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1888, based around the
modernista
buildings of the Parc de la Ciutadella, and
the
International Exhibition
on Montjuïc in 1929, which boasted creations
in the style of
modernisme
’s successor,
noucentisme
.
The seeds of civil war
In 1814, the repressive Ferdinand VII had been restored to the Spanish throne,
and, despite the Catalan contribution to the defeat of the French, he stamped
out the least hint of liberalism in the region, abolishing virtually all Catalunya’s
remaining privileges. On his death, the Crown was claimed both by his daugh-
ter Isabel II (with liberal support) and by his brother Charles (backed by the
Church and the conservatives).The ensuing
First Carlist War
(1833–39) ended
in victory for Isabel, who came of age in 1843. Her reign was a long record of
scandal, political crisis and constitutional compromise, until liberal army generals
under the leadership of General Prim eventually effected a coup in 1868, forc-
ing Isabel to abdicate. However, the experimental
First Republic
(1873–75)
failed, and following the
Second Carlist War
the throne went to Isabel’s son,
Alfonso XII.
Against this unstable background, local dissatisfaction increased and the years
preceding World War I saw a growth in working-class
political movements
.
Barcelona’s textile workers organized a branch affiliated to the communist First
International, founded by Karl Marx, and the region’s wine growers also banded
together to seek greater security.Tension was further heightened by the
loss of
Cuba
in 1898, which only added to local economic problems, with the return
of soldiers seeking employment in the cities where there was none.
A call-up for army reserves to fight in Morocco in 1909 provoked a general
strike and the so-called
Tragic Week
(Setmana Trágica) of rioting in Barce-
lona, and then throughout Catalunya, in which over one hundred people died.
Catalans objected violently to the suggestion that they should go to fight abroad
for a state that did little for them at home, and the city’s streets saw burning
churches, barricades and popular committees, though there was little direction
to the protest.What theTragicWeek did prove to Catalan workers was the need
to be better organized for the future. A direct result was the establishment of
the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo – the
CNT
– in 1911, which included
many of the Catalan working-class organizations.
During
World War I
Spain was neutral, though inwardly turbulent since
soaring inflation and the cessation of exports following the German blockade
of the North Atlantic hit the country hard. As rumblings grew among the
workers and political organizations, the army moved decisively, crushing a
general strike of 1917. The Russian Revolution had scared the conservative
businessmen of the region, who offered cooperation with the army in return
for political representation in the country’s government. However, the situation
did not improve.Violent strikes and assassinations plagued Barcelona, while the
CNT and the union of the socialists, the CGT, both saw huge increases in
their membership. In 1923,
General Primo de Rivera
, the captain-general
of Catalunya, overthrew the national government in a military coup that had
the full backing of the Catalan middle class, establishing a dictatorship that
enjoyed initial economic success.There was no real stability in the dictatorship,
however, and new political factions were taking shape throughout the country.
The general resigned in 1930, dying a few months later, but the hopes of some
for the restoration of the monarchy’s political powers were short-lived. The
success of the anti-monarchist parties in the municipal elections of 1931 led to
the abdication of the king and the foundation of the
Second Republic
.
CONTEXTS
|
A history of Barcelona and Catalunya