Plotino Rhodakanaty
Encyclopedia
Plotino Constantino Rhodakanaty was a Greek
tailor and socialist
who was an early activist in Mexico's
mid-nineteenth century campesino movement, foreshadowing the Mexican Revolution
in 1910.
Plotino Constantino Rhodakanaty was born on October 14, 1828 in Athens, Greece to a member of Greek nobility and his Austrian wife. Rhodakanaty's father died during the Greek war for independence against the Turks, and his mother took him to Vienna. In 1848, Rhodakanaty traveled to Budapest to assist in the failed Hungarian uprising
of that year. He traveled next to Berlin where he was exposed to the ideas of Hegel, Fourier
, and Proudhon. In 1850, he visited Paris specifically to meet Proudhon after reading the latter's What Is Property? While in Paris, he learned of a plan by the Mexican government to encourage agricultural settlements. Inspired, Rhodakanaty began to make plans to organize a socialist colony in Mexico.
In 1861, the same year he arrived in Mexico, he wrote Cartilla Socialista and began propagating the ideas of contemporary European thinkers, particularly Fourier and Proudhon. He published other radical essays, such as Neopanteísmo, founded journals, and established a school in peasant country. To support himself, he found employment at a school in Mexico City, and began to organize like-minded students. A circle of followers emerged, including Santiago Villanueva, Francisco Zalacosta, Julio Chávez López, and José María Gonzales. These people and others would later form a nucleus in the early Mexican labor and peasant movements.
Rhodakanaty is also known as the first Elder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
tailor and socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
who was an early activist in Mexico's
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
mid-nineteenth century campesino movement, foreshadowing the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
in 1910.
Plotino Constantino Rhodakanaty was born on October 14, 1828 in Athens, Greece to a member of Greek nobility and his Austrian wife. Rhodakanaty's father died during the Greek war for independence against the Turks, and his mother took him to Vienna. In 1848, Rhodakanaty traveled to Budapest to assist in the failed Hungarian uprising
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 was one of many of the European Revolutions of 1848 and closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas...
of that year. He traveled next to Berlin where he was exposed to the ideas of Hegel, Fourier
Fourier
Fourier most commonly refers to Joseph Fourier , French mathematician and physicist, or the mathematics, physics, and engineering terms named in his honor for his work on the concepts underlying them:In mathematics:...
, and Proudhon. In 1850, he visited Paris specifically to meet Proudhon after reading the latter's What Is Property? While in Paris, he learned of a plan by the Mexican government to encourage agricultural settlements. Inspired, Rhodakanaty began to make plans to organize a socialist colony in Mexico.
In 1861, the same year he arrived in Mexico, he wrote Cartilla Socialista and began propagating the ideas of contemporary European thinkers, particularly Fourier and Proudhon. He published other radical essays, such as Neopanteísmo, founded journals, and established a school in peasant country. To support himself, he found employment at a school in Mexico City, and began to organize like-minded students. A circle of followers emerged, including Santiago Villanueva, Francisco Zalacosta, Julio Chávez López, and José María Gonzales. These people and others would later form a nucleus in the early Mexican labor and peasant movements.
Rhodakanaty is also known as the first Elder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico.