Catalanism and Labor Movement in Spain: 1874-1898

Catalanism in the Late 19th Century

Progressive Catalanism

The main representative of progressive Catalan political thought was Valentí Almirall. In his book, he raised the idea of Catalan autonomy for Catalonia. Almirall was the editor of the Memorial de Greuges (1885). This document denounced the oppression of Catalonia by Spain and advocated for the promotion of the Catalan language. Progressive Catalanism was not a very strong force in the late 19th century.

Conservative Catalanism

Josep Torras i Bages, Bishop of Vic, was the spokesman for conservative Catalanism. In his book, The Catalan Tradition, he wrote that Catalan identity was not possible without, at the same time, being Catholic. Conservative Catalanists launched the drafting of the Bases de Manresa in 1892, a proposed autonomy statute for Catalonia, which provided for the official status of the Catalan language. Conservative Catalan nationalism was very important in the early 20th century.

The Labor Movement Between 1874 and 1898

During this time, the struggle of the labor movement was designed to improve the harsh living and working conditions of workers and peasants. The labor movement was divided into two main currents: Marxism and Anarchism.

Marxism

In 1879, the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE), a party with Marxist ideology, was founded. Shortly after, the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), a trade union related to the PSOE, was founded in Barcelona. The number of members of the PSOE and the UGT grew during the Restoration period.

Anarchism

Anarchism was the most influential working-class ideology in Catalonia. In the late 19th century, anarchism was divided into two trends:

• The first trend called for workers to organize into trade unions. Their mission would be to achieve improvements for the proletariat.
• The second trend rejected any kind of organization and did not accept the creation of unions. It was in favor of propaganda by the deed, which consisted of terrorist acts against the state, the bourgeoisie, and the Church.

In the late 19th century, Barcelona suffered many anarchist attacks. Therefore, it was called "the city of bombs." Each terrorist act was followed by state repression against the entire movement. This weakened anarchism at the very beginning of the 20th century. The most important action was the assassination of Prime Minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo.