazzini's Young Europe
. They were also supporters of individual acts of terror
. Following Felice Orsini
's attempt on Napoleon III's life, the British government tried to put Simon Bernard
, another émigré, on trial. The Philadelphians defended both Bernard's actions and the assassination of tyrants. Indeed Alfred Talandier, Gustave Jourdain, Joseph Holyoake and Félix Pyat
(all Philadelphians) were the only people who spoke at his funeral a few years later. They also laid on a banquet (under the name of the Lodge) for Paolo Tibaldi when he arrived in London after serving a prison sentence for an attempt on the life of Napoeon III. Louis Blanc
, Talandier and Gustave Flourens
(another Philadelphian) spoke on this occasion.
The Philadlphians recruited principally amongst revolutionary socialists, but gained few recruits in Italian
émigré circles because of their sharp criticisms of Mazzini. Hence the lack of Italians in the International Association. This however changed in 1858-9 as the war between Piedmont
and Austria
started to brew. Despite the publication of a Manifesto criticising Mazzini for his anti-socialist stance emanating from the International Association, it was not signed by any of the leaders of La Commune Révolutionnaire or the Philadelphians. Evidence in the Vienna Staatsarchiv shows that there was a faction fight, and that the Philadelphians were opting for a rapprochment with Mazzini. Napoleon III's support for Piedmont facilitated Garibaldi's victories, even if they did not indicate a leftward political trajectory on behalf of the emperor.
Following his campaign in Italy, Garibaldi set up the International Legion
, led by Ludwik Mieroslawski
, and from 1859 to 1864 the Philadelphians concentrated on giving him support. According to La monde maçonnique (1874) Garibaldi, Mazzini, Charles Bradlaugh
and Louis Blanc were all members of the London Lodge of the United Philadelphians". A bloc was formed by the largely French Philadelphians with Garibaldi and his Italian followers. Soon their ranks were swelled by Belgians and Swiss, who then set about organising a new international organisation to replace the International Association. In 1863 Johan Philip-Becker sent out an invitation to a Congress of democratic and republican movements from all the countries of Western Europe
. The Congress was held in Brussels
in September 1863, prersided over by Pierre Coulery from La Chaux-de-Fonds
in Switzerland. It issued a resolution to create an Association Fédérative Universelle de la Démocratie. However this was eclipsed by Garibaldi's trip to London and the attempt to agitate among workers groups and democratric organisations.
The Philadelphians were very active in organising a reception for Garibaldi in London, setting up a special society called La France Libre. Official negotiations with government circles collapsed, but the Philadelphians played a major role in linking up with grassroots organisations. During this agitation they dropped the phrase "République Démocratique et Sociale Universelle", and socialist agitation took second place behind developing stronger relations between French and Italian democrats. No mention was made of Garibaldi's 1860 promise that the International Legion would carry the struggle to their own countries once Italy was liberated. However, the Philadelphians were moving towards mass politics and away from trying to influence government circles, particularly amongst their Belgian and Swiss allies, who had born the brunt of the organising the 1863 Congress in Belgium. Whether the Order of Memphis had set up groups in Geneva and Brussels remains unclear. At this time members of groups of Parisian workers visited London to acquaint themselves with the English Labour Movement
. Their approach was much more open and popular than the clandestine methods which the Order of Memphis had preserved from earlier generations. Yet the Philadelphes made a significant contribution to the setting up of the International Workingmen's Association
The Rite flourished in England
from about 1850 with numerous French language
lodges. Many ardent republicans became involved (Louis Blanc
, Alfred Talandier, Charles Longuet
and Giuseppe Garibaldi
, (honorary member)). In 1871, the fall of the Paris Commune
contributed to a decrease in Lodges which continued in 1880 following amnesty offered by the new French Republican government.
In Egypt
, the Rite developed quickly under the direction of Brother Solutore Avventure Zola, Grand Hierophant from 1873 until the reign of King Farouk. Marconis de Nègre implanted the Rite in America around 1856. This was developed under the energetic Grand Mastery of Harry Seymour in 1861.
In 1881 the two Rites were fused, effective as of 1889. From this moment, the Rite of Memphis-Misraim
spread across the world.
Constituted by Jacques Etienne Marconis de Nègre in 1838, the Rite of Memphis is a variant of the Rite of Misraïm. It takes the Egypto - alchemical mythology and completes it with pieces borrowed from the Templars
and chivalry.
The Rite of Memphis attracted personalities in quest of an ideal. It knew a certain success among military Lodges until 1841; the date where it was put to sleep. But, with the dismissal of Louis - Philippe in 1848, the Rite was reactivated.
In England, from about 1850 numerous English Lodges worked the Rite of Memphis in French. They maintained celebrity for having welcomed ardent Republicans (Louis Blanc
, Alfred Talandier, Charles Longuet
and Giuseppe Garibaldi, (honorary member)). In 1871, the fall of the Paris Commune
contributed to a decrease in Lodges that further declined around 1880 following the declaration of amnesty of the new French republican government.
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
lodge founded in France in the 1750s and which became a centre for conspiratorial revolutionary activity. It had seemingly close ties with French revolutionary Charles Nodier
Charles Nodier
Jean Charles Emmanuel Nodier , was a French author who introduced a younger generation of Romanticists to the conte fantastique, gothic literature, vampire tales, and the importance of dreams as part of literary creation, and whose career as a librarian is often underestimated by literary...
(presumed grand master of the prieure de' sion at the period.) Nodier even spoke of the secret society after he published his book on the subject in 1822.
In the beginning it was made up mainly of French émigrés. From 1852 onwards, it had close ties with the political group La Commune Révolutionnaire, which it appears to have founded, as all of the prominent members of one organization were members of the other. Although some associates of Blanqui
Louis Auguste Blanqui
Louis Auguste Blanqui was a French political activist, notable for the revolutionary theory of Blanquism, attributed to him....
were involved, such as Jean Baptiste Rougé and Theophile Thoré, they did not play a prominent role. This was taken rather by Montagnards
The Mountain
The Mountain refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly...
or Jacobins
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
, most of them with a long track record of conspiratorial politics.
Aside from La Commune Révolutionnaire, they also founded the International Association
International Association
The International Association of Professional Base Ball Players was the name for two separate Canadian-American baseball leagues that operated from 1877 through 1880 and also from 1888 until 1890...
, which existed from 1855 to 1859. Its principal tasks, as set out in its constitution, consisted of spreading the doctrine of solidarity and preparing to implement "the ideal of our hearts, the Universal Democratic and Social Republic". However, despite trying to develop ties with English Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
s, it remained an organisation of émigrés in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Although it has been claimed that this was the first form of international proletarianism, it remained a conspiratorial group more like Mazzini's Young Europe
Young Europe
Young Europe was an international association formed in 1834 on the model of Giuseppe Mazzini's Young Italy. It was composed of the national societies of Young Italy, Young Poland, and Young Germany, which, independent in their own sphere, acted in common, through a central committee, for the...
. They were also supporters of individual acts of terror
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
. Following Felice Orsini
Felice Orsini
Felice Orsini was an Italian revolutionary and leader of the Carbonari who tried to assassinate Napoleon III, Emperor of the French.-Early:Felice Orsini was born at Meldola in Romagna, then part of the Papal States....
's attempt on Napoleon III's life, the British government tried to put Simon Bernard
Simon Bernard
Baron Simon Bernard was a French general of engineers. Born in Dole, Simon Bernard was educated at the École polytechnique, graduating as second in the promotion of 1799 and entered the army in the corps of engineers....
, another émigré, on trial. The Philadelphians defended both Bernard's actions and the assassination of tyrants. Indeed Alfred Talandier, Gustave Jourdain, Joseph Holyoake and Félix Pyat
Félix Pyat
Félix Pyat was a French Socialist journalist and politician.-Biography:He was born in Vierzon , the son of a Legitimist lawyer. Called to the bar in Paris in 1831, he threw his whole energies into journalism...
(all Philadelphians) were the only people who spoke at his funeral a few years later. They also laid on a banquet (under the name of the Lodge) for Paolo Tibaldi when he arrived in London after serving a prison sentence for an attempt on the life of Napoeon III. Louis Blanc
Louis Blanc
Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc was a French politician and historian. A socialist who favored reforms, he called for the creation of cooperatives in order to guarantee employment for the urban poor....
, Talandier and Gustave Flourens
Gustave Flourens
Gustave Flourens was a French Revolutionary leader and writer, son of the physiologist Jean Pierre Flourens...
(another Philadelphian) spoke on this occasion.
The Philadlphians recruited principally amongst revolutionary socialists, but gained few recruits in Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
émigré circles because of their sharp criticisms of Mazzini. Hence the lack of Italians in the International Association. This however changed in 1858-9 as the war between Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
started to brew. Despite the publication of a Manifesto criticising Mazzini for his anti-socialist stance emanating from the International Association, it was not signed by any of the leaders of La Commune Révolutionnaire or the Philadelphians. Evidence in the Vienna Staatsarchiv shows that there was a faction fight, and that the Philadelphians were opting for a rapprochment with Mazzini. Napoleon III's support for Piedmont facilitated Garibaldi's victories, even if they did not indicate a leftward political trajectory on behalf of the emperor.
Following his campaign in Italy, Garibaldi set up the International Legion
International Legion
The International Legion was created in Italy by Giuseppe Garibaldi, on October 5, 1860 - in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Volturnus , where the forces of the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies were decisively broken....
, led by Ludwik Mieroslawski
Ludwik Mieroslawski
Ludwik Adam Mierosławski was a Polish general, writer, poet, historian and political activist. Took part in the November Uprising of 1830s, after its fall he emigrated to France, where he taught Slavic history and military theory. Chosen as a commander for the Greater Poland Uprising of 1846, he...
, and from 1859 to 1864 the Philadelphians concentrated on giving him support. According to La monde maçonnique (1874) Garibaldi, Mazzini, Charles Bradlaugh
Charles Bradlaugh
Charles Bradlaugh was a political activist and one of the most famous English atheists of the 19th century. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866.-Early life:...
and Louis Blanc were all members of the London Lodge of the United Philadelphians". A bloc was formed by the largely French Philadelphians with Garibaldi and his Italian followers. Soon their ranks were swelled by Belgians and Swiss, who then set about organising a new international organisation to replace the International Association. In 1863 Johan Philip-Becker sent out an invitation to a Congress of democratic and republican movements from all the countries of Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. The Congress was held in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
in September 1863, prersided over by Pierre Coulery from La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds is a Swiss city of the district of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometres from the French border. After Geneva and Lausanne, it is the third largest city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of...
in Switzerland. It issued a resolution to create an Association Fédérative Universelle de la Démocratie. However this was eclipsed by Garibaldi's trip to London and the attempt to agitate among workers groups and democratric organisations.
The Philadelphians were very active in organising a reception for Garibaldi in London, setting up a special society called La France Libre. Official negotiations with government circles collapsed, but the Philadelphians played a major role in linking up with grassroots organisations. During this agitation they dropped the phrase "République Démocratique et Sociale Universelle", and socialist agitation took second place behind developing stronger relations between French and Italian democrats. No mention was made of Garibaldi's 1860 promise that the International Legion would carry the struggle to their own countries once Italy was liberated. However, the Philadelphians were moving towards mass politics and away from trying to influence government circles, particularly amongst their Belgian and Swiss allies, who had born the brunt of the organising the 1863 Congress in Belgium. Whether the Order of Memphis had set up groups in Geneva and Brussels remains unclear. At this time members of groups of Parisian workers visited London to acquaint themselves with the English Labour Movement
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
. Their approach was much more open and popular than the clandestine methods which the Order of Memphis had preserved from earlier generations. Yet the Philadelphes made a significant contribution to the setting up of the International Workingmen's Association
International Workingmen's Association
The International Workingmen's Association , sometimes called the First International, was an international organization which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist political groups and trade union organizations that were based on the working class...
The Rite flourished in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
from about 1850 with numerous French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
lodges. Many ardent republicans became involved (Louis Blanc
Louis Blanc
Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc was a French politician and historian. A socialist who favored reforms, he called for the creation of cooperatives in order to guarantee employment for the urban poor....
, Alfred Talandier, Charles Longuet
Charles Longuet
Charles Longuet was a journalist and prominent figure in the French working-class movement, including the 1871 Paris Commune, as well as a Proudhonist member of the General Council of the First International or International Working Men's Association...
and Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
, (honorary member)). In 1871, the fall of the Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
contributed to a decrease in Lodges which continued in 1880 following amnesty offered by the new French Republican government.
In Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, the Rite developed quickly under the direction of Brother Solutore Avventure Zola, Grand Hierophant from 1873 until the reign of King Farouk. Marconis de Nègre implanted the Rite in America around 1856. This was developed under the energetic Grand Mastery of Harry Seymour in 1861.
In 1881 the two Rites were fused, effective as of 1889. From this moment, the Rite of Memphis-Misraim
Rite of Memphis-Misraim
The Rite of Memphis-Misraim is a fringe Freemasonic rite which was formed by the merging of the two rites of Memphis and Misraïm under the influence of General Garibaldi in 1881.-The Rite of Misraïm:...
spread across the world.
Constituted by Jacques Etienne Marconis de Nègre in 1838, the Rite of Memphis is a variant of the Rite of Misraïm. It takes the Egypto - alchemical mythology and completes it with pieces borrowed from the Templars
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
and chivalry.
The Rite of Memphis attracted personalities in quest of an ideal. It knew a certain success among military Lodges until 1841; the date where it was put to sleep. But, with the dismissal of Louis - Philippe in 1848, the Rite was reactivated.
In England, from about 1850 numerous English Lodges worked the Rite of Memphis in French. They maintained celebrity for having welcomed ardent Republicans (Louis Blanc
Louis Blanc
Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc was a French politician and historian. A socialist who favored reforms, he called for the creation of cooperatives in order to guarantee employment for the urban poor....
, Alfred Talandier, Charles Longuet
Charles Longuet
Charles Longuet was a journalist and prominent figure in the French working-class movement, including the 1871 Paris Commune, as well as a Proudhonist member of the General Council of the First International or International Working Men's Association...
and Giuseppe Garibaldi, (honorary member)). In 1871, the fall of the Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
contributed to a decrease in Lodges that further declined around 1880 following the declaration of amnesty of the new French republican government.