Spain in the Late 19th Century: Nationalism, Labor Movements, and Restoration

19th Century Spain: A Time of Change

During the second half of the nineteenth century, Europe experienced significant territorial and social changes. The first was driven by nationalism, a feeling born from the French Revolution’s principles of freedom, emphasizing the right of peoples to choose their own destiny. The second was the rise of workers’ movements, based on socialist and anarchist ideas, seeking to transform the social and economic order. These forces became the engines of change, much like the bourgeoisie and liberalism had been before.

In Spain, nationalist and labor movements opposed the restoration model, ultimately leading to a crisis. Nationalist parties and labor policies operated outside the established system, striving for parliamentary representation and a fundamental shift in Spain’s political and social structure. This was in contrast to the existing system, where only liberal and conservative parties, representing privileged classes and economic elites, could participate.

National and Regional Movements

A notable development during this period was the emergence of various regionalist movements. These movements demanded recognition of a region’s distinct identity, whether cultural, economic, administrative, or political, and advocated for a decentralized state. Examples include movements in Galicia and Valencia. Simultaneously, nationalist movements arose in Catalonia and the Basque Country, seeking recognition of their differences and significant levels of self-government based on the principle of “every nation a state.”

The origins of these movements varied by region, but they all defended linguistic, cultural, institutional, and historical particularities against the centralizing tendencies of the liberal state. The liberal state was unable to organize Spanish nationalism, which was often identified with Catholic traditionalism. The inefficient restoration, marked by the manipulation of elections and the ongoing colonial policy in Cuba, allowed nationalist parties to present themselves as the only force capable of regenerating the country and promoting economic and cultural development.

Catalan Nationalism

Catalan nationalist sentiment first appeared in the 1830s, coinciding with similar movements across Europe. This sentiment, rooted in a search for identity in the past, began with a cultural revival known as the Renaixensa. This movement aimed to strengthen the Catalan language, transforming it from a spoken dialect into a literary language. The movement gained significant traction through books and newspapers. This literary movement led to the emergence of political movements after mid-century, seeking self-rule for the Catalan region within the parliamentary system. The justification for this political nationalism was based on:

• A separate and distinct history from the rest of the Spanish state: Catalonia was a separate political entity until the fifteenth century, respected by the Hispanic monarchy of the Catholic Monarchs and the Habsburgs. Only the first Bourbon, Philip V, removed their privileges.
• A distinct language, as old as Castilian, used in both public and private life.
• A unique economic reality: industrial development since the 1840s occurred primarily in the periphery, with Catalonia being a key area. This economic development was linked to a major industrial bourgeoisie, entrepreneurial-minded businesses, a small urban commercial bourgeoisie, self-employed classes, and a modern industrial working class. These social groups, particularly the first two, defended self-government for Catalonia.

The first group formed to claim autonomy for Catalonia within the Spanish state was the Centre Catalá, led by the federalist Valentí Almirall. This liberal and secular political project failed, and by the end of the century, conservative Catalan nationalism became dominant.

In 1891, the Unió Catalanista was formed, uniting various political factions. Key figures included its president, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and secretary, Prat de la Riba. They developed the first Catalan political program, known as the Bases de Manresa, which advocated for self-government for Catalonia, with varying positions on autonomy and independence. This document called for the recognition of a separate government and legislature with jurisdiction over domestic politics.

The Bases de Manresa aimed to address Catalan aspirations. This project continued in 1901 with the creation of the Lliga Regionalista, led by Prat de la Riba and Francesc Cambó. This group united all sectors of Catalan conservatism, initiating a unified and lasting project in the defense of Catalan interests. The two primary objectives of the Lliga were to seek political autonomy for Catalonia within Spain and to defend the economic interests of the four provinces, particularly advocating for more protection for Catalan industrial entrepreneurship. The autonomist goals of the Lliga clashed with the centralist government of the Restoration. The government’s insufficient response was the creation of the Commonwealth of Catalonia in 1914, an organization that regrouped the Catalan provincial administrations for administrative purposes only.

The Lliga was the largest Catalan nationalist party until 1923, when the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera began. The party’s support from the Catalan bourgeoisie and middle classes waned due to the political crisis of 1901, which was caused by cacique politics.

Basque Nationalism

Basque nationalism had different characteristics from Catalan nationalism. Its rationale was ideological, based on the Basque language, Euskera, and the defense of historical privileges revoked during the Restoration in 1876. This loss of privileges, along with the industrialization of the Basque Country, the formation of an industrial and financial bourgeoisie linked to the Canovas system, and the arrival of immigrants from other areas, favored the development of national sentiment. The Basque people felt their habits and traditions were at risk.

The key figure of Basque nationalism, Sabino Arana, formed the first nationalist political agenda in 1895 and founded the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV). The party’s theoretical background included:

1. Defense and recovery of Basque independence: creating a state consisting of Vizcaya, Alava, Guipuzcoa, Navarra, and Soule Laburdi.
2. Radical anti-Spanish sentiment.
3. Exaltation of Basque ethnicity, opposing marriages between Basques and outsiders.
4. Catholic religious fundamentalism and absolute rejection of any other non-Catholic religion.
5. Promotion of the Basque language and cultural traditions.
6. Idealization of rural Basque life.

The PNV was a very conservative party, opposed to liberalism, industrialization, traditional Spanish values, and socialism. Initially, it had little presence, but from 1898-99, its social base expanded, leading to the first electoral successes at local and provincial levels.

Two trends emerged within the PNV: one advocating for government reform and autonomy, and another, more radical, following the principles of independence of Sabino Arana.

The goals of both Catalan and Basque nationalism were not met during the Restoration period. Only the Lliga achieved the creation of the Commonwealth. The lack of response from the central government contributed to the crisis of the Restoration. The Lliga was the leading political party of the Parliamentary Assembly that was on the verge of ending the Restoration in 1917.

Only during the Second Spanish Republic would Catalan and Basque autonomy statutes be achieved.

Other regional events, such as Galician and Valencian regionalism, were of lesser importance during this period.

Galician Regionalism: The socio-economic backwardness of Galicia hindered the implementation of Galician regionalism, which was initially limited to an intellectual minority. This regionalism began as a cultural movement, the Rexurdimiento, which sought answers to the economic and cultural backwardness of Galicia. Leading figures included Rosalía de Castro and Manuel Murguía, exponents of progressive liberalism. A parallel conservative and heavily Catholic traditionalist current also developed, with Alfredo Brañas as its main theoretician.

Valencian Regionalism: This was a minority and late phenomenon. Its beginnings coincided with the cultural renaissance of the 1870s, which prompted the formation of the Penat Lo Rat society. In the early 20th century, political approaches to the formation of Nova Valencia, claiming autonomy, began to emerge.

The Labor Movement

The labor movement in Spain organized during the Restoration period, coinciding with periods of greater freedoms, especially during the governments of Sagasta. In earlier periods, it was insignificant, primarily focused on charitable associations and Luddite actions (destruction of machines) in industrialized Catalonia during the first half of the nineteenth century.

The labor movement, understood as the political and social activities of workers and peasants to improve their economic and employment situation and defend their rights within capitalist society, strengthened after the 1880s. It not only engaged in political opposition but also in violent actions to achieve its goals. The ultimate aim was to destroy capitalist society, which they considered responsible for all inequalities. The two main ideologies within the labor movement were anarchism and socialism (Marxism).

Anarchism

Anarchism gained greater acceptance, especially after the visit of Giuseppe Fanelli (1869), a disciple of Bakunin, to organize the Spanish section of the International Workers Association (IWA), also known as the First International. (In 1864, anarchists, socialists, and other unions in Europe met in London and founded the First International, a labor organization attempting to unify the entire labor movement).

Anarchism represented the separation of the working world from public policy, following the failed attempts to change the First Republic. Workers were wary of any reform through state action and fought against it.

Following the coup of General Pavia, which ended the first phase of the Republic, the government outlawed associations linked to the IWA in 1874, leading to police repression and numerous arrests. The anarchists, now in hiding, were divided into two trends: those who advocated retreat and waiting for better times, and those who advocated for the “politics of facts,” i.e., terrorism. The Black Hand (1874-1883) was a sign of the latter, although the Andalusian oligarchy exaggerated terrorist actions to end all labor claims.

When the Sagasta government again authorized international organizations in 1881, affirming freedom of association and the legality of proletarian associations, a period of intense propaganda and organizational work began. This included assemblies, conferences, the creation of newspapers, the publication of manifestos, rallies, strikes, and street demonstrations (such as the celebrations of May 1st).

This rapid growth of the labor movement disturbed the conservative bourgeoisie and businessmen, who considered the IWA a threat to the established order and their economic interests.

Within the Spanish workers’ movement, anarchism remained prevalent, splitting into multiple trends, including the Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region (FTRE), created in 1881. This division led to inefficiencies in the workplace, and the most radical elements resorted to terrorism.

In 1901, various anarchist groups in Catalonia began publishing a newspaper, Solidaridad Obrera. In 1907, they sponsored an association of the same name. It was one of the key players in the Tragic Week in Barcelona (1909). In 1910, the leader of the Spanish anarchists, Anselmo Lorenzo, founded the National Labor Confederation (CNT), a union that by 1919 had 714,000 members, indicating its popularity and its important role in the crisis of 1917.

The main characteristics that defined anarchist ideology were:

• Rejection of any imposed authority: “No State, not the army, not the Church.”
• Rejection of private property and defense of collectivism.
• Defense of violent revolution and the use of general strikes, insurrections, sabotage, and terrorist acts as a means to destroy the bourgeois state, which they considered oppressive.
• Apolitical stance. They rejected political participation and elections.
• Anticlericalism.

This movement was primarily followed by laborers and industrial workers in Andalusia, Catalonia, and the Levantine region.

Socialism

Like anarchism, socialism developed during times of greater freedoms. In 1879, coinciding with the opening of the government, the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) was founded by Martínez Campos. Its founder, Pablo Iglesias, a follower of Marxist socialism, emphasized the necessity of political participation by the working class and the formation of a workers’ party capable of confronting the current political and economic system. The basic ideas of the socialist program were:

1. Ownership of political power by the working class. To end the class struggle and create a communist state where everyone was equal. Until then, they accepted political participation to mature their objectives.
2. Transformation of private property into social property (the only way to eliminate disparities and create a society of equals).
3. Immediate political and economic measures to achieve the proposed end: requesting rights of association and assembly, freedom of the press, universal suffrage, the eight-hour day, and equal pay for workers of both sexes.
4. Rejection of terrorism, a practice they considered a false path for the liberation of the workers.
5. Opposition to colonial expansion and wars (which they saw as means that countries use to consolidate the capitalist economic system).

Taking advantage of the law on associations of the Sagasta government of 1887 and the high concentration of workers in Catalonia, the General Union of Workers (UGT), a union linked to the PSOE, was established in 1888. Their leader until 1925 was Pablo Iglesias, who also became a deputy in 1910. The socialist union membership was less than the anarchist, with 240,114 members in 1919, concentrated in Madrid, Asturias, and Vizcaya. Despite poor relations with anarchists (due to ideological differences and political action), they joined together and staged a general strike in 1917.

In addition to these class unions, other approaches related to Catholics were formed: The Catholic Agrarian Confederation (with 20,000 members in 1919) and Solidarity of Basque Workers.

• Fragility and inability of the Republic to resolve conflicts: the Carlist war and the war of independence of Cuba.
• The passivity and weakness of all social opposition to the Restoration because neither workers nor peasants felt identified with the Democratic politics of the Sexenio, which favored the restoration process (a search for moderation in political action). This was linked to:
• The support of social groups that sought order and stability: the gentry, large landowners, Cuban planters, managers, officers of the army, and the Catholic Church favored the implementation of the project: a peaceful return to the Monarchy.

• A cohesive conservative party led by himself.
• An end to military interventions in politics.
• The design of a new political system based on power sharing between the King and the Cortes, and a peaceful alternation of parties to defend the monarchy (Conservative Party and Liberal Party).

• The declaration of rights and obligations: comprehensive and reflecting the achievements of 1869, but limited in practice, especially the rights of the press, expression, association, and assembly.
• The principle of shared sovereignty: stating that the power of making laws resided in “Las Cortes with the King.”
• The division of powers: legislative power resided in a bicameral Cortes. The Senate (consisting of three types of senators: by their own right, by royal appointment, and by election). The Congress was elected by direct suffrage, but the voting system was not fixed; the governing party would determine whether the electoral law should be based on census suffrage or universal suffrage.
• Executive power was vested in the Crown through ministers. The king freely chose the head of government and was not accountable to the courts.
• The judiciary was independent.
• Centralism was accentuated because the municipalities and councils were controlled by the government, and the Basque privileges were abolished.
• The religious issue was resolved by recognizing the country’s Catholic denomination and ensuring the maintenance of religion and the clergy, while also recognizing other faiths but prohibiting public demonstrations.

1. When the ruling party was subjected to strong internal pressure, the king called the other party to govern. At first, this game would have the support of the Crown but lacked the support of the Cortes, which was essential in a constitutional regime.
2. The king gave the new prime minister a decree dissolving the Cortes. New elections were prepared to be manipulated so that the result would meet the new government’s needs and respect the opposition. The parliamentary representation was distributed to a majority in the party of power, a significant number in the opposition party, and under-representation of other non-dynastic parties.

1. The involvement of the Crown in the political system as a referee for the games. The king could decide when it was convenient to replace one party with another.
2. The electoral distortion, which was the only way to create the necessary parliamentary majority at the time. In practice, the government did not depend on the Courts; it was the government that made them.

• The box: political forces negotiated, and electoral districts were divided between the dynastic parties. Most posts were given to their own candidates, a minority to the turnante party, and too few positions to minority parties.
• The rigging: the manipulation or change of election results and the arrangement of vote figures to win elections. The parties used vote buying, intimidation, the use of deceased voters, or placing the urn in a hospital during an epidemic, as occurred in Madrid in 1886.