Joseph Lagrosillière
Joseph Lagrosillière, born on 2 November 1872 in Sainte-Marie (Martinique) and died on 6 January 1950 in Paris (Seine), was a French politician. He was mayor of Sainte-Marie from 1910 to 1936 and deputy of Martinique from 1910 to 1924 and from 1932 to 1942.[1] He was president of the General Council of Martinique from 1935 to 1937 and from 1945 to 1946. He was the founder of the socialist movement in Martinique and one of the most important political figures on the island during the first half of the 20th century, comparable to Hégésippe Jean Légitimus in Guadeloupe.
Biography
He went to France to study law at the colonial school of the Faculty of Law in Paris. While there he befriended Jules Guesde and became active in the West Indies socialist group in Paris from 1896. He was called to the bar in Paris and Tunis on 29 June 1898.[2] He was admitted to the Fort-de-France bar on his return to the Martinique in 1901. The same year, he created the first Socialist Federation of Martinique. Then he founded the newspaper Le Prolétaire, of which he was also the editor-in-chief.[3]
1902 Joseph Lagrosillière was a candidate for the legislative elections in the northern constituency, but because of the eruption of Mount Pelée on 8 May, the second round scheduled for 11 May did not take place. He lost a large part of his family in the disaster. Demoralised, he moved to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon for two years.
1910 He was elected deputy in the North (he was re-elected in 1914). He was elected mayor of Sainte-Marie and remained the town's chief magistrate for 26 years.
1913 (5 February) Considering himself insulted in an article, Lagrosillière challenges the procurer general of Martinique, Jules Liontel to a duel; a court of honour find Liontel to be too old to accept, but his son insists upon substituting. The younger Liontel loses to Lagrosillière.[4]
(July): Joseph Lagrosillière, in disagreement with the metropolitan socialist deputies on the issue of assimilation, resigns from the socialist group in the Chamber of Deputies.
1915 : A fierce supporter of assimilation, Lagrosillière, together with the Guadeloupean deputy Achille René-Boisneuf, presented a bill to reform the Constitution of Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion in 1914, which would have transformed the colonies into French departments.[5]
1919 He concluded a political alliance with Fernand Clerc of the Factory Party at the "Banquet de Sainte-Marie" for the following legislative elections. He was elected for five years as a deputy in the South.[6] The same year, he became president of the General Council, which he presided over until 1939.
1925 He was imprisoned after the municipal elections and the strike of 1925 for inciting unrest and violence.
1931 Joseph Lagrosillière is arrested for "trafic d'influence" (influence peddling and corruption) and imprisoned in Le Havre, France.[1]
1932 Despite his legal troubles, he was re-elected as a deputy in the South. He remained so until the outbreak of the Second World War.
Joseph Lagrosillière fought his last political battle in the 1945 municipal elections in Fort-de-France, where he was severely beaten by the young communist candidate Aimé Césaire, who outnumbered him by more than 5000 votes.
Joseph Lagrosillière died on the 6th January 1950 at the age of 77.
Political Career
- 1910 to 1936: Mayor of Sainte-Marie
- 1935 to 1937; 1945 to 1946 : President of the General Council of Martinique
- 1910 to 1924 and from 1932 to 1940 : Deputy of Martinique
Sources et écrits
- Joseph Lagrosillière, socialiste colonial, biography in 3 volumes written by Camille Darsières, éditions Désormeaux, 1999 - Volume 1 : "Les années pures, 1872-1919", Volume 2 : "Les années dures, 1920-1931", Tome 3 : "La remontée, 1932-1950".
- La question de la Martinique : réponse aux calomnies et aux diffamations de M. Gérault-Richard. Paris: Groupe socialiste des Antilles. 1903.
References
[[Category:French Section of the Workers' International politicians]] [[Category:Members of the 16th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic]] [[Category:Members of the 15th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic]] [[Category:Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic]] [[Category:Members of the 11th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic]] [[Category:Members of the 10th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic]] [[Category:Deaths in Paris]] [[Category:WikiProject France articles]] [[Category:WikiProject Europe articles]] [[Category:Wikipedia requested images of politicians and government-people]]
- ^ a b "Joseph, Samuel Lagrosillière - Base de données des députés français depuis 1789 - Assemblée nationale". www2.assemblee-nationale.fr. Archived from the original on 2022-03-12. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Joseph Lagrosillière, père du socialisme martiniquais – Belia Sainte-Marie" (in French). Archived from the original on 2022-04-17. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Joseph Lagrosillière (1872-1950)". Une autre histoire (in French). 2013-08-06. Archived from the original on 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "1913 Duel Joseph LaGrosilliere vs Jules Liontel Jr". YouTube. 1913-02-05. Archived from the original on 2022-04-17.
- ^ "Achille René-Boisneuf - Base de données des députés français depuis 1789 - Assemblée nationale". www2.assemblee-nationale.fr. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
- ^ "M. Henri Lemery est mort". Le Monde.fr (in French). 1972-04-28. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2022-04-17.