Origins and Evolution of Catalan Political Identity

The Roots of Catalan Political Identity

The liberal state in Spain facilitated the emergence of European cultural currents. It outlined a Romanticism that defended the social and cultural identity politics of the people, which eventually introduced nationalism. In Catalonia, this was accepted from 1830 onwards, growing alongside economic and social development driven by industrialization.

The Renaixença: Cultural Recovery

These elements are reflected in the Renaixença, a movement focused on recovering Catalan history, culture, and language. This recovery had two main branches:

• Cultured current: Supporters of a refined language, careful to avoid barbarisms.
• Ordinary folk: Those who defended the spoken Catalan language. This led to new theaters and newspapers published in Catalan.

Political Catalanism in the Late 19th Century

Cultural Catalanism (the Renaixença) became a political movement during the Restoration phase. Several factors contributed to this shift:

• The inefficiency of the central state, which failed to integrate the bourgeoisie into the state conception.
• Identification of Catalan society with a sense of national identity based on history, culture, traditions, and language.
• The influence of Carlism and Republicanism (notably Valentí Almirall) in favor of federalism.
• Opposition to the centralization of the state.
• The role of the Catalan Church, which remained more aligned with Carlism since the end of the Third Carlist War.
• The willingness of the Catalan bourgeoisie to advocate for culture, language, and traditions while simultaneously demanding economic protectionism.

Left-Wing Catalanism: Federalism and Almirall

This movement originated from Federal Republicanism (Francisco Pi i Margall). They envisioned Catalonia as part of a federal state rather than a centralized one, though a federal state was never fully realized. Valentí Almirall, a leader of the movement, eventually distanced himself from federalism to start a left-wing Catalanist path. He believed Catalonia needed full autonomy to regenerate its politics.

Key milestones include:

• 1878: Publication of Escritos Catalanistas.
• 1879: Launch of Diari Català (the first daily newspaper in the Catalan language).
• 1880–1882: Organization of the first Catalan Congress and the creation of the Centre Català political party.
• 1885: Presentation of the Memorial de Greuges (Memorial of Grievances) to Alfonso XII.
• 1886: Publication of Lo Catalanisme.

Discrepancies eventually arose with conservative Catalanism. Almirall opposed the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition, leading to the decline of his political influence and the failure of his specific political project.

Conservative and Right-Wing Catalanism

Conservative sectors, including the Church, rural landowners, and the bourgeoisie, began assimilating Catalanist ideas but with different nuances than Almirall. This approach spread rapidly in rural areas, being more traditionalist and conservative. A key publication of this movement was the weekly "La Veu de Montserrat" in Vic.