Historical research on regionalism and peripheral nationalism in Spain : a reappraisal

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EUI Working Paper ECS No. 92/6

Historical Research on Regionalism and

Peripheral Nationalism in Spain: a Reappraisal

XOSP-M. NtJNEZ

European University Institute, Florence

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EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE, FLORENCE

EUROPEAN CULTURE RESEARCH CENTRE

EUI Working Paper ECS No. 92/6

H istorical R esearch on Regionalism and

P eripheral N ationalism in Spain: a R eappraisal

XOSE-M. NUNEZ

BADIA FIESOLANA, SAN DOMENICO (FI)

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No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form without permission of the author.

Badia Fiesolana 1-50016 San Domenico (FI)

Italy © The Author(s). European University Institute. Digitised version produced by the EUI Library in 2020. Available Open Access on Cadmus, European University Institute Research Repository.

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HISTORICAL RESEARCH

O N REGIONALISM A N D PERIPHERAL N ATIO N ALISM IN SPAIN: A REAPPRAISAL

XOSÉ-M. NÙNEZ1

European University Institute, Florence European Culture Research Centre

1- I acknowledge the kind collaboration of Ludger Mees (Univ.of Basque Country) and Klaus-Jurgen Nagel (Univ.Frankfurt), who sent me their unpublished papers quoted in the bibliography, José Luis de la Granja (Univ.of Basque Country) and E.Ucelay da Cal (Autonomous Univ.of Barcelona), who sent me their recent historiographical articles. Pedro Ibarra (Univ.of Basque Country) and Justo G.Beramendi (Univ.of Santiago de Compostela) gave me valuable suggestions by reading the paper. I would like to

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction, (p.l)

2. Nationalist historiography against professional historiography?, (p.4)

3. The raw materials. Existing sources, (p.9).

4. The traditional perspectives for the study of the national question prior to 1939. (p.21)

5. The historiography on the national question under the Franco Regime, (p.25)

5.1. The Francoist official interpretation, (p.28)

5.2. The first attem pts to set up a new history of the national question, (p.30)

6. The revival of historiography on the national question since 1975. (p.37)

6.1. Research on Catalan nationalism, (p.41) 6.2. Research on Basque nationalism, (p.53) 6.3. Research on Galician nationalism, (p.69)

6.4. Research on other peripheral nationalism s/regionalism s. (p.79)

6.5. Main features of Spanish historiography on the national question, (p.87)

7. The unknown protagonist: research on Spanish nationalism, (p.91)

8. Some final remarks, (p.98)

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1. In tro d u ctio n .

S p a in b elongs to th e gro u p of c o u n trie s w ith a com paratively high level of n a tio n a l u n re s t, d u e to th e p re se n c e of stro n g p erip h e ra l n a tio n a list m ovem ents in som e of its p a rts . If com pared w ith B ritain or B elgium S p a in ’s c a se seem s to c o rresp o n d to a n in te rm ed ia te level of social a n d political conflict, w hich in th e c a se of th e B asq u e country, how ever, re a c h e s a n extrem ely d a n g e ro u s degree of political violence, a lth o u g h n o t a tta in in g th e level of U lste r's case. The political m ap of S p a n is h political p a rtie s is n o w ad ay s highly d isp e rsed , p rese n tin g a t least two regional political su b sy ste m s , e a c h of th e m c h a ra c te rise d by th e hegem ony of n a tio n a list p a rtie s (either left or rig h t wing): C a ta lo n ia a n d th e B a sq u e C ountry, w hile in o th e r a re a s of th e S tate, p erip h eral n a tio n a list p a rtie s co m m an d no less th a n 20% of th e to ta l a m p u n t of votes sin c e th e first electio n s (Galicia, C a n a ry Islan d s, N avarra ; a n d to a le sser ex ten t, V alencia a n d th e B alearic Islands). In th is se n se, it is a p p ro p ria te to a s s e r t th a t S p a in p re s e n ts a n extrem e com plexity related to its n a tio n a l diversity a n d also to th e political a n d social articu la tio n of th e r e g io n a l/n a tio n a l claim s w ith in th e S tate. More th a n 15% of th e se a ts a t th e S p a n is h A ssem bly are held by a wide sam p le of n a tio n a list an d reg io n a list p a rtie s, a n d two of th em c o n s titu te a p arlia m e n ta ry group of th e ir ow n (C atalan a n d B a sq u e groups). O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e linguistic diversity of th e S p a n is h S ta te is n o w ad ay s recognized th ro u g h a serie s of e d u c a tio n a l law s w hich allow th e u se of regional la n g u ag e s (Galician, B a sq u e -b o th in N av arra a n d B a sq u e co u n try - a n d C a ta la n -in C atalonia. V alencia a n d B alearic Islands). The eth n ic diversity a n d variety of the S p a n is h te rrito rie s is today a legally recognized fact a n d is in stitu tio n a lly a rtic u la te d by a d ecen tralized political system th e

A utonom ous C om m unities (C om unidades autónom as). S ince th e adoption of the

S p a n ish C o n s titu tio n (D ecem ber 1978), S p ain p re se n ts a system of d ec en tra liz atio n w hich could be co n sid ered a s a n in te rm ed ia te ste p betw een th e federalism of th e F ed eral R epublic of G erm any a n d Italy's regional

1. N av a rra c o n s titu te s a p a rtic u la r ca se , sin c e B a sq u e n a tio n a lism c o n sid ers th is c o m m u n ity to b e a p a r t o f th e w hole E u sk a d i o r E u sk a l Herria (B asque nation), an d th erefo re all B a sq u e n a tio n a lis t p a r tie s s ta n d a t th e a u to n o m o u s N avarrese elections, a lth o u g h o nly th e ra d ic a l p a rty H ern B a ta s u n a (HB) m a n a g e s to re a p betw een 5 % -10% ol the votes. O n th e o th e r h a n d , a reg io n alist a n d co n serv a tiv e p arty . Unión del Pueblo Navarro (into w h ic h th e N av arrese se c tio n of th e Partido Popular converged) defen d s ju s t the c o n tra ry p o sitio n , th a t is, th e d ifferen tiated id en tity of N av arra from B a sq u e country. The fact th a t in N av a rra th e B a sq u e la n g u a g e is sp o k e n in m o re th a n 40% of its territory (Pyrenaic N o rth e rn N avarra) c o n trib u te s very m u c h to th e p e rsis te n c e of th e B asque claim s, p a rtic u la rly s tro n g in th e B a sq u e -sp e a k in g regions.

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2

system . W ithin it, four regions w hich are legally co n sid ered a s

nacionalidades históricas (h istorical n atio n alitie s: Galicia, B asq u e C o u n try , C a ta lo n ia a n d A ndalusia) a re g ra n te d a relatively large se t of co m p ete n ce s in fields s u c h a s te rrito ria l a d m in istra tio n , ed u c atio n , etc., w h ilst th e r e s t of th e regions are given le ss pow ers. The re s u lt form s a sy stem of 17 a u to n o m o u s co m m u n ities in w h ich n a tio n a list p a rtie s very often coexist w ith reg io n alist claim s. T h u s, th e B a sq u e C o u n try h a s 4 m ain political p arties: th e PNV (B asque N atio n alist Party), th e PSOE (S p a n ish S ocialist Party), HB (Herri B a ta su n a ) a n d U nidad A lavesa, a regionalist

p a rty of th e A lava’s province. A ragon’s regional g o v ern m en t is held a t

p re s e n t by a coalition of th e right-w ing P artido P o p u la r a n d th e co n servative reg io n alist p a rty Partido A ragonés Regionalista. V alencia is divided into S o cialists, V alencian right-w ing reg io n alists, th e S p a n ish P artid o P o p u lar a n d p ro -C a ta la n n a tio n a list left-w ing p a rtie s w hich en te re d th e co m m u n ist coalition Izquierda Unida in th is region.

The n a tio n a l q u e s tio n seem ed to rem a in d o rm a n t u n d e r th e F ran co Régime. N everheless, d u rin g th e 6 0 ’s a n d 7 0 ’s, p o p u la r u n r e s t in som e specific a re a s (m ainly th e B a sq u e C ountry) a n d regional claim s w ere often com bined into a com m on platform . The rea l c o n c ern of th e d em ocratic o pposition to F ra n co ism w as n o t only to rep la ce th e a u th o rita r ia n sy stem by a d em o cratic one, b u t also to re -sh a p e th e S ta te ’s s tr u c tu r e into a new federal or even co n fed erate sta te . F rom th e so c ialists to th e ex trem e left- w ing n a tio n a list p a rtie s of regional sp h e re (B asque, C a ta la n , G alician, an d so on), n a tio n a lism b ec am e a p o p u la r claim a n d fu rth e rm o re a w eap o n ag a in st d ic ta to rsh ip , a n d even th e B a sq u e te rro ris t o rg a n isa tio n ETA, b o rn in 1959, w a s reg ard ed a s a legitim ate "heroic" p o p u la r o rg a n isa tio n fighting ag a in st b o th n a tio n a l a n d social o ppresion.

T his b a sic fe a tu re of S p a n is h d em o cratic o p p o sitio n m ovem ent a g a in st th e Regime m u s t be ta k e n into ac co u n t, for it provided th e first co n cern for th e h isto rio g ra p h y of n atio n alism : left-wing a n d progressive h isto ry h a d to be com bined w ith a s e n se of national history for e a c h nationality. H isto ria n s d u rin g th e 7 0 ’s played -or w ere s u p p o se d to play- a cru c ial role in th e recovery of th e h isto ric specific p a s t of every are a, b u t especially in C a ta lo n ia (w here a rea l C a ta la n h isto rio g ra p h ica l tra d itio n already existed before 1936, in c o n tra s t to G alicia a n d th e B a sq u e C o u n try , and also w here a c u ltu ra l m a rk e t w as able to survive). In U celay’s expressive w ords, th e "Marxist" school of th e 6 0 ’s a n d 7 0 ’s, m u c h influ en ced by A lth u ss e r a n d G ra m sc i’s w ritings, b u t also by th e B ritish N e w Left, found itself in th e need of m eetin g th e real d e m a n d of a katalanische

2. F o r a c o m p a riso n , se e H .-J.P u h le , "El E s ta d o e s p a ñ o l d e la s a u to n o m ía s y el siste m a fed eral alem án ", in J.L .d e la G ra n ja y C .G a rita o n a n d ía (eds.), G ernika, 5 0 a ñ o s d esp u és.

N acionalism o, R epública, G uerra Civil, S a n S e b a s tiá n : U PV /EH U , 1987, 2 4 5 -2 6 7 .

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V olksgeschichte . The n a tu r e of th is p rim a ry political co m m itm ent w as

ex p ressed , e.g., in th e political affiliation of th e first C atalan h is to ria n s of C a ta la n n atio n alism (Jordi Solé T u ra w as m em ber of th e PSUC, th e C a ta la n c o m m u n ist p arty; Isidre M olas w as also a leader of th e C atalan S ocialist P arty (PSC), la te r o n m erged w ith th e PSOE, etc.). To a lesser exten t, th e sa m e tre n d could be identified in G alicia a n d in th e B asque C ountry. H istory a s a m e a n s of recovering a n a tio n a l p a s t becam e a com m on fe a tu re of m a n y S p a n is h regions, alth o u g h it did n o t clearly ex p ress any explicit political claim s.

A nother c o n seq u e n ce of th e n a tio n a list "boom" of th e 7 0 ’s a n d first h a lf of th e 8 0 ’s is th e coexistence of m a n y different k in d s of n atio n al history. H isto ria n s could be prim arily classified into critical a n d non- critical, n a tio n a list a n d a n ti-n a tio n a lis t or sim ply "purely n ationalists" a n d "left-wing". The b asic w orks on th e h isto ry of th e n a tio n a l m ovem ents in th e G alician, B asq u e, C a ta la n a n d even A n d a lu sia n a re a s alw ays h a d to coexist w ith th e "patriotic" b o o k s w ich d ea lt w ith th e ir n a tio n a lism s in a ra th e r d escriptive a n d apologetyical way. It also paved th e w ay for fruitful d e b a te s w ith in pro fessio n al h isto ria n s, sin ce th e re w as a deeped- rooted feeling to esc a p e from th is k in d of "apologies". N evertheless, the a m o u n t of b o oks a n d article s w hich h a s b ee n p u b lish ed in all A utonom ous C o m m u n ities sin c e 1970 is am azing. M em oirs, m on o g rap h s, etc., invaded th e editorial m a rk e t, a n d it m u s t be n oted th a t m a n y of th is p ara -h isto rica l lite ra tu re |^ a s p u b lish e d in th e a u to c h th o n o u s la n g u ag e s (m ainly C a ta la n an d Galician).

Therefore, pro fessio n al h isto ry reg a rd in g th e field of th e N ational Q u estio n in S p a in h a d to face m a n y dilem m as. O ne of th em w as th e real

professionalization of th e m étier d ’historien, th a t is to say: th e need to

be critical en o u g h so a s n o t to w rite national histories in th e XIXth c e n tu ry se n se, a n d th e co n scien ce of b eing a k in d of porte-parole of the real n a tio n a l feeling of th e p o p u la r classe s. The second w as to recover the se n se of regional history. Even if th is a p p ro a c h ow es very m u c h in S pain to th e influ en ce of th e Écoles d e s A n n a le s, a real trad itio n of resa rc h in g local a s p e c ts or regional p h e n o m e n a did n o t exist a t all. The h istory of th e n a tio n a list m ovem ents w as very often in te n d ed to be a kind of avant-

garde of th e new se n se of regional history. M onographs on regionalism in

Aragon a n d E x tre m a d u ra , e.g., frequently a p p e ared before regional m o n o g rap h s on social a n d econom ic history. A fu rth e r co nsequence of this

3. E .U celay d a Cal, "La H istoriografía e n C a ta lu ñ a (1960-1980): M arxism o, N acionalism o y M ercado C u ltu ral", H istoria y Crítica, 1 (1991), 131-153.

4. B a sq u e h a s b e e n rare ly u s e d in th e field of scien ce, even now adays. It is u n d e rsta n d a b le , w h en o n e re a lis e s th a t only 20% of th e B a sq u e p o p u latio n is B a sq u e sp e ak in g , o u t o f w hom le s s th a n a 10% (approxim ately) is able to re a d acad em ic B asque.

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fact w as th a t the history o f the national question in Spain w a s too

restricted in the beginning to political m atters, su c h a s the history o f nationalist organisations, leaders, politics a n d ideologies. The b a c k w a rd n e ss of S p a n is h social h isto ry a n d fu rth e rm o re th e lack of good m o n o g rap h s on econom ic h isto ry m ad e it difficult to fu rth e r explore th e

Umjeld in w hich n a tio n a lism s a n d reg io n a lism s em erged.

Given th e fact th a t th e h isto ry of th e n a tio n a l q u e stio n w as in te n d ed to be only a m a tte r of im p o rta n c e for p e rip h e ra l h isto rio g ra p h ies, it is also n o t s u rp ris in g th a t th e n a tio n a l q u e stio n w as n o t tre a te d from th e

S p a n ish poin t of view. This b ro u g h t a b o u t heavy c o n se q u e n c e s for fu tu re

rese arch : o u r know ledge e ith e r of ideological S p a n is h n atio n alism or th e S p a n ish n a tio n -b u ild in g d u rin g th e n in e te e n th a n d tw e n tie th c e n tu ry is still today very restric te d . And n ow adays th e involvem ent of som e rele v an t h is to ria n s (who have received g e n e ro u s fin an c in g from th e S p a n ish governm ent) clearly re sp o n d s to political re a so n s: th e need to c o u n te ra c t th e so-called "h istoriographic offensive" of p e rip h e ra l h isto ria n s, precisely w hen, e.g.in C atalo n ia, th e s tu d y of th e n a tio n a l q u e s tio n s does n o t seem to be a ttra c tiv e en o u g h for y o u n g C a ta la n h isto ria n s. The a c tu a l re su rg e n c e of social h isto ry in S p a in le ad s to th e u n d e re stim a tio n of political m o v em en ts . or. o n th e co n tra ry , to th e co m b in atio n of social h isto ry m e th o d s a n d p ersp ectiv es in th e e x p lan a tio n of th e em ergence and d evelopm ent of th e n a tio n a l m ovem ents.

2. N a tio n a list h isto rio g r a p h y a g a in st p ro fe ssio n a l h isto rio g ra p h y ?

The facto rs briefly d e scrib ed above have b ro u g h t a s a c o n seq u e n ce a w o rsen in g b etw een th e h isto rio g ra p h y on n a tio n a lism a n d th e n a tio n a l q u e s tio n on th e one h a n d a n d th e p re s e n t ex istin g n a tio n a l m ovem ents, especially in B a sq u e C o u n try a n d C atalonia, o n th e o th e r. N ationalist p a rtie s have se e n how th e h is to ria n s th e y w ould like to s u p p o rt a s national

historians, have very freq u en tly criticized m a n y a s p e c ts of th e ir p ast.

T his is th e c a se in th e B a sq u e C ou n try , w here th e B a sq u e N atio n alist Party (PNV), th e m a in p a rty in th is region, does n o t allow h isto ria n s to w ork in its very well o rg an ise d archives. The fact also th a t right-w ing n a tio n a list p a rtie s held office in b o th th e B a sq u e C o u n try a n d C a ta lo n ia sin ce 1980, m a d e it even m o re difficult for left-w ing h is to ria n s to ta k e a d v a n ta g e of th e regional in s titu tio n s ’su p p o rt. N evertheless, som e jo u rn a lis ts , w riters a n d even se c o n d -c la ss h is to ria n s (with very few exceptions) hav e been p artially au th o riz e d a t le a st to classify a n d se e th e d o c u m e n ts k e p t b y the party . The r e s u lt of th is is th a t in th e B a sq u e C o u n try th e p rese n t h isto rio g ra p h y o n n a tio n a lism offers a k in d of threefold outlook: p ro fessio n al h isto ria n s, PNV’s p u b lic ists, a n d even a th ird gro u p of se c o n d -c la ss h is to ria n s u su a lly close to th e p o s tu la te s held b y radical

4 © The Author(s). European University Institute. Digitised version produced by the EUI Library in 2020. Available Open Access on Cadmus, European University Institute Research Repository.

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"left" (Herri B a ta su n a ). In th e sa m e way, th e stro n g M arxist-oriented C a ta la n h isto rio g ra p h y of th e 70 ’s did n o t com e to te rm s very well w ith the prevailing conservative n a tio n a list p a rty w hich d o m in a te s th e au to n o m o u s g o v ern m en t sin c e 1980 (Convergencia i Unió). The re s u lt once ag ain w as a relative fra g m en tatio n of th e stu d ie s o n n atio n alism into two d ifferentiated fields: th a t of th e U niversities (mainly, th e A utonom ous U niversity of B arcelona, a n d to a le sser exten t, th e C e n tral U niversity of B arcelona), a n d th a t su p p o rte d a n d fin an ced directly th ro u g h the in stitu tio n s, d ep e n d in g on su b sid ie s of th e a u to n o m o u s governm ent (e.g.the

C entre d e Historia Contemporánea d e C atalunya). The th ird sector of

h isto rio g rap h y , rad ically n atio n alist-o rien te d , h a s m u c h less stre n g th in C atalonia. N evertheless, som e p u b lish in g h o u s e s w hich belong to this ideological field (e.g.La M agrana, or El Llamp) m a in ta in excellent h isto ric a l se rie s w here pro fessio n al h is to ria n s collaborate. This fact is also rela ted to th e different political s itu a tio n existing in b o th c o u n trie s (E u sk a d i a n d C atalonia): w hile in th e form er a n extrem ely clear- c u t division e x ists betw een n a tio n a lis t/n o n -n a tio n a lis ts , a n d even w ithin th e in te lle c tu a l circles betw een a bertzales (radical n atio n alists) and m o d e ra tes, in th e la tte r th e . s itu a tio n is m u c h m ore flexible. C a ta lan c u ltu re a n d la n g u ag e serv es a s a vehicle for th e integ ratio n of "foreigners" a n d n o n -n a tio n a lis ts into th e p u b lish in g h o u se s a n d reviews co n cern ed w ith th e ta s k of p ro p ag a tin g C a ta la n cu ltu re. In th e G alician case, th e fact th a t th e a u to n o m o u s go v ern m en t is n o t yet occupied by a n a tio n a list p arty , b u t by a S p an ish -co n serv ativ e one (Partido Popular) d ete rm in e s th a t real official s u p p o rt for a h isto rio g ra p h y concerned w ith a kind of Galician national history h ard ly exists, insofar th e re is a lack of in te re s t on th e p a r t of th e in stitu tio n s. O n th e contrary, som e p u b lish in g h o u se s in G alician a n d sem i-official in s titu tio n s sin ce th e early 8 0 ’s (such a s th e Consello d a Cultura Galega) on th e c o n tra ry prom ote th e stu d y of, a n d p u b lis h m a n y s tu d ie s rela ted to, th e h isto ry of Galician regionalism or n atio n alism . The m o st c u rio u s fact in G alicia is th e relative o pen c h a ra c te r of som e of its U niversity sc h o lars to w ard s the stu d y of n a tio n a lism in o th e r p a r ts of S pain: th e only two congresses celebrated so far of overall S p a n is h c h a ra c te r co n cern in g th e stu d y of the n atio ijal q u e s tio n have ta k e n place in S an tia g o de C om postela in 1983 and

1988. It is rela ted to th e fact th a t, d esp ite th e com plexe a n d rich ideological developm ent of G alician n atio n alism sin ce th e m iddle of the XIXth ce n tu ry , its real stre n g th h a s rem a in ed le ss effective th a n its C a ta lan or B a sq u e p a rtn e rs .

5. T h ese w ere th e colloquia Os nacionalism os n a E sp a ñ a d a R estauración (Santiago, S ep tem b er 1983) a n d Os nacionalism os na E sp a ñ a d a II R epública (Pazo de M ariñán. 1988). A next c o n g re ss of E u ro p e a n c h a ra c te r is going to b e held in S a n tia g o in S ep tem b er 1993.

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In th e re st of th e a u to n o m o u s co m m u n ities, th e d ichotom y betw een official/p ro fessio n al h isto rio g ra p h y on th e n a tio n a l q u e stio n does not exist a s su c h . In A n d a lu d a 's case, th e effort to s h a p e a g en u in e so m ew h at A n d a lu sia n h isto ry (which could ju stify a difficult p ro ce ss of a u to n o m o u s developm ent sin ce 1978) led th e a u to n o m o u s g o v ern m en t a n d th e so-called

D iputaciones (provincial o rg a n s w hich co o rd in a te th e fu n d s to be d istrib u te d to th e tow n councils) to organize su c ce ssiv e co n g re sses on th e H istory of A ndalucía, w ith in w hich a co n sid erab le n u m b e r of p a p e rs dealing w ith th e h isto ry of A n d a lu sia n regionalism w ere given, p a rtic u la rly focusing on th e figure of th e first A n d a lu sia n th e o re tic ian , B ia s Infante. T h en again, th e relative s tre n g th of A n d a lu sia n regionalism (w hich is m ostly left-w ing oriented) provoked th e em ergence of stu d ie s dealing w ith th e h isto ric al ro o ts of A nd a lu cism o histórico, th a t u su a lly a tte m p te d to an sw e r su c h q u e s tio n s a s w hy th e poor A n d a lu sia n p e a s a n ts w ith o u t la n d (jornaleros) h a d n o t b e e n a ttra c te d by B ias In fa n te ’s bourgeois reg ionalism ...T he e x p lan a tio n m odel th u s derived from th e a n a ly sis of th e facts of w h at really h a p p e n e d tu rn e d into th e th e o risa tio n a b o u t w hy th e facts did n o t h a p p e n a s th e p re s e n t h is to ria n s w ould have desired. Likewise, a sim ilar developm ent w as observed in A ragón d u rin g th e 70's: th e p re se n c e of very active, alth o u g h m in o ritary , A ragonese n a tio n a list in te lle c tu a l g ro u p s m ainly located in th e U niversity a n d w hich devoted th em selv es to th e revival of th e alm o st dead A ragonese la n g u ag e led to the a p p e a ra n c e of som e w o rk s on n a tio n a lism in A ragón prio r to 1936. In th e newly c re ate d a u to n o m o u s co m m u n ities (su ch a s C a n ta b ria , co m p risin g th e S a n ta n d e r 's province w hich h a d b e e n h isto rically co n sid ered a p a r t of th e Old C astille, or La Rioja, Logroño province w hich alw ays in te g rate d Old C astille a s well) th e official c o n c ern of ju stify in g th e ir pecu liar p e rso n a lity h a s also provoked th e o v erestim atio n of provincial political fe a tu re s in w h ate v er political m ovem ent, even of S p a n ish c h a ra c te r. The se a rc h for a "regional1' specificity le ad s so m etim es to th e a b s u rd .

The r e s u lt of th e above describ ed p a n o ra m a is ra th e r deceiving, for rea l re se a rc h h a s alw ays p ro b lem s to develop w ith th e s u p p o rt of th e regional in stitu tio n s, a n d , on th e o th e r h a n d it faces th e oppositio n of th e m ajo rity of th e n a tio n a list political p a rtie s existing today. F u rth e rm o re , th e relative m is tru s t on th e p a r t of S p a n ish a d m in is tra tio n to fin an c e a n d su p p o rt a n y re se a rc h p roject dealing w ith th e re c o n stru c tio n of th e n a tio n a l m o v em en ts in th e "regions" provokes a k in d of co n trad icto ry s itu a tio n for th e h is to ria n s involved in th e s tu d y of th e m a tte r. While social h isto ry re se a rc h on, e.g., tra d e u n io n s linked to th e S ocialist or C o m m u n ist p a rtie s find m u c h su p p o rt a n d facilities on th e p a r t of the PSO E’s a n d PCE’s c u ltu ra l fo u n d atio n s, th e ir c o u n te rp a rts in the "historical natio n alities" do n o t offer a n y g en e ro u s aid. The restrictive a n d inefficient su p p o rt provided for re se a rc h by th e p u b lic in s titu tio n s in G alicia, or th e so m e tim es re a c tio n a ry positio n held b y th e PN V s Fundación

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Sabino ^ r a n a in th e B a sq u e C ountry, m ak e a n y real collaboration

difficult. U niversities are, now adays, th e only c e n tre s w here rese arch p ro jec ts are c a rrie d on in a c o n s iste n t a n d c o n tin o u s way, while the activities of th e official c e n tre s som etim es d eg e n erate in th e publication of biog rap h ies, etc., im p re g n ate d w ith a se n se of "recovery" of a heroic p a st. The re c e n t books p u b lis h e d by C a ta la n in stitu tio n s in C atalonia, in com m em o ratio n of th e 5 0 th an n iv e rsa ry of th e execution of th e C atalan G en e ra lita t’s p re sid e n t Lluis C om panys by th e F ra n c o ist regim e provide once ag ain a p ain fu l exam ple of m y th o m an ia.

A lready in 1984 U celay d a C al affirm ed th e existence of a division betw een "essentialist" a n d "scientific" a p p ro a c h e s to th e h isto ry of n atio n alism . D espite th e ad o p tio n of a m ore or less rigorous perspective a n d th e u se of p rim a ry so u rce s, m afjy h isto ria n s kept on defending n a tio n a list p o s tu la te s in th e ir w ritings. J .P .F u s i even affirm ed in 1985 th a t th e a tte n tio n paid by h is to ria n s of a n y k ^ id to th e n a tio n a l questio n in S p ain h a d b e e n m islead in g a n d "excessive". U ndoubtedly, th e presence of a category of n o n -p ro fessio n al a n d even p ro p a g a n d ist h isto ria n s h a s proved to be of sc arce value.

N onetheless, som e of th e se nationalist h is to ria n s /w rite rs have c o n trib u te d to th e h isto ry of th e n a tio n a l q u e s tio n in S pain, for a t least th e y c a rrie d o u t th e ta s k of d escrib in g facts, ^gnong them , it is^ ^worth n oting th e r ^ p i e s of J o s e p B enet, J.M .P oblet . Félix C u c u ru ll and J o a n Crexell , in C atalo n ia. In th e B a sq u e C ountry, th e n am es of B eltza

6. N evertheless, a n d esp ecially In th e c a s e of th e S a b in o A ra n a F o u n d atio n , th in g s are slowly b u t in c re a sin g ly ch an g in g .

7. E .U celay d a Cal, “O s n a c io n a lis m o s n a E s p a ñ a d a R e sta u ra c ió n : u n e s reflexions sobre

illum inisti i illum inati", L A v e n e , n .6 8 (1984), 7 1 -7 3 , a n d id., "Un colloque s u r les

n a tio n a lism e s d a n s l'E sp a g n e de la R e sta u ra tio n ", Le M ouvem ent Social, n. 128 (19841, 127- 130.

8. J .P .F u s i, "La fu n ció n d e la H isto ria ”, in W .A A ., S ym b o la e Ludovico M itxelena

Septuagenario O blate, Vitoria: U PV /EH U . 1985. vol.H. See a la te r reply article in B.de

Riqucr, "Sobre el lu g a r de los n ac io n a lism o s-re g io n a lism o s en la h isto ria c o n tem p o rán ea esp añ o la". H istoria Social, n .7 (1990), 105-126.

9. S ee J.B e n e t, El Dr.Torras i B a g e s i el s e u tem p s, B arcelona: E stela, 1968: id.,

Bibliografía so b re el nacionalism e catalá, B arcelo n a: F u n d a c ió J a u m e Bofill, 1974.

10. S ee h is El m ovim ent a u to n o m ista a C a ta lu n y a d e ls a n y s 1918-1919, B arcelona: Pórlic. i 1970; id., A quell a n y 1917, B arcelo n a: Pórtic, 1971; id., Historia d e !'Esquerra

R epublicana d e C a ta lu n ya , 1 9 31-1936, B arcelo n a: D opesa, 1976.

11. S ee h is Panorám ica d el nacionalism e catalá, P aris: E d.c a ta la n e s de P aris, 1975-76, 6 vols.; id.. El J e t nacional catalá a través d e la historia, B arcelona: La M agrana, 1980, a n d C a ta lu n y a republicana i au tó n o m a (1931-1936), B arcelona: IM H /La M agrana, 1987.. 12. J.C re x ell, Origen d e la b a n d e ra in d e p e n d e n tista , B arcelona: El Llamp. 1984. Jo s e p M .A inaud d e L a sa rte is a lso a n o th e r re p re se n ta tiv e of th e s e n a tio n a list-a m a te u r h isto ria n s. © The Author(s). European University Institute. Digitised version produced by the EUI Library in 2020. Available Open Access on Cadmus, European University Institute Research Repository.

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a n d F .L etam en d ía , a n d in G alicia th e n a m e s of ^ F e r n á n d e z del Riego, F .C arballo or X .M .M onterroso are also notew orthy. In th e V alencian A n d a lu sia n a re a s re p re se n ta tiv e s of th is patriotic h isto ry c a n be found. Som e com m on fe a tu re s of th e "patriotic" h isto rio g rap h y , a s opposed to th e m ore critical sta n d p o in t ad o p ted by "professional" h isto ria n s, could be su m m arize d as:

1) The c o n s ta n t a d o p tio n of a h isto ric al-o rg an icist co n c ep t of N ation, w hich m a k es perfectly possible its coexistence w ith a generally applied positivist em pirical m ethodology. This also e n a b le s th e n a tio n a list p rag m a tism of th e se a u th o r s to becom e m ore easily ad a p ta b le .

2) A low level of th e o re tic al elab o ratio n a n d scientific b ac k g ro u n d . C o nfusion a n d in te rp re ta tio n of p a s t ev e n ts in light of th e p re se n t c irc u m sta n c e s is a com m on c h a ra c te ristic of th is k in d of history. T hus, th e te rm s a re confused, p a s t claim s are su p p o se d to be id en tical to th e p re se n t ones, a n d term inology is in a d e q u a te . To poin t o u t a n exam ple, th e fed e ra list tra d itio n of th e second h alf of th e XIXth c e n tu ry a n d especially of th e period of th e I S p a n ish R epublic - Sexenio Revolucionario (1868-

1874)- h a s b ee n identified by "patriotic" C a ta la n h is to ria n s s u c h a s F .C u c u ru ll a s a first ste p of a s e p a ra tis t claim existing w ith in th e C a ta la n p o p u la r c la sse s... w ith o u t ta k in g into a c c o u n t th e difference b etw een th e P ro u d h o n -ro o ted federalism a n d th e ethnically -o rien ted natio n ali^ g i w hich la te r o n a s s u m e d fed e ra list claim s only a s a political strateg y . A sim ilar poin t of view h a s b e e n held u p e.g. for G alician n a tio n a lism by X .R .B arreiro F ern án d ez.

3) A c o n s ta n t m is u n d e rs ta n d in g of, or sim ply a real lack of co n cern w ith, th e a n a ly sis of th e c la ss c o n te n ts of n a tio n a lism in every m om ent. "Official" h is to ria n s te n d e d to see p e rip h e ra l n a tio n a lism a s a u n d e rg ro u n d d esire of in d e p e n d e n c e /u n iq u e n e s s alw ays p re s e n t in th e w hole of th e p o p u la tio n . The fact th a t b o u rg eo is p a rtie s m onoplized th e sp e c tru m of n a tio n a list-o rie n te d p a rtie s did n o t m e a n a t all th a t n a tio n a lism w as

bourgeois by n a tu re . O n th e co n tra ry , th e m o st rad ic al h is to ria n s hold u p

13. S ee B eltza, op.cil., a n d id., M ediación y alienación. Del carlism o al nacionalism o

b u rg u é s, S a n S e b a s tiá n : T xertoa, 197, a n d id., N acionalism o vasco y c la se s sociales, S an

S e b a stiá n : T xertoa, 1976. Also F .L e ta m e n d ía , L es B a sq u e s. Un p e u p le en tre d e u x É tats, P aris: n .e d ., 1973.

14. F .F e rn á n d e z del Riego, P en sa m en to g a leg u ista do século XIX, Vigo: G alaxia, 1983; id.,

P en sa m en to g a leg u ista do século X X , Vigo: G alaxia, 1983; X .M .M onterroso, G alegos e g a leguism o, P o n tev ed ra, 1979.

15. F or V alencia, se e J .F u s te r , N osaltres els v a len cia n s, B a rcelo n a: E d .6 2 , 1962, an d id., L a d eca d en c ia al Pais V alencia, B arcelo n a: C u rial, 1976. F or A n d a lu s ia , se e M.Ruiz Lagos, A n d a lu c ism o m ilitante, Je re z : S ex ta, 1978, a n d id., El ideal a n d a lu z, Je re z : CSIC,

1983; th e w o rk s o f J.A c o sta S á n c h e z a re a ls o re p re s e n ta tiv e s o f th is tr e n d (see below). 16. A c lear ex am p le is F .C u cu ru H ’s O rígens i evolució d el J e d e ra lism e catald, B arcelona: A rts G rá fiq u e s S alvá, 1970. © The Author(s). European University Institute. Digitised version produced by the EUI Library in 2020. Available Open Access on Cadmus, European University Institute Research Repository.

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th e view of th e betrayal by th e b o urgeois cla sse s of th e p o p u la r claim s of in d e p en d e n ce : th e form er alw ays a tte m p te d to lead a n d m a n ip u la te th e n a tio n a l m ovem ents, a n d th e y always, chose, w h en n ecessary , th e ir class- in te re s ts sacrifying p o p u la r claim s....

4) A real lack of an a ly tica l perspective. Official a n d patriotic h is to ria n s are a c tu a lly c h a racterize d by th e ir u s e of large a m o u n ts of em pirical d a ta , to g e th er w ith th e a b se n c e of critical ap p ro a ch es. A part from th e fact th a t m o st of th e se h is to ria n s are am ateur, it is am azing to realize how th e very few U niversity p ro fe sso rs one c a n m en tio n am ong them follow th e ir a p p ro a ch . T his is also rela ted to a fu rth e r fact, in Ucelay’s w ords: since th e y s h a re th e id e alist sco p es of XlXth c e n tu ry n atio n al h isto rie s, th e se h isto ria n s are m u c h m ore concerned w ith providing an sw e rs to th e ir n a tio n a l co m m u n ities, r a th e r th a n posing problem s a n d questio n s. W hat really m a tte rs a g a in is th e self-rep ro d u ctio n of parad ig m s a n d the affirm ation of th e political a n d social cre ed s of th e n atio n a list com m unity, sp ite of th e ad o p tio n of a m ore or less solid scientific m ethodology.

3. T h e raw m a te r ia ls . E x is tin g s o u rc e s .

As th e s tu d y of th e n a tio n a l q u e stio n in S p ain h a s b ee n prim arily co n cern ed w ith th e an a ly sis of th e several regionallst, fe d e r a lis t an d

nationalist p a rtie s, political a n d c u ltu ra l o rganizations an d rev ie w s/p erio d ic als in different a re a s of th e S tate, th e m any so u rce s u sed so far w ere th o se c h a ra c te ristic of political history: new papers, p ress, and, to a le sse r ex ten t, p rivate a n d p a rty p ap e rs.

The period of th e S p a n is h Civil W ar (1936-1939) b ro u g h t a b o u t an e n o rm o u s d e s tru c tio n of docum entar^gS ources, m ainly p a rty rec o rd s in both zones (R epublican a n d F rancoist); hence, th e re c o n stru c tio n of th e

17. For th e B a sq u e c ase, a c la ssic a l v ision is B eltza, El nacionalism o vasco, 1876-1923, H endaye: M ugalde, 1974.

18. T he ab o v e a s s e rtio n c o u ld b e ap p lied to s u c h p re te n tio u s boo k s a s F .L c la m e n d ia 's

E u ska d i, Pueblo y Nación, S a n S e b a s tiá n : K riselu -S en d o n . 1990, 7 vols. (b ased on th e

a u th o r 's P h .D .d isse rta tio n , E u ska d i, nation e t idéologie, P aris-T o u lo u se, CNRS, 1990). The political m ilita n cy of th e a u th o r le a d s h im to try to d efen d in every p a ra g ra p h the "B asque n a tio n a lis t co m m u n ity " a s o p p o se d to th e "S p an ish s ta te n ationalism ". The large publicity given to th is w ork, how ever, b e sto w s it a larger in flu e n ce th a n th e w orks of p ro fessio n al h isto ria n s .

19. W herever th e m ilita ry risin g su c c e e d e d , left-w ing, R ep u b lican a n d in som e e a se s n a tio n a list o rg a n iz a tio n s b u r n t th e ir re c o rd s in o rd er to avoid th a t th e d o c u m e n ts reveal to th e en e m y th e n a m e s o f th e ir m e m b e rs. Inversely, w herever th e m ilitary risin g failed, right-w ing o rg a n iz a tio n s d estro y ed th e irs.

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h isto ry of th e political o rg an iz atio n s a n d ideologies h a s b ee n m ostly b a se d o n th e u se of p rin te d so u rce s, s u c h a s p re ss, booklets a n d p am p h lets. P rivate p a p e rs in S pain, w ith som e exceptions, are rarely given in d ep o sit to a n in stitu tio n , a n d very often indeed th e y re m a in controlled by th e fam ilies. T hus, re se a rc h on n a tio n a list o rg an iz atio n s h a s d ep e n d ed on th e "adventure" of g etting th e larg est a m o u n t of private p a p e rs possible, also b e c a u s e th e p rac tica lly n o n -ex isten c e of w ell-kept p a rty re c o rd s m a k e s on m a n y o ccasio n s th e c o n s u lta tio n of th e se private p a p e rs very im p o rta n t. C lassical w orks on political h isto ry of th e n a tio n a list o rg an iz atio n s have b e e n e lab o rate d w ith o u t to u c h in g a single le tte r of a p a rty leader. If one c o m p ares th is s itu a tio n to th a t existing elsew here (especially in B ritain, b u t also in G erm any or Italy), one m ay co n clu d e th a t even th e over developed political h isto ry in S p ain h a s to c o u n t on lim ited so u rce s.

The re stric tio n s a n d lack of p ublic a c c e ss to p a rty p a p e rs are especially p ain fu l in a given case: th e B a sq u e C ountry. H ere, th e larg est n a tio n a list p a rty (the PNV), w hich w ith h o ld s by itself th e h isto ry of 90 y e a rs of n atio n alism , o u t of w hich m ore th a n 50 have b ee n ch a ra c te riz e d by its sole p red o m in a n c e in th e field of n atio n alism , m a in ta in s a firm ly close a ttitu d e to w ard s open in g its archives. T h ro u g h o u t th e p a rty 's h isto ry th o u s a n d s of d o c u m e n ts n o t yet analyzed hav e b ee n collected. However, the articles, conferences, w ritin g s a n d a p a rt of th e c o rresp o n d e n ce of the fo u n d er a n d first le ad e r of th e PNV a n d of B a sq u e n a tio n a lism ^ e l f , S ab in o A rana, hav e b e e n p u b lish e d in different w orks a n d p a rts . In re c e n t y ea rs, only som e jo u r n a lis ts very close to th e p a rty (e.g., Koldo S a n S eb astiá n ) have b e e n allowed a c c e ss to th em a n d p erm issio n to p u b lish p a rtia l d irec to ries a n d inven to ries of th e PNV p a p e rs (especially reg ard in g th e 40's). The G erm a n h isto ria n L udger Mees h a s also b e e n given p erm issio n to w ork in th e PNV’s archive, b u t finally h e m et th e silen t o p p o sitio n of th e je a lo u s archive k e e p e rs...S tra n g e sto rie s, th a t only h is to ria n s w ith a g re a t know ledge of S p a n is h arch iv es could p ro b ab ly u n d e rs ta n d . The PNV’s positio n is even m ore negative for th e p ro g re ss of history, sin c e th e p arty h a s sistem a tic ally carried o u t th ro u g h o u t its h isto ry a c o n scie n tio u s policy of collecting all d isp e rse d d o c u m e n ta tio n rela ted to it (through p u b lic a d v e rtise m e n ts in its n ew sp a p er, etc.). The only available d o c u m e n ta tio n to re c o n s tru c t PNV’s in te rn a l h isto ry is th erefo re its p re ss a n d th e few p a rty re c o rd s w hich have b e e n k ep t o u t of its h a n d s : som e p riv ate arc h iv es b elonging to in d iv id u als (generally, seco n d ra n k leaders), a n d a s e t of PNV d o c u m e n ts w h ich h a d b e e n c a p tu re d by th e F ra n c o ist Army

20. Sabino A ra n a . O bras C om pletas, B u e n o s Aires: S a b in d a r B a tz a ra , n .d .(1 9 7 ...|. 3 vols.; M .Elizondo, Sabino A rana: Padre d e las nacio n a lid a d es. C orrespondencia in éd ita d e los

h e rm a n o s A ra n a Goiri (legajo A ra n za d i), B ilbabo, 1981 (2 vols.); J .C o rc u e ra y Y.Oribe

(eds.), H istoria d el nacionalism o casco e n s u s d o cu m en to s, Bilbao: E guzki, 1991, 3 vols.

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a n d b ro u g h t to th e Archivo d e la Guerra Cmíí in S ala m an c a, a s well a s a p a r t of th e PNV P arty rec o rd s in Vitoria. Sim ilarly to th e PNV p arty reco rd s, in te rn a l d o c u m e n ts belonging e.g. to th e n a tio n a list trad e -u n io n ELA-SOV (Solidaridad d e Obreros Vascos, fo u n d ed in 1911), to th e y o u th org an izatio n called M endigoizales or to th e m in o ritary left-wing p arty

Acción N acionalista V asca are h a rd ly available to th e h isto ria n s. However,

a p a tie n t a n d d etailed s tu d y e lab o rate d by p ro fe sso rs J.L .G ran ja an d J .C .Jim én e z de A b e ra stu ri h a s rec en tly displayed th a t th e so u rce s for the s tu d y of n a tio n a lism in B a sq u e c o u n try are certain ly di^p^rsed an d incom plete, b u t b e tte r th a n w h a t h a d b e e n previously su p p o sed .

A sim ilar s itu a tio n ex ists in C atalonia, w here, on th e one h an d , alm o st no official p a rty rec o rd s of a n y h isto ric al n a tio n a list p arty h a s survived so far. O n th e o th e r h a n d , th e extrem e fluidity a n d changing evolution of th e political m a p of C a ta la n n a tio n a list organizations, m ade it even m ore difficult, sin ce th e p re s e n t p a rtie s are n o t th e direct h eirs of th o se existing before 1936. The m o st unified a n d com plete d o c u m e n ts’fu n d , th e arch iv es of th e au to n o m o u s g o vernm ent (G eneralität) betw een 1931 a n d 1975 w ere d o n a te d by its la s t p re sid e n t in exile, Jo se p T arrad ellas, to a rgJ|gious in stitu tio n , u n d e r extrem ely restrictive c o n d itio n s of ac ce ss. In additio n , m a n y p a rty reco rd s have been destro y ed d u rin g th e Civil W ar, a n d only th e rec o rd s of a n a rc h is t and socialist o rg a n isa tio n s have b e e n relatively well kep t (especially in th e

In stitut voor Soziale G eschiedenis, A m sterdam ). The s itu a tio n is b e tte r as

far a s private p a p e rs are co ncerned: private p a p e rs of very im p o rta n t C a ta la n n a tio n a list le a d e rs (su c h a s th e first p re sid e n t of th e R epublican

Generalität, F ra n c e sc Macih) a re now available in p u b lic archives (mainly

three: th e N ational Archive of C atalonia, th e Centre d ’E stu d is Histories

21. T h ese h a v e b e e n p u b lish e d b y S .d e Pablo, "Actas de la J u n t a M unicipal del P artido N acio n alista V asco d e V itoria (1930-1936)". H istoria contem poránea, n. 1 (1988), 205-233. 22. J .L .de la G ra n ja , J.C .J im é n e z d e A b e ra stu ri, "Inform e colectivo so b re Archivos. B ibliotecas y H em e ro te c a s p a r a la H isto ria del N acionalism o Vasco", in Décimo Congreso de

E studios V ascos. Archivos, B ibliotecas y M useos, S a n S e b a stiá n : E u sk o Ik a sk u n tz a , 1988.

For th e B a sq u e a rc h iv e s in th e U n ited S ta te s (th ere is a very im p o rta n t B a sq u e R esearch C entre in th e U niversity of Reno, Nevada), se e K .San S e b a stiá n , The B a sq u e Archives.

V ascos en ios E sta d o s Unidos, S a n S e b a s tiá n : T xertoa, 1991; a n d for th e d o c u m e n ts related

to th e B a sq u e exile in th e 4 0 s, K .S an S e b a s tiá n , Los va sco s e n la II Guerra Mundial: El

Consejo M undial V asco en Londres, 1 9 4 0 -1944 (Recopilación docum ental), S a n S eb astiá n :

E u sk o Ik a sk u n tz a , 1991. A lth o u g h of a m o re g en eral c h a ra c te r, it is u seful L.Mees, “Archive u n d B ib lio th ek en z u r G e sc h ic h te d e s s p a n is c h e n B a sk e n la n d e s im 19.und 2 0 .J a h rh u n d e rt" , Spanien-Portugal Inform ationen, N r.3 (J u n i 1986), 24-33.

23. N ow adays, th e o p e n in g o f th e s e a rc h iv e s h a s to w ait for 25 y e a rs after th e d e a th of M r.T arradellas'w ife. S in ce s h e is still alive a n d it a lso se e m s th a t M rs.T arradellas enjoys a good h e a lth , th e h isto ric a l a n a ly sis of th e R e p u b lica n perio d in C a ta lo n ia will have to w ait for a long tim e.

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In tern a tio n a ls (CEHI) a n d th e In stitu í M unicipal d ’História), a n d o n th e

o th e r h a n d , th e re is a large a m o u n t of p a m p h le ts, booklets a n d leaflets w hich a re k e p t in th e se archives. A n o n sy ste m a tic b u t in creasin g ly effective policy of collecting d o cu m en ts, a n d especially re sc u in g th e m from th e very often w ell-intentioned b u t u n w ise h a n d s of fam ilies m a k es th e fu tu re of C a ta la n h isto ry a p p e a r far b e tte r u n d e r th is resp e ct. T hen again, m a n y local a n d provincial D o cu m e n t C e n tres th ro u g h o u t C a ta lo n ia co n trib u te largely to th e ta s k of collecting d o c u m e n ta tio n for h isto ria n s. The a u to n o m o u s g o v ern m en t h a s alre ad y p u b lish e d a u se fu l guide of th e archives a n d priva t ^ p a p e rs available so far for th e s tu d y of C a ta la n n atio n alism . B u t th e n u m e ro u s deficiencies m ak e it still difficult to re s e a rc h th e p u rely political a s p e c ts of C a ta la n n atio n alism . A part from th e extrem e diversity a n d fra g m en tatio n of th e p re s s collections (m ost of th e m are k ep t a t th e L ibrary of C a ta lo n ia a n d th e In s titu í M unicipal d'H istória), m a n y p rivate p a p e rs collections of im p o rta n t le ad e rs, s u c h as E .P ra t de l q ^ i b a , F ra n c e sc C am bó or J o a n E stelrich, re m a in closed to re se a rc h e rs.

The s itu a tio n in G alicia is q u ite sim ilar. The rec o rd s of th e existing n a tio n a list o rg an iz atio n s before 1936 (Irm a n d a d es d a Fala, Partido G aleguista (PG) in th e 3 0 ’s) have b ee n to a g rea t ex ten t d estroyed, an d

only very recen tly a p a rt of th e PG p a rty rec o rd s h a s been found, totally by ch a n ce , in th e archive of th e D eputation Provincial of P o n tev ed ra and b ro u g h t to th e Arquivo do Reino d e Galicia in A C o ru n a. F u rth e rm o re , som e private p a p e rs belonging to p ro m in e n t figures of th e XIXth c e n tu ry G alician n a tio n a lism (su c h a s th e ideologue M anoel M urguia) a re k e p t in th e G alician A cadem y, a n a rc h a ic a n d q u ite p assiv e in s titu tio n w h ich does n o t allow th e s e rec o rd s to be even classified. O nly th e c h a rita b le activity of th e

F undación Penzol in Vigo (a c u ltu ra l fo u n d atio n s e t u p in th e 6 0 ’s to keep

th e h isto ric al m em ory of G alician cu ltu re) h a s allowed som e y e a rs ago the

24. J.S o b re q u e s i Callico, Els A rxiu s p e r a la histdria del n acionalism e catalä, B arcelo n a: G e n e ra litä t d e C a ta lu n y a , 1982. See a lso K .-J.N agel, "Ö ffentliche A rchive u n d B ib lio th ek en z u r G e sc h ic h te K a ta lo n ie n s im s p ä te n 19.u n d 2 0. J a h rh u n d e r t" , Spanien-Portugal

Inform ationen, N r.3, J u n i 1986, 17-24.

25. The a u th o r of th is re p o rt c o u ld confirm th is a s s e rtio n . To g et a r e s e a rc h p e rm issio n o n C a m b o ’s p a p e rs, it is n e c e s s a ry to w rite to a p e rs o n w ho o w n s th e arch iv e, a n d to w ait for h is u su a lly neg ativ e an sw er. C a m b ö w a s se v era l tim es m in is te r in th e S p a n ish G o v ern m en t, le a d e r o f th e m a jo rita ry C a ta la n n a tio n a lis t p a r ty b e tw e e n 1901 a n d 1931 (the Lliga R egionalista) a n d a p ro m in e n t p o litician a s well. In th is ca se , th e close c h a ra c te r o f h is p riv a te p a p e r s clearly re s p o n d s to a stra te g y to silen c e so m e d a r k a s p e c ts o f the tra je c to ry of rig h t-w in g C a ta la n n a tio n a lism (su c h a s its in itial s u p p o r t of F ra n co ist troops). I w a s ab le to g et co p ies o f p a r ts of E ste lric h ’s p riv a te p a p e rs (2d le a d e r of the Lliga, C a m b o ’s lieutenant) o n ly th a n k s to th e p e rso n a l involvem ent of a frien d of E ste lric h ’s fam ily. A nd so o n ...

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ac ce ss to som e very im p o rta n t p e rso n a l p a p e rs w hich have been cru cial for re c o n stru c tin g th e h isto ry of G alician n atio n alism in th e first h alf of the XXth ce n tu ry . The fact th a t G alicia w as one of th e first a re a s of S pain com pletely controlled by th e m ilitary risin g of J u ly 1936 also determ ingg th a t m a n y d o c u m e n ts in p o sse ssio n of n a tio n a list le ad e rs w ere destroyed. The s itu a tio n is still w orse w h en one c o n sid ers th e period after 1939: for th is period, th e secrecy of th e arc h iv es for re se a rc h e rs is th e m ost u su a l fact, sin c e th e rivalries w ith in th e field of n atio n alism d u rin g th e 40s m ad e its le ad e rs extrem ely c a u tio u s in allow ing h isto ria n s to c o n su lt their archives. A com plicating factor is also th e existence of very im p o rta n t arch iv es in B u e n o s Aires (am ong th e very large G alician co m m u n ity w hich se ttle d in A rgentina, first a n d m a in refugee d e s tin a tio n for n atio n alist political exiles a fte r 1939). The policy of th e A u to n o m o u s G overnm ent, on th e o th e r h a n d , h a s b ee n so far n o n -ex istin g regarding th e ta s k of collecting d o c u m e n ts a n d so u rces.

Leaving asid e o th e r regional c a se s -w here th e co n d itio n s do n o t really ch an g e- th e following c o n c lu sio n s could be d raw n from th e above m entioned situ atio n :

1) The sc a rc e availability of p a rty rec o rd s m a k es it very difficult in alm o st all c a se s to r e c o n s tru c t th e social com position of th e rank -an d -file m e m b ersh ip of th e n a tio n a list o rganizations, th e reg io n a l/so c ia l d istrib u tio n of th e n a tio n a list p re ss (there are alm o st no su b sc rip tio n lists, a so u rc e w hich really helped M iroslav H roch to elab o rate his classica l com parative w ork on th e social com position of n a tio n a l m ovem ents in E a st- a n d C e n tral Europe), a n d also th e r e g i ^ a l an d sectorial d istrib u tio n of th e p atrio tic g ro u p s w ithin th e n a tio n . In th is way, it is so m e tim es q u ite difficult to highlight th e c o n tra s ts a n d gaps in th e diffusion of n a tio n a list ideologies. Hence, it proves to be p roblem atic to red raw th e m a p of th e te rrito ria l s tre n g th an d social su p p o rt given to th e political n a tio n a list org an izatio n s, or w h at se c to rs an d a re a s have co n trib u te d to th e m a in te n a n c e of th e ir p ress, etc. Actually, only p artial d a ta a re available, a n d th e few s tu d ie s w hich have b e e n able to provide an in sig h t in to th e in te rn a l social com position of th e n a tio n a list/re g io n a list o rg an izatio n s hav e h a d to rely only on th e d a ta concern in g a p a rt of (heir

26. A sp e cially sig n ifican t lo ss lor th e h isto ry of th e XXth c e n tu ry G alician n atio n alism w as th e d e s tru c tio n of th e p riv ate p a p e rs of th e ideologue an d leader Vicente Risco perform ed by him self.

27. M .H roch, Die V orkäm pfer d e r n a tionalen B ew eg u n g bei d en kleinen Völkern Europas. Prague, 1968; Id., Social preconditions o f national revival in Europe. A com parative stu d y

o f the social com position o f patriotic groups am ong the sm aller European nations.

Cam bridge: C a m b rid g e U.P.. 1985.

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m e m b ersh ip , a n d therefore only th e political élites, th e n a tio n a l ruling- c la sse s could be precisely defined; th e electoral r e s u lts w ere second possible so u rc e -w hich to a c e rta in e x te n t is also m isleading. This is all th e m ore im p o rta n t, ta k in g into a c c o u n t th a t one of th e real la c k s of th e re s e a rc h on th e n a tio n a l q u e s tio n in S p ain is precisely th e s tu d y of th e social b a s is of p erip h e ra l n a tio n a list m ovem ents. H ence, th e d eb a te on th e bourgeois, p o p u la r or petit-bourgeois n a tu re of e a c h n a tio n a lism h a s b ee n so far b a s e d m u c h m ore on th e o re tic al d isc u ssio n s r a th e r th a n em pirical d ata. The few s tu d ie s dealing w ith th e social b a s is of th e n a tio n a list m ovem ents, s u c h a s G .B ru n n ’s classica l w ork on th e social s tr u c tu r e of th e early C a ta la n n a tio n a l m ovem ent -following H ro ch ’s m odel-, provided a n in te re stin g a n d pro m isin g b a s is for d isc u ssio n , b u t sin ce h is w ork w as only p u b lis h e d in G erm a n h is c o n trib u tio n tq,gthe h isto ry of n a tio n a lism h a s b e e n h a rd ly co n sid ered so far in S pain. The G erm an a u th o r m ad e u s e of a n o th e r co m p lem en ta ry source: th e su b sc rip tio n lists to n a tio n a l cerem o n ies a n d c a m p a ig n s w hich w ere p u b lish e d by th e C a ta la n p re ss before 1900. This inform ation, how ever in com plete a n d n o t very reliable a s it m ay have been, h a s also b e e n exploited by J.G .B e ra m e n d i for h is alre ad y classica l s tu d y on th e G alician n a tio n a lism betw een 1900 a n d 1931: w ith a large u s e of oral h isto ry m e th o d s a n d d isp e rsed d o c u m e n ta tio n , B eram endi w as able to identifiy th e social s ta tu s of alm o st 90 0 n a tio n a list activ ists, a m ore th a n b rilia n t re s u lt w hich a c tu a lly high lig h ted ou r k n o w lg ^ e on th e social b a s is of G alician re g io n a lism /n a tio n a lism in th a t period . F or th e C a ta la n case, I hav e n o t se e n a n y d etailed s tu d y of the social com position of n a tio n a list o rg an iz atio n s after 1900, except for a sm all gC pntribution of J .C a s a s s a s Y m bert on th e Lliga’s N ationalist Y outh. The social su p p o rt of n a tio n a lism /re g io n a lism c a n be indirectly d eterm in e d th ro u g h th e a n a ly sis of th e electoral re s u lts of th e p arties c o n te n d in g a t th e elections, by co m p arin g th e different p e rc e n ta g e s of vote o b ta in ed in a) u r b a n a n d r u ra l a re a s, b) w ith in a given u r b a n area, by

28. Follow ing th e lin es a n d m e th o d s a lre a d y u s e d in 1972 by I.M olas, Lliga C atalana. Un

e s tu d i d 'esta sio lo g ia , B a rcelo n a: E d .6 2 , 1972, 2 vols. P artia l a n a ly s is a lso o n th e social

co m p o sitio n of th e n a tio n a lis t g ro u p s h av e b een given by L udger M ees, J .C a s a s s a s Ym bert a n d S a n tia g o de P ablo (see below).

29. G .B ru n n , "Die O rg a n isa tio n e n d e r k a ta la n is c h e n B ew egung 1859-1923", in T .Schieder,

N ationale B e w e g u n g e n u n d Soziale O rganisation. I. V ergleichende S tu d ie n zu r nationalen V e re in s b e w e g u n g d e s 19. J a h rh u n d e rts inEuropa, M ü n c h e n /W ie m O ld e n b o u rg , 1978,281 -571. A

good su m m a ry in Id., "Zur S o z ia ls tru k tu r d e r frü h e n k a ta la n is tis c h e n B ew egung (1882- 1898)", V ierteljahrshefte f ü r Sozial- u n d W isse n sc h a ftsg e sc h ic h te , n .6 0 (1973), 157-185. 30. J.G .B e ra m e n d i, El nacionalism o gallego e n el prim er tercio d el siglo XX,

P h .D .D isse rta tio n , U niv.of S a n tia g o de C o m p o stela, 1987.

31. J .C a s s a s a s Y m bert, "Els q u a d re s del reg io n alism e. L'evolució d e la Jo v e n tu t N acio n alista de la Lliga fin s el 1914", R ecerques, n .1 4 (1983), 7-32.

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e sta b lish in g th e different d istrib u tio n of votes in th e socially-stratified d istric ts of th e tow n. T his m eth o d w as alre ad y u se d by B .de R iquer in h is c lassica l s tu d y of th e 1906 elections in B arcelona, displaying how p o p u lar a n d in te r-c la ss w as th e vote for th e unified C a ta la n n a tio n a list coalitioip^ s ta n d in g a t th a t m o m en t (the so-called Solidarität C a ta la n a )0

N evertheless, th e s tu d y of electoral re s u lts in S p ain d u rin g th e R esto ratio n period (1874-1923) e n c o u n te rs som e m ethodological lim itations, since a) th e p re se n c e of a stro n g political clientelism in favour of the d o m in a n t p a rtie s (Liberal a n d Conservative) m a n ip u la te d th e re s u lts a s m u c h a s possible, especially in th e r u ra l a re a s; b) co rru p tio n a n d ag reem en ts betw een political p a rtie s, in c lu d in g n a tio n a list ones, w ere very u su a l. Therefore th e electoral re s u lts of legislative elections have to be co n sid ered in a careful w ay indeed, a n d only local elections, chiefly in large tow ns, do th e n offer a reliable b a s is for an a ly sis. However, w hen th e se c o n d itio n s exist, th e re se a rc h e r in te re ste d in draw ing th e m ap of the electoral su p p o rt for n a tio n a list p a rtie s m e ets a n o th e r difficulty: the lack of social h isto ry stu d ie s, even a t th e m o st local level, w hich could highlight m a n y a s p e c ts of th e local c o n d itio n s (d istrib u tio n of incom es according th e u r b a n d istric ts, etc.). The re s u lts achieved by th e b est re se a rc h hav e alw ays b e e n lim ited a n d are only reliable to a ce rtain extent, given th e se s tr u c tu ra l c o n s tra in s. However, one c a n only hope th a t th e situ a tio n will im prove in th e fu tu re.

2) E ven th e political h isto ry of n a tio n a list organ izatio n s is b ased only in p rin te d so u rce s. The h isto ry of th e se m ovem ents p u ts, th u s , an extrem ely h ig h w eight on th e ideological a s p e c ts -w hich a re m ore easily identifiable th ro u g h th e p re ss- b u t also h in d e rs th e a p p e a ra n c e of real conflicts a n d th e a rtic u la tio n of tre n d s w ith in th e m ovem ents them selves, e.g.w hat k in d of in te re s ts are re p re se n te d a t every m om ent, w hich w as th e type of fluid rela tio n sh ip w ith th e ir social b asis, etc. To m ention an exam ple, L udger M ees h a s sh o w n how th e B a sq u e N ationalist P arty w as involved in electo ral co rru p tio n to g eth er w ith S p a n ish R estoration system 's p arties, b y m ak in g a g re em e n ts a n d in som e c a se s by th e d istrib u tio n of vote a re a s: th is explained som e political criseggin 1 9 1 5 /1 6 , w hich were u su a lly a ttr ib u te d to sh e er ideological factors. However, th e access to private p a p e rs h e lp s in th e re c o n stru c tio n of th e se p urely political a s p e c ts of th e h isto ry of n atio n alism s.

N evertheless, m a n y co m p lem en tary q u e stio n s c a n be answ ered th ro u g h th e s tu d y of different k in d s of so u rce s. The n a tio n a l q u estio n does not only

32. B.D e R iquer, "Les eieccio n s de la S o lid a ritä t C a ta la n a a B a rc e lo n a “. Recerques, n .2 (1972), 119-135.

33. L.Mees, "Luis A ra n a Goiri y la c risis d e la C o m u n ió n N acio n alista en 1915-16", Muga. n .6 9 (1989), 3 8 -4 3 . © The Author(s). European University Institute. Digitised version produced by the EUI Library in 2020. Available Open Access on Cadmus, European University Institute Research Repository.