Spain: Late 19th & Early 20th Century Politics & Society
The Zanjón Pact (1878): This pact ended the Cuban War of Independence. It included a broad amnesty, the abolition of slavery, and the promise of political and administrative reforms, including Cuban representation in the Spanish parliament.
Political Reform
Regenerationist Movement: Despite its reformist tone, the movement didn’t achieve deep reforms, limiting itself to maintaining the existing system with minimal changes.
Administrative Reform Proposal (Maura): This was the first attempt to reach agreements with Catalanism, recognizing municipalities, provincial councils, and regions.
Political Parties and Agreements
Pact of San Sebastián: This anti-monarchist agreement involved major Catalan and Galician Republican leaders. It guided opposition tactics and future decisions of the Republic, such as convening the Constituent Assembly and recognizing Catalan autonomy.
Radical Party: Founded by Alejandro Lerroux, this party held anti-Catalanist views.
Reform Party: This Republican party was founded by Melquíades Álvarez and included figures like José Ortega y Gasset.
National Catholic Party: A Carlist offshoot from the late 19th century. While ostensibly neutral towards forms of government, its extremely conservative vision aligned it with monarchist-conservative groups.
Solidaritat Catalana: This group united Catalan nationalists, Carlists, and Republicans, achieving significant success in the 1907 elections. In 1917, it created the Partit Republicà Català, and another iteration appeared in 1922.
Republicanism: While the main parliamentary opposition and the largest at the beginning of the 20th century, republicanism suffered from fragmentation into different groups.
Union Republican: A coalition of Republican groups led by Nicolás Salmerón and Alejandro Lerroux, achieving several electoral successes.
Social Movements and Conflicts
Gangsterism (1916-1923): This era saw over 800 attacks, including the assassination of Prime Minister Eduardo Dato.
Primo de Rivera’s Coup: With support from certain sectors, Captain General of Catalonia, Miguel Primo de Rivera, launched a military coup, presenting it as a solution to the political and social unrest.
PSOE and Pablo Iglesias: In 1905, the PSOE gained councilors in Madrid, and in 1910, Pablo Iglesias became a member of parliament.
Communist Party of Spain: Formed in 1921 after the Russian Revolution, the party had influence, particularly in Vizcaya and Asturias.
Rabassaires: These tenant grape growers clashed with landowners over property access.
Solidaridad Obrera: Founded in 1907, this federation of workers’ associations was apolitical, assertive, and pro-revolutionary.
Basque Workers’ Solidarity (STV): Created by the PNV, this Catholic union aimed to attract workers to nationalist unions and away from socialist ones.
Unique Industrial Unions: Intended to replace old craft unions, these reaffirmed the importance of apolitical stances and direct negotiation between workers and employers.
Yunteros: Small tenant farmers, predominantly in Extremadura.
International Relations and Conflicts
The Rif War: This conflict took place in the mountainous northern region of Morocco, which became a Spanish protectorate.
Spanish-American War: Newspaper tycoons Pulitzer and Hearst used the events to launch an anti-Spanish media campaign, fueling public support for US intervention.
Pope Leo XIII’s Intervention: The Pope intervened to prevent military conflict between Germany and Spain.
Cultural Movements
Realism: This artistic movement, succeeding Romanticism, focused on detailed depictions of reality, particularly in novels.
Modernism: Rubén Darío, a Nicaraguan poet, was the most representative figure of literary modernism, influencing many Spanish poets.
Regenerationism: This intellectual current criticized the Restoration system, seeking solutions to Spain’s moral, social, and political crisis.
Political System
Turno Pacífico: This system involved the alternation of power between the Conservative and Liberal parties, with the king ultimately deciding the government, regardless of election results.
National Union: A popular political party highly critical of the Restoration.
Patriotic Union (1929): This party, created to promote support for the dictatorship, lacked a defined ideology and aimed to provide social support for the regime.
Demographic Transition: This theory describes the shift from a pre-industrial society with high birth and death rates to an industrial society with lower rates.