The Catalan Republic ( ca, República Catalana, ) was a state proclaimed in 1931 by Francesc Macià as the "Catalan Republic within the Iberian Federation", in the context of the proclamation of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

. It was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, and superseded three days later, on 17 April, by the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label= Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...

, the Catalan institution of self-government within the Spanish Republic.

History

After the Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, Spanish republican parties agreed through the Pact of San Sebastián (17 August 1930) to prepare for a change of regime in case of victories in upcoming elections. In this project, there was a provision for the political autonomy of Catalonia, within the Spanish Republic. On 12 April 1931, local elections gave a large and unexpected majority in Catalonia (including Barcelona) to the

Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia ( ca, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social-democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also ...

( ca, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, ERC), a party that had been founded three weeks earlier by the union of the independentist

Estat Català Estat Català (, literally "Catalan State") is a pro-independence nationalist historical political party of Catalonia (Spain). History Estat Català is a historical pro-independence political party in Catalonia, Spain. It was founded by Franc ...

and the Catalan Republican Party. Two days later (14 April), few hours before the proclamation of the

in Madrid, ERC's leader, Francesc Macià, proclaimed the "Catalan Republic" from the balcony of the Palace of the Generalitat (then the seat of the Provincial Deputation of Barcelona), "expecting that the other peoples of Spain would constitute themselves as republics, in order to establish an Iberian Confederation". The proclamation of Macià was preceded by a proclamation of the Spanish Republic by another ERC member,

Lluís Companys Lluís Companys i Jover (; 21 June 1882 – 15 October 1940) was a Catalan politician who served as president of Catalonia from 1934 and during the Spanish Civil War. Companys was a lawyer close to labour movement and one of the most prominent l ...

, from the balcony of the City Hall, and the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

and Spanish Republican flags were hoisted from the balcony. Francesc Macià proclaimed himself president of Catalonia, and ratified in this position by the elected councillors of Barcelona. Macià immediately dismissed General , chief of the Spanish Army in Catalonia, appointing in his place General López Ochoa, who was loyal to the new republican government, while Companys was designated civil governor of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Jaume Aiguader Jaume Aiguader i Miró (or Jaime Aguadé Miró, 24 July 1882 – 30 May 1943) was a Spanish medical doctor, writer, social activist, politician and Catalan nationalist. He was one of the founders of the Republican Left of Catalonia political par ...

became

mayor of Barcelona This is a list of mayors of Barcelona since 1916. Mayors before Franco *... * Bartomeu Robert i Yarzábal (1899 - 1901) *... * Manuel Rius i Rius (1916 - 1917) * Antoni Martínez i Domingo (1917 - 1917) * Lluís Duran i Ventosa (1917 - 1917) * ...

. The jurist was appointed president of the Territorial Audience of Barcelona (the highest court of justice in Catalonia at the time). Helped by socialist Manuel Serra i Moret, he also appointed the ministers of the Catalan government, dominated by the Republican Left of Catalonia. He included among his ministers a member of the Radical Republican Party, a member of the UGT trade union, a member of Acció Catalana, as well as two representatives from the Socialist Union of Catalonia, but none from the previously hegemonic and conservative

Regionalist League Regionalist League of Catalonia ( ca, Lliga Regionalista de Catalunya, ; 1901–1936) was a right wing political party of Catalonia, Spain. It had a Catalanist, conservative, and monarchic ideology. Notable members of the party were Enric Prat de ...

. (In the streets many citizens clamored against the leader of the League, chanting "Long live Macià and death to Cambó!"). Macià even offered a ministry to the anarchist trade union CNT, but the anarcho-syndicalist organization finally refused to participate, claiming its traditional apoliticism. The provisional government of the Catalan Republic was made up of: * President: Francesc Macià (

) * Minister of Politics:

Ventura Gassol Bonaventura Gassol i Rovira (6 October 1893 – 19 September 1980), known as Ventura Gassol, was a Catalan poet, playwright and politician. A nationalist, he was prominent member of the ''Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya'' (ERC, Republican Left ...

(Republican Left of Catalonia) * Minister of Instruction: ( Socialist Union of Catalonia) * Minister of Defence: (Republican Left of Catalonia) * Minister of the Treasury: ( Radical Republican Party) * Minister of Economy and Work: (Socialist Union of Catalonia) * Minister of Communications: Manuel Carrasco i Formiguera ( Catalan Action) * Minister of Public Works: (

Unión General de Trabajadores The Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT, General Union of Workers) is a major Spanish trade union, historically affiliated with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). History The UGT was founded 12 August 1888 by Pablo Iglesias Posse ...

) The next steps of the new Catalan Government involved taking control of the territory. It ordered every municipality in Catalonia to ensure the proclamation of the Republic. It also appointed delegates of the government in the provinces of

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...

Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, a ...

and

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...

. A volunteer militia, the Civic Republican Guard (Catalan: ''Guàrdia Cívica Republicana'') was raised in order to protect the Palace of the Generalitat and the sourrondings. On 15 April, a decree making Catalan the official language was passed. On the same day, Macià signed a decree allowing freedom of broadcast time to . On 16 April, the first issue of the Official Journal of the Catalan Republic (''Diari Oficial de la República Catalana'') was published. On 17 April, three days after the proclamation, the provisional government of the new Spanish Republic, concerned about this proclamation and the duality of powers it created, sent three ministers ( Fernando de los Ríos, Lluís Nicolau d'Olwer and ) to Barcelona in order to negotiate with Macià and the Catalan provisional government. After some hours of intense debates, Macià reached an agreement with the three ministers, in which the Catalan Republic was renamed the Generalitat of Catalonia (Catalan:

), becoming an autonomous government within the Spanish Republic, that would be granted a

Statute of Autonomy Nominally, a Statute of Autonomy ( es, Estatuto de Autonomía, ca, Estatut d'Autonomia, gl, Estatuto de Autonomía, ast, Estatutu d'Autonomía, eu, Autonomia Estatutua) is a law hierarchically located under the constitution of a country and, ...

after the elections for Spain's Parliament (

Cortes Generales The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies m ...

). Francesc Macià would become the

President of the Generalitat of Catalonia The President of the Government of Catalonia ( ca, President de la Generalitat de Catalunya, ) is one of the bodies that the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia stipulates as part of the Generalitat de Catalunya, others being the Parliament, the ...

(as acting until November 1932, when he was elected by the newly elected

Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia ( ca, Parlament de Catalunya, ; es, Parlamento de Cataluña; oc, Parlament de Catalonha) is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. The Parliament is currently made up of 135 m ...

), a position he held until his death on 25 December 1933.

References

Sources and bibliography

* Sobrequés i Callicó, Jaume. ''Catalunya i la Segona República.'' Edicions d'Ara (Barcelona, 1983) * Pelegrí i Partegàs, Joan. ''Les primeres 72 hores de la República Catalana.'' Fundació President Macià (Barcelona, 1993) * Roglan, Joaquim. ''14 d'abril: la Catalunya republicana (1931-1939).'' Cossetània Edicions (2006) *

External links

Third Catalan Republic in ''The New York Times''

República catalana i Generalitat republicana. Una reconsideració historiogràfica i política
raco.cat

La Vanguardia.com {{Catalonia topics States and territories established in 1931 States and territories disestablished in 1931 History of Catalonia Politics of Catalonia Former republics 1931 in Catalonia Former countries in Spanish history Federalism in Spain

History

See also

References

Sources and bibliography

External links