Workers' societies first began to appear in 1840 as a result of conflicts between employers and workers in the textile industry. Such associations were forbidden by law and were constantly repressed. The execution of the workers' leader Josep Barceló and calls for the right to free association precipitated the first general strike in 1855. The right to free association and universal suffrage became a reality with the revolution in 1868. The first associations were linked to Republicanism but were replaced by class syndicalism defined by apolitical approaches and sympathy for libertarian ideals.