[Blog] 140th birth anniversary : Emmanuel Anquetil, an extraordinary trade unionist

Emmanuel Anquetil, born 140 years ago, was a pioneering Mauritian trade unionist and political leader. From his early years at sea to leading the Labour Party, he dedicated his life to empowering workers and fighting for social justice.

Emmanuel Anquetil, born on August 18, 1885, in the district of Plaines-Wilhems and died in December 1946, was a Mauritian trade unionist as well as a political figure in the Mauritian Labour Party. He was the son of Jean Volmy and Marie Angela Anquetil. He left Mauritius at the age of 16 and spent eleven years working on coastal vessels in the Australian seas.

He left Australia for England in 1912 and arrived in Liverpool in 1913. Rejected by the Royal Navy, he served in the merchant navy during the First World War on routes between the USA and England. After the war, he worked mainly on coastal ships in Liverpool. He developed his trade union and political awareness by attending and taking part in the 1926 General Strike in the United Kingdom.

He met Sinah Lane, a Labour Party activist, at a local socialist rally. They married in 1922 and had a son, David John. Emmanuel and Sinah were both active in the Independent Labour Party, working towards the successful election of the local MP. Emmanuel Anquetil was then known locally for his impassioned speeches at political meetings.

Upon his return to Mauritius, he created the Mauritian Labour Party with Maurice Curé, of which he would become president following Maurice Curé. He was also involved in trade unionism and the defence of workers. He was one of the leaders of the 1937 riots in Mauritius, which led to his deportation to Rodrigues.

Emmanuel Anquetil by L. Rivaltz Quenette

The Mahatma Gandhi Institute has launched a translation of Rivaltz Quenette’s 1985 book, “Emmanuel Anquetil”. The translation was written by Dr. John Paul Hayes, great-grandson of Emmanuel Anquetil, and Professor Serge Rivière. The e-book launch took place on Monday, December 7, 2015, in the presence of several members of the Anquetil family living in the United Kingdom and Finland, the Quenette family, and numerous distinguished guests.

Conservative forces

To write this book, Rivaltz Quenette meticulously researched documents in the Mauritius Archives, the National Assembly documents, and the UK National Archives, and read numerous newspaper articles. The pilgrimage to Wales, where he met John Anquetil, Emmanuel’s son, his family, and people who knew “George,” gave him insight into Anquetil’s formative years in trade unionism and activism in the British Labour Party. It was there that Anquetil developed his sense of service to the workers’ cause, witnessing the miners’ struggle, their resounding victories, but also their significant setbacks when conservative forces united to stifle their advances.

Rivaltz became aware of Anquetil’s commitment to political life through his activism in support of Labour representatives Willie Cove and Creech-Jones. Anquetil delivered impassioned speeches in meeting rooms, and his commitment to left-wing ideologies was clear. However, as the Great Depression hit the mines and docks of Wales, Anquetil, an unemployed foreigner, was forced to leave for Mauritius with his son, John, in December 1936.

Great Depression

He arrived on his native island at a time when the Great Depression was taking its toll, with high unemployment and reduced wages causing hardship in working-class households. Dr. Maurice Curé had just founded the Mauritius Labour Party with the support of a group of friends. Trade unionism was in its infancy, as any bill aimed at introducing it into local politics met with resistance from employers, who dominated the legislative apparatus.

Maurice Curé wanted workers to be represented in the Legislative Assembly to defend their cause. When Anquetil joined the struggle, he wanted to organize workers at the grassroots level and empower them to fight for their rights through trade union education. Meanwhile, the colonial government and conservative forces joined forces to suppress the nascent Labour Party through the courts and economic pressure. Curé resigned as president and passed the torch to Anquetil.

Organization of trade unions

When trade union legislation was introduced following the 1937 disturbances, in which several people were killed at the Union, Anquetil began organizing trade unions to mobilize workers, with the effective support of Pandit Sahadeo and other stalwarts.

The war years were tumultuous in Mauritius. The Labour Party led a campaign to mobilize workers and demanded constitutional reforms that would ensure better representation of the people in the Assembly. The Jan Andolan, meanwhile, campaigned for the cultural development of Hindus, risking repression and imprisonment. 

The colonial authorities, determined to suppress any form of unrest, employed the age-old method: divide and rule. They manipulated the trade union movement to distance the workers, who were predominantly Indo-Mauritian, from the influence of the Labour Party, which could retain the artisans and dockworkers, who were predominantly Creole. Communal division set in, with the authorities favoring leaders aspiring to community representation.

The emancipation of workers

At the height of the power struggle, when Governor Clifford ended a dock strike in 1938, Emmanuel Anquetil was deported to Rodrigues along with John. However, his supporters within the British Labour Party pressured the colonial government to secure his release. Returning to Mauritius after two months, he selflessly pursued his self-imposed mission: the emancipation of workers.

Anquetil never wavered from his goal of uniting workers along class lines, while resisting the communitarian division advocated by the conservative classes. He refused a lucrative government job in order to preserve his independence. This meant extreme poverty for him, relying on his friends and supporters to survive. He gave exemplary service, particularly during the 1946 strike in Ferney, where, for two weeks, he stood by the strikers day and night, putting a strain on his aching body.

He died on December 29, 1946, of pneumonia.

By Alain Laridon