Élisée Reclus—Communard, geographer, vegetarian

On July 4, 1905, the French anarchist Élisée Reclus died in Torhout, near Bruges in Belgium

~ Maurice Schuhmann ~

Reclus, after whom a street leading to the Eiffel Tower in Paris is named, was one of the most well-known anarchist propagandists in France—and at the same time one of the country’s most important geographers. His Geographie universelle, written between 1876 and 1894, is considered a foundational classic in the field, alongside his posthumously published work L’Homme et la Terre.

Born on March 15, 1830, in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, France, Jacques Élisée Reclus studied in various places, including Berlin in the early 1850s, where he encountered the work of Max Stirner and studied geology. It was also during this time that he first came into contact with anarchist ideas, which would deeply shape his thinking and to which he would significantly contribute. He later became a co-founder of the French section of the First International and maintained contact with figures such as Mikhail Bakunin.

When the Paris Commune broke out, he declined a political post that was offered to him and instead actively participated in the military defence of the social experiment. After the Commune was crushed, he was—like many of his comrades, including Louise Michel, with whom he would later give lectures—exiled to New Caledonia. The exile did not break him; quite the opposite.

Upon returning to Europe, he co-founded the anarchist newspaper Le Révolté (1879–1885) in Switzerland. Among his collaborators at the time were Peter Kropotkin, who wrote important articles in the publication, and Jean Grave. The paper was one of the most influential anarchist publications in Europe at the time.

It was also during this period that Reclus became a vegetarian for ethical reasons. He went on to advocate for this way of life—no easy task, especially in France, where vegetarian or vegan lifestyles have remained marginal, even in anarchist circles. Combined with his geographical observations and his affinity for naturism, he is sometimes regarded— alongside Kropotkin —as a forerunner of modern eco-anarchism.

Because of his research and his resolutely anti-nationalist stance, Spanish educator Francisco Ferrer reached out to him. Ferrer asked Reclus to write geography textbooks for his newly founded Escuelas Modernas. These were intended to be explicitly anti-nationalist textbooks, free of the chauvinistic poison that characterised most school books of the time.

Reclus ultimately settled in Belgium. In 1894, he was involved in the founding of a free university—the Université Nouvelle. He lived and worked in France’s neighbouring country until his death.

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