Cosme
Cosme was founded as a colony in Paraguay on May 12, 1894 by members of the early socialist New Australian Movement not far from Caazapá in Paraguay.
Cosme existed until 1908 and had to be abandoned on August 12, 1909 because of economic difficulties, human inadequacies and insufficient immigration. Nevertheless, New Australia and Cosme and the utopian colony of New Australia not far from them had an impact on Australian governments and their social activities as early socialist experiments.
In the 1930s, the utopian ideas in Australia revived the ideas of New Australia during the Big Strikes and Jack Lang , a former Prime Minister of New South Wales (1925-1927, 1930-1932) and member of the Australian Labor Party , referred to the Colonies as the “first communist experiment in the world”.
prehistory
After the defeats of the unions in the maritime strike of 1890 and the shearers strike of 1891, the Australian labor movement was disaffected that a socialist society could be built in Australia. William Lane , a journalist and founder of the first Australian workers newspaper, Queensland Worker , founded the New Australia Co-operative Settlement Association in 1891 with other utopian socialists who sought to realize their ideals outside Australia.
According to Lane, the idea of a communist society was: “Members own in common all land, houses, machinery, tools, cattle and general property: There is no master, no wageworker, no landlord, no beggar, no manorhouse, no soupkitchen, no unemployed , no loafer, no public prison, no policeman "(German:" Members [of the colony] are joint owners of the entire land, houses, machines, tools, livestock and general property: there are no masters, no wage workers, no large landowners, no beggars, no mansion, no soup kitchen for the poor, no unemployed, no idlers, no prison, no police officers ”).
The Paraguayan government gave a pledge of 15,000 acres (6,070 hectares ) of free and tax-free unpopulated land. William Lane , who had been elected chairman of the New Australia Association, was the founder of both colonies in Paraguay.
Lane ruled New Australia autocratically , tolerated no contradiction and practiced living together according to simple community rules. In New Australia there was conflict from the beginning among the settlers over the strict alcohol ban, with the people of the area and especially with the leadership of Lane. After the second group of colonists arrived in New Australia , the conflict escalated and Lane migrated in 1894 with 58 of his followers to a new colony called Cosme. It was located at the fork of two rivers (Captvari and Pcbapo) 76 km south of New Australia .
The organizational and political foundations were identical in both New Australia and Cosme and were based on socially utopian ideas.
Colonial life
population
Both colonies were never economically self-sustaining, the standard of living was low, there was a shortage of women, the work was hard and numerous settlers were looking for better living conditions and left the colonies.
When Cosme was founded on May 12, 1893, the population of Cosme consisted of 58 people, including 39 men, 9 women and 10 children. Cosme had land rights to 15,000 acres (about 37,000 hectares ).
Among these colonists of Cosme was the writer Mary Gilmore (1865–1962), who edited the monthly magazine Cosme Montly and worked as a teacher.
In Lane's two years absence from Britain, despite his campaign, only 15 men were recruited to the colony. Upon his return, the crisis escalated in Cosme because the rules had relaxed while he was away. The immediate cause for the conflict to break out was the individual slaughter of a pig and the consumption of it with friends. The settlers involved had to leave Cosme.
economy
During the construction period, the colony had little capital and therefore generated income mainly through manual labor and only with little use of machines. The tools were common property and passed on after use. In addition to food production, economic activities were focused on sugar cane and wood production. Two years after it was founded, machines for small-scale craft production that were powered by steam, as well as other mechanical equipment, had been purchased; Agriculture, too, was now more productive as mechanization progressed. Furthermore, a mill had started to produce sugar.
There was enough grassland in Cosme for cattle breeding and the first rearing began with a herd of 200 cattle. The colony initially had about six horses and a few pigs. Bread was made from cornmeal, tea and coffee were grown, as well as cassava and sweet potatoes .
Politics and Social
politics
The colonial government was based on the idea of a democratic government, communal property, cooperative work, communal distribution of the harvest, living in domestic households, lifelong marriage, a ban on alcohol and compliance with the so-called color line (no sex with the Paraguayan population).
Democracy building
The general assembly formed the basis of the colonial government of Cosme, which took place once a year. “Foreign policy” was the responsibility of the chairman and a three-person committee, and there was an industry manager who made purchases on the basis of the general plan.
The Cosme chairman and the three committee members were elected by the General Assembly, the chairman for two years and the committee members for one year. The chairman could be voted out with a majority of two committee members. A new chairman had to be chosen from the group of three committee members.
House owners were eligible to vote, they had to be at least 21 years old and have been colony members for one year. The committee met weekly to do the ordinary business on the basis of the master plan.
Social
Life in Cosme was lived in families in their homes. The 45-hour working week lasted from Monday to Saturday noon, 8 hours a day and 5 hours on Saturday. The holidays were Christmas and the colony's founding day on May 12th. On the weekends there were dance events on Saturday evenings, readings and music and sports events in a community hall. The school building was the first building in the colony to be built, and there was also a library with 1,500 books.
Compulsory schooling began at the age of 5 and ended at 14 for boys and at 15 for girls. Spanish classes were held once a week. Married women were exempt from colonial administration work instructions unless they were doing community work they could do, such as community cooking and other services. Preventive health care and health care was a joint task that was mainly carried out by women.
immigration
In November 1897 the population consisted of 88 people, including 25 men, 16 women and 47 children. Australians and later British immigrated, whom Lane recruited. In 1902 the population had dropped somewhat.
Member could according to a publication of the colony Cosme from 1902 healthy men with good character are, who agreed fully with the rules of the colony. They had to pay 5 pounds sterling and under that half of the Cosme financial assets into a Paraguayan bank for each child from 3 to 12 years old . Single women did not have to pay anything, their travel expenses were reimbursed from Buenos Aires and if they did not want to stay the return trip there.
After a period of one year, full membership in the Cosme colony was possible, with the consequence that the entire individual assets of the colony had to be transferred.
literature
- Cosme Co-operative Colony (Ed.): Cosme Co-operative Colony (Paraguay), Established 1894. Illustrated Handbook of General Information. Adelaide 1902 Online at ses.library.usyd.edu.au
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c nationaltreasures.nla.gov.au : Cosme and New Australia colonies , in English, accessed May 31, 2011
- ↑ a b pjsmes.org.au : Peter Symes: The Notes of New Australia , in English, accessed June 1, 2011
- ↑ James Rupp: The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origins , Cambridge, New York 2001: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-80789-1 Online on Google books , in English, accessed June 3, 2011
- ↑ ironbarkresources.com : Jack Land: Australia's Experiment in Communism , in English, accessed June 5, 2011
- ^ A b c d e Nat Williams, Margaret Dent: National treasures from Australia's great libraries . 56. National Library of Australia, Canberra 2005, ISBN 0-642-27620-X Online on Googlebooks , in English, accessed June 5, 2011
- ↑ trove.nla.gov.au : The Advertiser: Communism at Cosme. A Southamerican Experiment , January 3, 1902, in English, accessed June 5, 2011
- ↑ a b adbonline.anu.edu.au : Lane, William (1861–1917), in English, accessed June 2, 2011
- ↑ samemory.sa.gov.au : Experiment in Paraguay (with a picture of a map of Cosme), in English, accessed on June 11, 2011
- ↑ a b Cosme Co-operative Colony: Handbook , p. 13 (see literature)
- ↑ Cosme Co-operative Colony: Handbook , p. 8 (see literature)
- ↑ Cosme Co-operative Colony: Handbook , p. 9 (see literature)
- ↑ Cosme Co-operative Colony: Handbook , p. 10 (see literature)
- ↑ Cosme Co-operative Colony: Handbook , p. 2 (see literature)
- ↑ Cosme Co-operative Colony: Handbook , p. 3 (see literature)
- ↑ Cosme Co-operative Colony: Handbook , p. 3/4 (see literature)
- ↑ Cosme Co-operative Colony: Handbook , p. 5/6 (see literature)
- ↑ Cosme Co-operative Colony: Handbook , p. 7 (see literature)
- ↑ Cosme Co-operative Colony: Handbook , p. 14 (see literature)