Joseph Dejacque (b. December 1821, Paris - d. 1864, Paris). French
anarcho-communist poet and writer.
Of unknown origins, Dejacque was first heard of when arrested as part
of the revolutionary upheavals in France in 1848. Imprisoned for a
time for socialist agitation he was released but rearrested in
1851 and sentenced for two years for his collection of poems
"Les Lazereennes, Fables et Poesies Sociales".
He escaped around
the time of the December 2 1821 coup d'etat to London. While in
Jersey between 1852 - 1853 he published "La Question
revolutionnaire", an exposition of anarchism. From there he
passed on the USA where he spoke to workers associations in
New York and was a signatory to the programme of the
International Association there in 1855.
Whilst staying in New Orleans from 1856 - 1858
he wrote his famous anarchist utopia "L'Humanisphere, Utopie anarchique"
but could not find a publisher. Returning to New York he
was able to serialise his book in his periodical
"Le Libertaire, Journal du Mouvement social".
Dejacque was the first to use the
term Libertarian in print in 1857 in a letter criticising
Pierre Joseph Proudhon for an attack on feminism and his support
for individual ownership of produce and exchange. His stay in
New York ended when his work prospects ran out due to the economic slump
occassioned by the outbreak of the Civil War he returned to London and
thus to Paris where he died a few years later of extreme poverty.
External Links
Complete works in French, includes 1857 letter to Proudhon
