19th and 20th Century Historical Glossary
Former Regime
Abolition of guilds, elimination of the Inquisition, and equality of all Spaniards before the law and taxes.
Absolute Monarchy
The country is ruled by a king or monarch who alone possesses the three powers.
Society
Revolution
A radical and profound change with respect to the past.
Constitutional Monarchy
A monarchical form of government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges an elected or hereditary monarch as head of state.
Rule of Law
An institutional system in which a State guarantees individual rights from law enforcement, according to the dignity of people, and sanctioning illegal behavior.
Separation of Powers
The concept that the powers of a sovereign government should be divided between two or more independent entities, preventing any person or group from having too much power.
Classes of Society
A capitalist state existed during the former regime. The liberal revolution and the process of industrialization transformed Spanish and Catalan society.
National Sovereignty
The concept that public power authority is vested not in the monarch, but in the nation, considered a real entity distinct from the individuals who comprise it, and represented by an elected parliament.
Shared Sovereignty
A more conservative type of sovereignty, centralized, shared, and restricted by the Parliament and King. The monarch has the right to intervene in politics.
Creole
A person born in a mainland Hispanic-American colony.
Censitary or Restricted Suffrage
Voting rights limited to those with large fortunes or substantial income.
Salic Law
The law that women could not vote; only men participated in voting or elections.
Regent
The figure who replaced the king in a monarchy when the king or ruler is unable to govern, either due to age, disability, or other reasons.
Universal Suffrage
The right to vote for the entire adult population of a State, regardless of race, sex, creed, or social status.
Pronouncements
Military uprisings aimed at attaining power and pressuring for political change.
Confessional State
A state that adheres to a specific religion, reflected in its legislation, especially in the Constitution.
Pacific Time
Conservatives and liberals agreed to alternate in the exercise of power and control of Spanish political life.
Caciquismo
A political and social system with formal institutions of parliamentary democracy, but where real power is held by individuals with greater economic and social influence in each locality or region.
Regenerationism
An intellectual and political movement in Spain that proposed eliminating corruption in the political system, restoring the unequal distribution of land, and promoting education.
Republic
A state or country run by people whose political power is based on the democratic will of the people, where citizens have the right to vote, giving the government legitimacy and sovereignty.
Federalism
A political doctrine that seeks a policy where different entities form an organization.
Renaissance
A Catalan cultural movement that reached its peak during the second half of the nineteenth century, aiming to revive the Catalan language and culture.
Demographics
The science that studies human populations, their structure, dynamics, and the laws governing these phenomena.
Rural Exodus
The emigration, generally of young people, from the countryside to the city.
Urbanization
A set of constructions located in a rural area, generally alongside other rural populations.
Laborer
A person who works for wages, typically in the countryside.
Landowning Nobility
Retained ownership of the land and continued to play a relevant role in society.
Estates
Large plots of land worked by peasants or laborers.
Steam Engines
The textile industry began mechanizing with spinning machines and steam engines.
Steam
Mechanization led to factories.
Industrial Colony
A group of industrial facilities separate from industrial towns, with housing for workers and managers, a church, school, and other amenities.
Spin
Transforming textile fiber into a cohesive and manageable form.
Steel
Solid minerals such as iron melted in large furnaces using coal.
Grisu
Flammable gas stored in mines, posing an explosion risk.
Vein
A narrow zone or layer in the earth containing mineral deposits.
Protectionism
An economic policy that hinders the entry of foreign products into a country.
Radial Structure
Spain had a wider railroad network than the rest of Europe.
GDP
Gross Domestic Product: the sum of all goods and services produced in a country.
Explosion Engine
A type of internal combustion engine that uses a fuel explosion.
Upper Classes
The nobility shared social hegemony and owned new industries, large estates, and banks.
Middle Bourgeoisie
Small industrial entrepreneurs, traders, liberal professionals, etc.
Proletariat
The working class.
Peasantry
The majority of the population, with precarious living conditions.
Luddism
A labor movement characterized by spontaneous revolts against machinery.
Anarchism
Against any form of government, sovereignty, and monarchy.
Marxism
A set of political, economic, and philosophical doctrines.
Union
An association of workers in the same industry or profession.
Strike
A protest action by workers.
CNT
National Confederation of Trade Unions (anarchist).
UGT
General Union of Labor (socialist).
PSOE
Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party.
Autocracy
Rule by a single person with absolute power.
Tsar
A king or emperor (e.g., Nicholas II of Russia).
Bolsheviks
Aimed to promote a social revolution in Russia.
Mensheviks
The moderate faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party.
Duma
The Russian Parliament.
Soviet
Councils of workers, farmers, and soldiers.
White Army
A faction of the Czarist army.
Red Army
Created by the Bolsheviks.
USSR
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Dictatorship of the Proletariat
Power exercised by the Communist Party.
Collectivist Society
Led to the USSR becoming a great industrial power.
Gulag
Concentration camps.
CPSU
Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
Supreme Soviet
The parliament of the Soviet Union.
Taylorism
A system for increasing productivity.
Fordism
A system of mass production.
Speculative Bubble
A rise in the value of shares due to growing demand.
20 Happy Years
A period of prosperity in the U.S.
American Way of Life
Based on consumerism and comfort.
Overproduction
Supply exceeds demand.
Great Depression
A global economic crisis starting in 1929.
New Deal
A program by Franklin D. Roosevelt to address the Great Depression.
Reichstag
The German parliament.
Fuhrer
Leader (e.g., Hitler).
SA
Assault sections (paramilitary organization).
SS
Safety sections (security and military organization).
Gestapo
The secret police of Nazi Germany.
Antisemitism
Hatred towards Jews.
Wehrmacht
The German armed forces during World War II.
Luftwaffe
The German air force.
Autarky
A state aiming to be self-sufficient.
Living Space
A Nazi concept of territorial expansion.