Spanish Nationalisms and the 1898 Crisis

Regionalism and Nationalism in 19th Century Spain

Regionalism: This movement aspires to create specific institutions or achieve administrative autonomy within a context of greater decentralization, emphasizing the use of regional languages, such as in the Galician or Valencian cases.

Nationalism: This represents a radicalization of previous proposals, aiming for higher levels of political power, which in some cases led to movements for independence. It featured two opposing tendencies: a conservative and liberal wing in favor of recovering old charters (fueros), and a progressive, federal, and Republican wing.

The 1898 War and the Loss of Cuba

The War of '98 was the culmination of a series of previous conflicts (the Ten Years' War between 1868–1878, the Little War of 1879, and the insurrections of 1883 and 1885) that exacerbated popular nationalism among increasingly broad sectors, including the Creoles.

At its roots were several key factors:

• The refusal of political and economic elites to grant autonomy due to fears of losing Cuba's economic monopoly.
• Discontent surrounding the late abolition of slavery.
• The influence of U.S. economic interests (exporting over 90% of sugar and tobacco), which were more prominent than those of Spain itself, favoring U.S. involvement and support for Cuban independence.

The Development of Catalan Nationalism

Catalan Nationalism emerged during the Sexenio Democrático as a federalist and republican movement, later evolving into more conservative and traditionalist forms. The bourgeoisie acquired control through the Unió Catalanista (1891) and its proposed decentralization in the Bases de Manresa (1892). This process was completed by the Lliga Regionalista, led by Francesc Cambó and Enric Prat de la Riba in 1901. Its primary cultural expression was Modernisme.

This conservative and bourgeois nationalism remained dominant until 1917, when the Partit Republicà Català (led by Lluís Companys) and the Esquerra Catalana appeared. These groups eventually joined to form Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), which displaced the Lliga in 1931.

The Roots of Basque Nationalism

Basque Nationalism can be seen as a continuation of Carlism. Following the Restoration in 1876 and the removal of the former Foral regime (which included exemptions from military service and specific tax systems), fuerismo became the first Basque regionalist movement. This phenomenon was accelerated by rapid industrialization and mass emigration.

In 1895, Sabino Arana founded the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), aiming to foster national awareness and achieve independence for Euskalerria. At the time, it was a conservative, traditionalist, and rural movement, relying on the restoration of lost charters and the rejection of liberalism and industrialization—which were associated with immigration and the central state. It maintained a distinctly Catholic character. Arana's ideology fluctuated between radical, ethnically-based independence and the integration of autonomous regions within Spain.