Peripheral Nationalisms in Spain: Opposition to the Restoration System
Opposition to the Restoration System: Peripheral Nationalisms
Minority Political Parties
Besides the two major political parties that alternated in power, there were other, minority parties. These were legalized but had few members and received very few votes. They viewed the system as corrupt because they were excluded from important decisions. They were very active in academia and the press, organizing demonstrations against the regime. These parties organized during the reign of Alfonso XII and the Regency of María Cristina and began to play a role in Spanish politics during the reign of Alfonso XIII.
These parties represented different ideologies: Carlism, Marxism, Liberalism, Republicanism, and Nationalism.
Carlism
Carlism advocated for a decentralized Spain. Carlists were divided into pure Carlists and radical separatist Carlists.
Marxism
Marxism, the political doctrine created by Karl Marx, views political life from an economic standpoint, asserting that the meaning of life is productive materialism. Marx divides society into the rich (bourgeoisie) and the poor (workers or proletarians). These two opposing groups, or social classes, engage in a constant struggle throughout history. In the nineteenth century, the Industrial Revolution led to harsh living conditions for factory workers, who were essentially enslaved by the factory owners. Therefore, workers needed to start a movement—the labor movement—to combat the liberal system. The basic principle of this movement was not individual freedom but economic equality. Workers had to reform or destroy the existing welfare state so that, little by little, all citizens would be considered workers. In 1864, Marx founded the Socialist International, which proposed that workers worldwide seize power in their respective countries. The means to achieve this were: political parties called socialists, trade unions associated with these parties, and revolutionary anarchism.
Anarchists, who were very violent, first arrived in Spain during the Cantonal Revolution. To gain membership, a group of journalists led by a typographer, Pablo Iglesias, founded the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) in 1878 and, two years later, in 1880, the UGT (General Union of Workers), the first official union. Its founding charter reflected Marxist ideology and set three objectives: to acquire power, eliminate private ownership of the means of production, and socialize the people, implementing their views. The PSOE did not gain seats in parliament or hold power until 1905, during the Second Republic.
Liberalism
Liberalism championed freedom as a basic principle but held varying political views on social, economic, and external policies. Regarding social policy, they defended culture and education for the population. In economic policy, they defended mixed liberalism, protecting some products but not others. They also argued for Spain’s reintegration into Europe. The two major groups were the Chambers of Commerce and the Land League. The most important political figure was Joaquín Costa, who founded the Chamber of Commerce as a political party (though they are not currently a party) and the Land League, which created savings banks and mutual societies.
Republicanism
Republicanism advocated for Spain to become a republic. After the failure of the First Republic, they divided into four groups: Possibilists (working within the system), Democrats (who were presidentialists), Federalists (who wanted Spain to be a federal state like Pi i Margall’s), and Radicals (founded by the Catalan Alejandro Lerroux, who advocated for a federal Spanish state with its capital in Barcelona. This party was very active and supported Catalan nationalism).
Nationalisms
Nationalism was the most important opposition movement to the Restoration, coinciding with a European phenomenon that was causing major changes, such as the unification of Italy and Germany and the War of Independence in Ireland.
There are two theories regarding the concept of a nation:
- Anglo-Saxon theory: A nation is a state or several states with different nationalities who willingly decide to form a single nation, bound by a constitution and a president or king. Examples include the U.S., UK, and Germany. These are federal states.
- French theory: A nation is a group of people born in the same place who share a common history, language, and customs that identify them. In Spain, this theory prevailed, identifying the concept of the Spanish nation with the Spanish State.
During the Restoration, all Catalan and Basque privileges were repealed after their loss in the Third Carlist War. The reaction in these two regions was to seek signs of identity, trying to make the rest of Spain realize that they belonged to other nations, even if they were within the Spanish State. They argued that the Spanish nation did not exist, considering Spain a state created with the Catholic Monarchs, but that during the Middle Ages, the Reconquista led to the birth of specific nationalities in areas not controlled by Islam.
They believed Castile was not Spain and that the capital, Madrid, had abused its power. Therefore, they needed to recover their language, history, and culture.
These ideas were promoted through the press (Cu-Cut, Veu, Askaltasuna) and spread to other Spanish regions like Galicia and Valencia.
Catalan Nationalism
Catalan nationalism was the most significant. In Catalonia, this movement was called the Renaixença. The University organized conferences to study the Catalan language, which had become obsolete, and professors like Menéndez Pidal and Ramón y Cajal advocated for the use of Catalan, which has its own grammar and syntax. Floral games and Catalan festivals were organized. The First Universal Exhibition was held in Barcelona. The Catalan architect Gaudí established Modernism as the avant-garde style in Spain.
The theoretician of Catalan nationalism from a political standpoint was Prat de la Riba, who in 1892 developed the Bases de Manresa. This manifesto claimed that Catalonia belonged to the Catalans. This meant all powers—executive, legislative, judicial, education—should be Catalan, including a small Catalan military unit (now the Catalan police). Two years later, a political party called La Unió (now CiU, Convergence and Union), led by Cambo and advocating for independence, was formed. Later, other groups would join together to form a league, the Catalan League. Its purpose was to ensure that Spain became a federal state made up of other states.
Basque Nationalism
In the Basque Country, there was no unifying theory. A former Carlist, Sabino Arana, argued that Basque nationalism was a sentiment dating back to pre-Roman times, the Celtic period, when they spoke Celtic languages. He defended the Basque language (Euskera) and distinct identity traits. In 1894, he founded the PNV (Basque Nationalist Party), which advocated for Basque freedom. This party initially had little popular acceptance, and its rejection led to a movement among the Basque population known as “Spanishness,” advocated by Miguel de Unamuno and Pío Baroja. Basque nationalists did not begin to gain votes until the Second Republic, thirty years later, as the Carlists lost support among the Basque population and were seen as not defending Basque traditions (playing pelota, the Basque trawler).
Conclusion
The first 25 years of Cánovas del Castillo’s Restoration were positive, according to Professor Jover, in terms of political, economic, and social achievements: universal male suffrage, the first anti-terrorism law, company law, the Savings Banks law, the strike law, labor laws, etc.
Apparently, the system worked well, but in 1897, Cánovas del Castillo was assassinated by an anarchist, Michele Angiolillo. This demonstrated that security was not properly established, and the following year, the Spanish-American War broke out. The cause was the independence of Cuba, where guerrillas had been demanding independence since 1895. In 1898, the American ship Maine exploded in Havana harbor. The U.S. accused Spain, and Spain declared war on the U.S. The U.S. attacked Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines and sank the Spanish Armada in the Battle of Cavite. The result was the Disaster of ’98. Around 10,000 young people died, and Spain lost all its overseas territories in the Treaty of Paris. Spain sold all its remaining Pacific islands to Germany.
This war caused a moral crisis among the Spanish population, and the political opposition, led by Joaquín Costa, began to criticize the Cánovas regime, accusing it of corruption and caciquismo (political patronage).
Thereafter, minority political parties began to seek the votes of the poorest people, who usually did not vote, by promising exemptions from military service and even bribing the military.
Catalan nationalists began to promise reforms that would compensate for the loss of Cuba. The major political parties failed to negotiate with minority groups, and the system became ineffective, corrupt, and troubled during the reign of Alfonso XIII.