Who were the Iberian Esperantists of the early 20th century? An overview

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  It is well known that the first Esperantists were mostly well-educated men with the means and resources to learn the constructed language and contribute to the movement. In countries like Spain and Portugal, where illiteracy rates were higher than in most European regions, access to a language that was initially experienced in writing was …

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Francisco Valdomiro Lorenz, hyperpolyglot and pioneer of the Esperanto movements in Bohemia and Brazil

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In the small town of Dom Feliciano, 170 kilometres from Porto Alegre in the south of Brazil, the memory of Francisco Valdomiro Lorenz is deeply cherished. The kindhearted instructor, farmer and doctor, with a command of allegedly more than one hundred languages and boundless fields of knowledge, dedicated his life to helping others. A Czech …

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Uncovering Patterns in the Iberian Peninsula — Why did Esperanto succeed?

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When one starts looking at data collected in adresaroj, it becomes evident very quickly that Esperantists could be found all over the world. Putting their names in a map soon turns the world into a constellation of speakers with little in common but their love for the international language and their commitment to its success. …

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Esperanto is…failure? Success? Or “mojosa”? Welcome to Geneva OR Mapping the early congresses

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By Bernhard Struck A few days ago, I came across a Twitter feed asking: “Kion vi faras en Zamenhof-tago?” (What do you do on Zamenhof day?). Good question. On 15th December Esperantists across the world celebrate the birth of Ludwig L. Zamenhof (also known as Dr Esperanto) in 1859. First of all, this was a …

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Sharing Knowledge in Esperanto: From Expert to Participatory Cultures, 1900/2000 (Leverhulme Research Project Grant, 2022-2025 – Bernhard Struck & Guilherme Fians)

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Is Esperanto still around? This question comes up in any conversation on the auxiliary language constructed in the 1880s. The answer is: yes – and it is thriving. A young generation is learning Esperanto online and communicates via Telegram chats, Facebook, and Twitter posts, and dedicated YouTube channels. The revival of Esperanto in the 2000s …

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The Forgotten Accomplished Daughters of John Beveridge: Lois and Heather Beveridge, by Claire Taylor

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Krakow 1912 As seen in Esperanto publications, attendance sheets, and photographs like that of the Eighth World Esperanto Congress in Krakow in 1912 pictured above, women were visibly prominent in local and international Esperanto events. For the Seventh Esperanto World Congress that took place in Antwerp in 1911, sixty-five out of the one-hundred-six Scottish attendees …

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Between the local, the national, and the international: the emergence of an organized Esperanto youth movement in Brazil

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Founded in 1967 in Santos Dumont by the Esperanto youth groups from Rio de Janeiro and Ceará, the Brazilian Esperanto Youth Organization (Brazila Esperantista Junulara Organizo, BEJO) aimed to cross millions of square kilometers in order to bring together isolated groups and individuals, whose worst ennemy was the distance. Notably, how could Esperanto also fulfill …

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The 5th Universal Congress in Barcelona, 1909

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The Universal Congresses were (and still are) a time of celebration in the Esperanto community. For a week, Esperantists from all over the world gathered in the chosen city and discussed the most important matters concerning their language. It was also an opportunity to build new connections and test the reliability of Esperanto in an …

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Ways to Track Down a Transnational Movement: Esperanto, Warsaw, and Polish Doctors

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A blog by Marcel Koschek  Capturing networks and movements may be particularly difficult when they stretch across different countries and the sources seem unproductive at first glance. However, this piece will attempt to make precisely such a transnational movement accessible and also visualisable. The movement in mind here is the Esperanto movement. Esperanto – a …

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