A History Of The Barricade : History Of A Revolutionary Object

How the French invented the barricade, and its symbolic impact on popular protests throughout history In the history of European revolutions, the barricade stands as a glorious emblem. Its symbolic importance arises principally from the barricades of Eric Hazan’s native Paris, where they were instrumental in the revolts of the nineteenth century, helping to shape the political life of a continent. The barricade was always a makeshift construction (the word derives from barrique or barrel), and in working-class districts these ersatz fortifications could spread like wildfire. They doubled as a stage, from which insurgents could harangue soldiers and subvert their allegiance. Their symbolic power persisted into May 1968 and, more recently, the Occupy movements. Hazan traces the many stages in the barricade’s evolution, from the Wars of Religion through to the Paris Commune, drawing on the work of thinkers throughout the periods examined to illustrate and bring to life the violent practicalities of revolutionary uprising. The barriers of the League: May 1588 The barricades of the Fronde: August 1648: The hunger barricades: prairial year III Barricades and the end of the Bourbons: November 1827, July 1830 The first proletarian barricades: Lyon, November 1831 and April 1834 Barricades in the Age of Romanticism: June 1832 The last victorious barricades: Paris, February 1848 The barricade exported to Europe: Spring 1848 The barricades of despair: Paris, June 1848 A mythical barricade: December 1851 The barricades of the Commune: May 1871. In this book the author traces the many stages in the barricade's evolution, from the Wars of Religion through to the Paris Commune, drawing on the work of thinkers throughout the periods examined to illustrate and bring to life the violent practicalities of revolutionary uprising.--Publisher's description