Vicenç Albert Ballester i Camps (September 18, 1872 in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 ...
– August 15, 1938 in
El Masnou
; ) is a municipality in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast between Montgat and Premià de Mar, to the north-east of the city of Barcelona, in the ''comarca'' (county) of el Maresme. The town is both a tour ...
) was a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
politician,
Catalan nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
, considered by some to be the designer and promoter of the "
estelada
The Estelada (; pl. ''Estelades''; full name ''Senyera estelada'', , from ''estel'', "star") is a flag flown by Catalan independence, Catalan independence supporters to express their support for an independent Catalonia or independent ''Països ...
",
Catalonia's independence flag.
Biography
Ballester was the son of Vicenç Ballester (from
Calaf
Calaf () is the main town in the northern portion of the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Anoia in
Catalonia, Spain, situated on the Calaf Plain. The town holds an important weekly livestock market.
It is served by the main N-II road ...
,
Anoia
Anoia () is a comarca (county) in central Catalonia, Spain, with its capital at Igualada. It is mainly located in the Penedès region, with its northern section being in Central Catalonia.
The comarca of Anoia is irrigated by the Anoia River; ...
) and Cristina Camps (from
Lleida
Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...
), where the family owned lands and flour mills. He had early ties to the town of
El Masnou
; ) is a municipality in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast between Montgat and Premià de Mar, to the north-east of the city of Barcelona, in the ''comarca'' (county) of el Maresme. The town is both a tour ...
, having worked there and later raised a family there. He began his studies in
seamanship
Seamanship is the skill, art, competence (human resources), competence, and knowledge of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, o ...
in 1890, having already learned to sail in El Masnou. After four years, in 1894, he obtained his merchant pilot's license which allowed him to sail as a captain. Nevertheless, his career in the merchant marine was cut short for health reasons: he had osseous problems in one of his knees. This did not, however, keep Ballester from going to
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, in 1898 when the Caribbean island declared its independence. Upon his return to El Masnou he became a partner and employee in a company that commercialized
acetylene gas
Acetylene (systematic name: ethyne) is a chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in its pure for ...
, used at the time for street lighting.
Once Ballester established himself more in El Masnou, he began to participate in political activities promoting
Catalan nationalism
Catalan nationalism promotes the idea that the Catalan people form a distinct nation and national identity. A related term is Catalanism (, ), which is more related to Regionalism (politics), regionalism and tends to have a wider meaning, most pe ...
, especially through several Catalanist publications. In 1901 he became a member of the Foment Autonomista Català and head of , and as such organised the acts of the September 11, 1908 (
Catalonia's National Day) which resulted in a prison sentence. He was also a member of the (Association for the Protection of Education in Catalan) and in 1903 founded the magazine La Tralla writing under the pseudonym VIC (whose initials in Catalan stand for "Long Live the Independence of Catalonia") and VICIME ("Long Live the Independence of Catalonia and Die Spain"). He was also a member of the (Catalan Nationalist Association). He collaborated in the bulletin of the CADCI and formed part of the
Unió Catalanista
The ''Unió Catalanista'' (in English: ''Catalanist Union'') was a Catalanist political group, initially conservative, formed in Barcelona in 1891, from the union of various Catalanist trade unions and associations that came into contact as a res ...
(Catalanist Union). In 1915 he took part in the foundation of the Mossèn Cinto School, of which he was president that same year.
In 1918, after the end of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he was one of the promoters of the
Committee Pro Catalonia, which aimed to get recognition for the effort of the Catalan Volunteers in the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in order to ask the
Society of Nations for support for Catalan independence, following the postulates of the US president
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
, who defended the right to self-determination of peoples. It is in this committee that Vincent Albert Ballester created the
estelada
The Estelada (; pl. ''Estelades''; full name ''Senyera estelada'', , from ''estel'', "star") is a flag flown by Catalan independence, Catalan independence supporters to express their support for an independent Catalonia or independent ''Països ...
flag. Ballester was a very active Catalan activist and in 1923 he was one of the participants (and later chronicler) of the September 11th demonstration that year, which was violently put down with sabre charges, just one day before the
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup
, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
of general
Primo of Rivera. Ballester backed the foreign campaign of
Francesc Macià
Francesc Macià i Llussà (; 21 September 1859 – 25 December 1933) was a Catalan politician who served as the 122nd president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, and formerly an officer in the Spanish Army.
Politically, Macià evolved from an ...
's
Catalan State although he was critical with the planned invasion from
Prats de Molló
Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, near the border with Spain and the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. The name ''Prats-de-Mollo'' comes from Catalan "meadows of Molló". Moll ...
. Beginning in 1924 he was the last president of ''
Unió Catalanista
The ''Unió Catalanista'' (in English: ''Catalanist Union'') was a Catalanist political group, initially conservative, formed in Barcelona in 1891, from the union of various Catalanist trade unions and associations that came into contact as a res ...
'', which under his leadership became a political party and adopted a pro-independence ideology. Ballester collaborated with numerous Catalan magazines in the Americas, including ' (Revival) in Buenos Aires, and ''La Nova Catalunya'' (New Catalonia) in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.[Francoist
Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...](_bl ...<br></span></div>, Cuba. Gravely ill, he died shortly before the <div class=)
occupation of Catalonia.
Legacy
In August 2009, the town of Vic voted to name a square in his honor. In January 2014 a square in the
Ciutat Vella
Ciutat Vella (, meaning in English "Old City") is a district of Barcelona, numbered District 1. The name means "old city" in Catalan and refers to the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ''Ciutat Vella'' is nest ...
district of
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 ...
was inaugurated with his name. In mid-2014, the city of
Girona
Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...
paid homage to the estelada designer by lending his name to the Montilivi municipal gardens after having voted the resolution six years earlier during the centennial celebration of the Estelada.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Estelada
The Estelada (; pl. ''Estelades''; full name ''Senyera estelada'', , from ''estel'', "star") is a flag flown by Catalan independence, Catalan independence supporters to express their support for an independent Catalonia or independent ''Països ...
References
Bibliography
* Crexell i Playà, Joan. L'origen de la bandera independentista. Barcelona: Editorial El Llamp, 1984. .
* Surroca i Tallaferro, Robert. La Catalunya resistant: Allò que la transició ens ha amagat. Tom 87. Lleida: Pagès Editors, 2006 (Col·lecció Guimet). .
External links
Vicenç Albert Ballester i Camps�. L'Enciclopèdia.cat. Barcelona:
Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana Grup may refer to:
* Grup Gerak Khas, a special forces regiment of the Malaysian Army
* ADD Grup, a developer and manufacturer of smart metering solutions
* Transferoviar Grup, a private railway company in Romania
* Grup, a term for grown-ups Sta ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballester, Vicenc Albert
Catalan nationalists
Flag designers
Politicians from Barcelona
1872 births
1938 deaths