The representation of fabrile work in the portuguese socialist literature. From the foundation of the Portuguese Socialist Party to the First Republic (1875-1910)

Abstract

Literature was one of the instruments of workers’ intellectuals for the dissemination of the socialist ideal and for the denunciation of their working and living conditions. It is a topic that has not been explored in historiography yet, but we have some works published  in recent years that allow us to advance in the knowledge of concrete data, such as narratives, plays and poems created by the workers’ intellectuals for this purpose. At the same time, these works offer valuable information on working conditions in factories,  the use of defense instruments such as class organizations and strikes, and the concerns of workers. In this article we intend to  show the evolution of the perception and the treatment given to factory work in socialist literature from the founding of the  Portuguese Socialist Party to the proclamation of the Republic.