Editing History of Catalonia (section)

== Modern period (1808–1939) ==
=== Napoleonic Wars ===
[[File:Cesar Alvarez Dumont - El Gran dia de Girona.jpg|thumb|[[Third Siege of Girona]] (1809), [[Peninsular War]]]]
In 1808, during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Catalonia was occupied by the troops of General [[Guillaume Philibert Duhesme]]. The official Spanish army had evaporated, but popular resistance against the French occupation occurred in Catalonia as in other parts of Spain, and eventually developed into the [[Peninsular War]]. <!-- once [[:ca:Guerra del Francès]] is in decent shape, we should translate and link --> A local army defeated the French in a series of [[Battles of El Bruch|battles at El Bruc]], near Barcelona.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gates |first1=David |title=The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. |date=2001 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=0-306-81083-2 |page=59}}</ref> Meanwhile, [[Girona]] was besieged by the French and defended by its inhabitants under the direction of general and military governor [[Mariano Álvarez de Castro]].<ref>Griffin, Julia Ortiz; Griffin, William D. (2007). Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide From The Renaissance To The Present. p. 204. Under the military governor Mariano Álvarez de Castro the resistance was carried on by regular troops, including a large contingent of Spain's Irish Brigade, and civilian volunteers, among whom women grouped in the Company of St. Barbara...</ref> The French finally took the city on 10 December 1809, after many deaths on both sides from hunger, epidemics, and cold; Álvarez de Castro died in prison one month later.

The rejection to French dominion was institutionalized with the creation of "juntas" (councils) across Spain who, remaining loyal to the Bourbons, exercised the sovereignty and representation of the territory due to the disappearance of the old institutions, and sending delegates to the [[Cortes of Cádiz]]. In Catalonia, the juntas of Catalan corregimientos established in Lleida the Superior Junta of the Government of the Principality of Catalonia which it declared itself as depositary of the faculties of the Royal Audience of Catalonia, as well as the legislative power. At the same time, Napoleon took direct control of Catalonia to establish order, creating the Government of Catalonia under the rule of [[Marshall Augereau]], and making Catalan briefly an official language again.<ref>Moreno Cullell, Vicente: ''[http://blogs.sapiens.cat/socialsenxarxa/2010/12/08/la-guerra-del-frances-la-catalunya-napoleonica/ La Guerra del Francès: la Catalunya napoleònica]''</ref> Between 1812 and 1813, Catalonia was directly annexed to France itself, and organized an ordinary civil administration in the form of four (later two) [[French departments of Spain|départements]]: [[Bouches-de-l'Èbre]] (prefecture: Lleida), [[Department of Montserrat|Montserrat]] (Barcelona), [[Department of Segre|Sègre]] ([[Puigcerdà]]), and [[Department of Ter|Ter]] (Girona).<ref>''[http://www.histoire-empire.org/departements/france_modifications.htm Les modifications intérieures de la France]''</ref> French dominion in parts of Catalonia lasted until 1814, when the British General [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wellington]] signed the [[armistice]] by which the French left [[Barcelona]] and the other strongholds that they had managed to keep until the last.<ref name="Semler2004">{{cite book|author=George Semler|title=Visible Cities Barcelona: A City Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-I7sjHLNXVoC&q=%22department%20of%20Montserrat%22|date=1 February 2004|publisher=Somerset, Limited|isbn=978-963-206-323-2|page=19}}</ref>

=== The Carlist wars and the liberal state ===
[[File:Escenas de la revolucion de 1842 por Puiggarí Llobet, Josep.jpg|thumb|Catalan uprising of 1842]]
The reign of [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand VII]] (reigned 1808–33) saw several Catalan uprisings and after his death, the conflict over the succession between the [[absolute monarchy|absolutist]] "[[Carlism|Carlist]]" partisans of [[Infante Carlos, Count of Molina|Infante Carlos]] and the liberal partisans of [[Isabella II of Spain|Isabella II]] led to the [[First Carlist War]], which lasted until 1840 and was especially virulent in the Catalan territory. Catalonia was divided. The most industrialized areas support liberalism and the Catalan bourgeoisie tries to contribute to the construction of the new liberal state. As with the [[Basque people|Basques]], many Catalans fought on the Carlist side, not necessarily because they supported absolute monarchy, but because some of them hoped that restoration of the Old Regime would mean restoration of their ''fueros'' and recovery of regional autonomy.

[[File:Mapa_político_de_España,_1850.jpg|thumb|Political map of Spain (1850), divided into four parts: The ''Fully constitutional Spain'' (brown), most of the former [[Crown of Castile]]; ''Assimilated Spain'' (green), the former [[Crown of Aragon]], including Catalonia; ''Foral Spain'' (blue), the Basque-speaking territories; and ''Colonial Spain'' (yellow)]]
The victory of the liberals over the absolutists led to a "[[bourgeois]] revolution" during the reign of Isabella II. In 1834, by decree of minister [[Javier de Burgos]], Spain was organized into [[Provinces of Spain|provinces]], included Catalonia, which was divided in four provinces ([[Province of Barcelona|Barcelona]], [[Province of Girona|Girona]], [[Province of Lleida|Lleida]] and [[Province of Tarragona|Tarragona]]) without a common administration. The reign of Isabella II was marked by corruption, administrative inefficiency, centralism, and political and social tensions. The liberals soon divided into "moderates" and "progressives", and in Catalonia a [[republicanism|republican]] current began to develop; also, inevitably, Catalans generally favored a more federal Spain. During the second third of the century, there were various progressive uprisings in Barcelona and other places, known as [[bullangues]]. The last insurrection of the period, the [[Jamància]] (1843), which tried to expel the government of General [[Espartero]] and proposed a progressive program and postulates close to federalism, ended with Barcelona blocked and bombed by the army, representing the triumph of the moderates and its centralist politics.<ref>[https://www.enciclopedia.cat/EC-GEC-0034292.xml Enciclopèdia.cat] Jamància</ref>

The [[Second Carlist War]] (1846–1849) took place fundamentally in Catalonia, largely promoted by the displeasure of large sectors of the population with the moderate model of the liberal state that was being established at that time. This explains the collaboration of the progressives and republicans with the Carlists in 1848, coinciding with the [[Revolutions of 1848|democratic revolutions in France and the rest of Europe]].<ref>Noticias de Cabrera (L'Union. Diari de Paris 18 de Novembre de 1848. núm. 323 p. 2)</ref>

When General [[Leopoldo O'Donnell, 1st Duke of Tetuan|O'Donnell]], leader of the [[Liberal Union (Spain)|Liberal Union]], was appointed as prime minister in 1856 seems that the relationship between Catalan society and the Spanish government became more hopeful. Surprisingly, the reaction in Catalonia to the [[Hispano-Moroccan War (1859–60)|Hispano-Moroccan War]] was enthusiastic, and it was organized a company of Catalan volunteers that were received in Africa by the General [[Joan Prim]], born in [[Reus]]. The fall of the government of the Liberal Union without being able to accomplish the expected reforms and the return of the [[Moderate Party (Spain)|moderates]] to power ended the hopes of Catalan society.{{sfn|Fontana|2014|pp=285–287}}

[[File:1903-08-22, La Campana de Gracia, cabecera, Apeles Mestres.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[La Campana de Gràcia]], pro-republican Catalan weekly magazine, founded in 1870]]
In September 1868, Spain's continuing economic crisis triggered the [[Glorious Revolution (Spain)|September Revolution]] or ''La Gloriosa'', resulting in the deposition of Isabella II and beginning the so-called [[Sexenio Democrático]], the "six democratic years" (1868–1874). As usual, popular revolts and juntas were formed across the country, until the new government ordered its dissolution. General Joan Prim was appointed Prime Minister of the Provisional Government (1869–1870), his government called to a parliamentary election by [[universal manhood suffrage]] for the first time in order to establish the political future of Spain. In Catalonia, [[Federal Democratic Republican Party|federalists republicans]] won the overall majority of seats, while the general results in Spain gave a victory to a progressive monarchist coalition. Spain was declared a democratic monarchy and [[Amadeo I of Spain|Amadeo of Savoy]] elected new king. Few days before the arrival of Amadeo, Prim was assassinated. Meanwhile, the federalists republicans of Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia and Balearic Islands signed the [[Tortosa Pact|Federal Pact of Tortosa]] (1869)<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=RtPIeW4JF0IC&dq=pacte+de+tortosa&pg=PA100 Federalismo y cuestión federal en España], Manuel Chust Calero, p100</ref> and there was a federalist revolt at the same year.<ref>[https://www.raco.cat/index.php/EstudiGral/article/viewFile/52319/60017 Sobre els alçaments federals del 1869.] raco.cat</ref>

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| footer = [[Juan Prim, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos|Joan Prim]], [[Estanislau Figueras]] and [[Francesc Pi i Margall]] were Catalan presidents of the government of [[Spain]]
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The rise of Amadeo I to the throne of Spain (1870–1873) proved unstable, his reign saw the outbreak of the [[Third Carlist War]] (1872–1876), [[Ten Years' War|Cuba's fight for independence]], the spread of the ideas of the [[First International]] and economic troubles, ending with the resignation of the king.<ref>Bahamonde, Ángel (1996). ''España en democracia. El Sexenio, 1868-1874.'' Madrid: Historia 16-Temas de Hoy, pp. 72–73, {{ISBN|84-7679-316-2}}</ref> This decision allowed the proclamation of the [[First Spanish Republic]] (1873–1874). The Republic fought against the inherited problems and with others like the cantonal insurrection. During its short existence it was unable to establish a federal republic and it had four presidents. Its first presidents, [[Estanislau Figueras]] and [[Francesc Pi i Margall]], were Catalans. Along the period there were attempts from radical federalists [[Catalan State (1873)|to proclaim a federated Catalan State]].<ref name=Duràn>{{cite book|last=Duràn i Solà |first=Lluís |title=Breu història del catalanisme |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PIOZwoTKg_YC&q=Baldomer+Lostau+1873&pg=PA19 |date=2009 |publisher=L'Abadia de Montserrat |volume=1 |page=19 |isbn=978-8498831740}}</ref> After the fall of president [[Emilio Castelar]], the [[General Pavia]] made a coup d'état, disbanding the Cortes and appointed [[Francisco Serrano, 1st Duke of la Torre|General Serrano]] as president without parliamentary control.<ref>{{cite book |last=Martí Gilabert |first=Francisco |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_xl1yQEACAAJ |title=Primera República Española 1873-1874 |publisher=Ediciones Rialp |isbn=9788432136511}}</ref>

=== Industrialization, Renaixença and Modernisme ===
{{See also|History of the cotton industry in Catalonia}}
[[File:Colonia Sedo 1930 Roisin Besnard AFB3-145 No.C 067 112.jpg|thumb|Colònia Sedó, Company Town]]
Since the 1830s, boosted by the conditions of proto-industrialization of the prior two centuries of the Catalan urban areas and its countryside, Catalonia became a centre of Spain's industrialization and it became one of the largest textile producers in the Mediterranean. In 1832 the [[Bonaplata Factory]] was established, the first industrial establishment in the country to make use of the [[steam engine]]. Catalonia had to contend with a grave shortage of energy resources and the weakness of the domestic Spanish market. To encourage industrial expansion, Spain established [[protectionism|protectionist]] policies which reduced foreign competition domestically (although the policy of Spanish government during those times changed many times between [[free trade]] and protectionism). Catalonia saw the first [[railway]] construction in the [[Iberian Peninsula]] in 1848, linking Barcelona with [[Mataró]], built with private capital. These initiatives partially benefitted the country's industrial regions, Catalonia, the Basque Country and later [[Asturias]]. As in much of Europe, the working class lived and worked in often inhuman conditions.

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| image3 = Caterina albert i paradis victor catala - revista feminal novembre 1917 (cropped).jpg
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| footer = Significant Catalan writers of the 19th and early 20th century, from left to right: [[Àngel Guimerà]], [[Jacint Verdaguer]] and [[Caterina Albert]]
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As a response to the lack of energy resources, a large number of factories were installed on the margins of the rivers when the use of the [[water turbine]] widespread.<ref name="clua">{{cite journal|last1=Clua i Mercadal|first1=Jordi|title=Les colònies industrials al Berguedà: estudi d'una transformació econòmica i urbana|journal=Treballs de la Societat Catalana de Geografia|date=1992|volume=VII|pages=145–170|url=http://www.raco.cat/index.php/treballsscgeografia/article/viewFile/239840/322295|access-date=3 May 2016|language=ca}}</ref> Usually, the factories included a [[Company town#Industrial colonies in Catalonia|company town]]; Catalonia has a high density of such towns, known locally as industrial colonies (''colònies industrials''). They are especially concentrated in river basins along the Ter and Llobregat. In the comarca of [[Berguedà]], for example, within 20&nbsp;km there were 14 colonies. These were small towns created around a factory, built in a rural areas, distant any other population centres. They housed between 100 and 500 inhabitants, and in some cases around 1000 people.<ref name="Serra">{{cite journal|last1=Serra|first1=Rosa|title=Industrial colonies in Catalonia|journal=Catalan Historical Review|date=2011|volume=4|issue=4|pages=101–120|doi=10.2436/20.1000.01.53|url=http://revistes.iec.cat/index.php/CHR/article/viewFile/54342/pdf_159|access-date=27 April 2016|issn=2013-407X}}</ref> These industrial colonies were a typical aspect of industrialization in Catalonia, specifically the [[Second Industrial Revolution|second industrialization]], which resulted in certain areas that were once purely rural becoming industrial. They were first created in the second half of the nineteenth century, especially from the 1870s onwards. The last colonies were created in the early years of the twentieth century. There are more than 75 textile colonies recorded; although there were also mining, metallurgy and agricultural colonies.

The second third of the 19th century saw a Catalan cultural renaissance ([[Renaixença]]), a cultural movement to recover Catalan language and culture after a long period of decay. As with most of the other [[Romanticism|Romantic]] movements, it was noted for its admiration of the Middle Ages, which was often reflected in art and, in Barcelona, the literary contest known as Floral Games (''[[Jocs Florals]]'') was revived. The historical research of [[Antonio de Capmany y Montpalau|Antoni de Capmany]], the interest in normalizing the Catalan language and the emergence of an incipient intellectuality interested in popular culture are already produced during the Enlightenment. Josep Pau Ballot wrote "Gramatica y apología de la llengua cathalana" between 1810 and 1813, during the French occupation. This work is realized with patriotic intention and disseminator of the use of Catalan. Between 1833 and the reestablishment of the Floral Games in 1859, the Catalan language lives in a situation of disglossy: many authors of the Renaixença wrote some literature and poetry in Catalan, but they will continue to use Spanish in their main works. However, the popular classes continued to use Catalan, and during this period popular theater in Catalan became relevant, unlike the representations of the Liceu addressed to the bourgeoisie, which used Spanish.{{sfn|Fontana|2014|pp=305–309}}

=== Catalan nationalism and the workers movement ===
{{Main|Catalan nationalism|Catalan autonomist campaign of 1918-1919|Labor movement in Spain}}
[[File:Almirall.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Valentí Almirall]]]]
[[File:Semana tragica.jpg|thumb|Demonstration after the [[Tragic Week (Catalonia)|Tragic Week]], 1909]]
In 1874, a coup by General [[Arsenio Martínez Campos|Martínez Campos]] in [[Sagunto]] led to a restoration of the Bourbon dynasty in the person of [[Alfonso XII of Spain|Alfonso XII]]. A period of political stability, of repression of the [[Labor movement in Spain|workers movement]], and of a slow growth in Catalan nationalist identity extended to the early years of the 20th century, when once again political opposition broke to the fore, especially republicanism and [[Catalan nationalism]], but also class-based politics reflecting social tensions.

The following decades saw the rise of the political Catalanism still prevalent today: the first formulations of the modern [[Catalan independence|Catalan national identity]] can be seen in [[Valentí Almirall]], a relevant federalist republican. Almirall, despite being a left-wing republican, tried to unite the Catalan left and right, but he did not succeed because there were too many divergences between the two currents. He promoted the [[First Catalanist Congress]], held in 1880, in which the different Catalanist groups were united: federal republicanism and the apolitical current, the literary one, from ''[[La Renaixença]]'' magazine, but the leftist tendencies of Almirall caused that the group of the Renaixença left the Congress and broke the agreement. However, the Congress took three fundamental agreements: creating an entity that brings together Catalanism (the [[Centre Català]], "Catalan Center"), the beginning of efforts to establish the Academy of the Catalan Language, and the drafting of a document on defense of Catalan as official language.<ref>De la Granja, José Luis; Beramendi, Justo; Anguera, Pere (2001). ''La España de los nacionalismos y las autonomías.'' pp. 62–64, Madrid: Síntesis. {{ISBN|84-7738-918-7}}</ref> The crisis of the Centre Català was shown due the differences around the position about the [[1888 Barcelona Universal Exposition]]. The opposite positions led to the dissolution of the group, and the left-wing Catalan nationalism was seriously weakened for decades.

The conservative elements of Catalan nationalism founded the League of Catalonia in 1887 who, in 1891, were united with the group ''La Renaixença'', creating the [[Unió Catalanista]] (Catalanist Union). The ''Unió'' redacted, in 1892, the Basis of Catalan regional autonomy, also known as ''[[Bases de Manresa]]'', a program that demanded a specific autonomy for Catalonia. In 1901 [[Enric Prat de la Riba]] and [[Francesc Cambó]] formed the [[Regionalist League]] (''Lliga Regionalista''), which in 1906 led the successful electoral coalition [[Catalan Solidarity (1906)|Solidaritat Catalana]], created by diverse Catalan political groups (from conservative to Catalan left-wing nationalists and from republicanism to carlism) as a response to [[¡Cu-Cut! incident|Cu-Cut! affair]], in which officers of the Spanish Army, angry with this satirical magazine for publish an offending joke about the war in Morocco, stormed the Cu-Cut! offices, and the subsequent "[[Law of Jurisdictions|Ley de Jurisdicciones]]", that punish the "crimes" and "insults" against the army and the symbols of the nation, putting them under military trials.<ref>Mata, Jordi. «Solidaritat Catalana: la gran il·lusió». Serra d'Or', num. 555 (March 2006), pp. 20–21. ISSN 0037-2501</ref>

Catalan nationalism, under the leadership of Prat de la Riba, achieved in 1913 a victory in obtaining partial self-government for the "[[Commonwealth of Catalonia|Commonwealth]]" (Catalan: ''Mancomunitat''; Spanish: ''Mancomunidad''), a grouping of the four Catalan provinces, presided over first by Prat de la Riba, and later by [[Josep Puig i Cadafalch]]; this was later suppressed in March 1925, during the 1923–1930 dictatorship of [[Miguel Primo de Rivera]]. The Commonwealth of Catalonia established a modern infrastructure, such as roads and telephones and expanded the culture (libraries, professional education, use and regulation of Catalan language, promotion of sciences...).<ref>[http://www.ara.cat/premium/tema_del_dia/Ni-poble-escola-biblioteca-telefon_0_1049895117.html ''Ni un poble sense escola, biblioteca i telèfon''] Marimon, Sílvia. Diari Ara. 18 December 2013</ref> In 1919 the [[Catalan autonomist campaign of 1918-1919|Commonwealth promoted]] the [[Statute of Catalonia of 1919|first project of Statute of Autonomy]], but the disagreements with the government of Madrid, the opposition of sectors of Spanish society and the coincidence with the rise of the [[Labor movement in Spain|workers movement]] provoked the fall of the project.<ref>Cambó, Francesc (1991). ''Obres de Francesc Cambó''. Editorial Alpha, p. 599 {{ISBN|8472254887}}</ref>

[[File:Estelada blava.svg|thumb|right|[[Estelada]], flag used by [[Estat Català]] and the most representative symbol of Catalan independence movement from the 1920s onwards]]
The Catalan workers movement at the turn of the twentieth century consisted of three tendencies: [[syndicalism]], socialism, and [[anarchism]], part of the last openly embracing "propaganda of the deed" as advocated by [[Alejandro Lerroux]]. Along with [[Asturias]], Catalonia in general and Barcelona in particular was a center of radical labor agitation, marked by numerous general strikes, assassinations (especially in the late 1910s), and the rise of the pro-anarchist [[Confederación Nacional del Trabajo]] (National Confederation of Labour, CNT, founded in Barcelona in 1910).<ref>[http://www.cnt.es/que_es_cnt Que es CNT] CNT website</ref> Growing resentment of conscription and of the military culminated in the [[Tragic Week (Catalonia)|Tragic Week]] in Barcelona in 1909, resulting in the deaths of over 100 citizens.<ref name="Sanabria2009">{{cite book|author=Enrique Sanabria|title=Republicanism and Anticlerical Nationalism in Spain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DWLIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA168|date=31 March 2009|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-62008-7|page=168}}</ref> The anarchists had been active throughout the early 20th century, achieving, after a [[La Canadiense strike|successful strike]] which paralyzed much of the industry of Catalonia, the first [[eight-hour workday]] of Western Europe in 1919.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Revolutionary Left in Spain, 1914-1923|last=Meaker|first=Gerald H.|date=1974|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RM6rAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA158 159] ff|isbn=0-8047-0845-2}}</ref> The escalating violence between Catalan workers and the Catalan bourgeoisie (''[[Pistolerismo]]'') led the latter to embrace the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, despite his centralizing tendencies. (''See also [[Anarchism in Spain]]'').<ref>Ben-Ami, Shlomo (2012). ''El cirujano de hierro. La dictadura de Primo de Rivera (1923-1930).'' Barcelona: RBA, p. 45</ref>

The initial acceptance of the Dictatorship by the conservative League made the Catalan nationalism progressively more [[Left-wing nationalism|leftist]] (with the rise of parties as [[Acció Catalana]], [[Catalan Republican Party]] or the [[Socialist Union of Catalonia]]) and, some of them, also pro-independence ([[Estat Català]]). Despite this tolerance, Primo de Rivera abolished the Commonwealth of Catalonia in 1925 and started a policy of repression against the Catalan nationalism, Catalan language and [[Labor movement in Spain|labour movement]] (especially anarchism and [[communism]]). In 1926, Estat Català [[Plot of Prats de Molló|tried to liberate Catalonia with a little army]] (established in the town of [[Prats de Molló]] in [[Roussillon]], France), led by [[Francesc Macià]], and proclaim the independent [[Catalan Republic (1931)|Catalan Republic]], but the complot was discovered by the French police. Macià and the Catalan issue gained popularity all over the world.<ref>Jordi Finestres and Giovanni Cattini (2009). ''Qui va trair Macià?'' Sàpiens, vol. 84</ref>

During the last steps of the Dictatorship, Barcelona celebrated the [[1929 Barcelona International Exposition|1929 International Exposition]],<ref name="MonclúsFraga2006">{{cite book|author1=Francisco Javier Monclús|author2=Francisco Javier Monclús Fraga|title=Exposiciones internacionales y urbanismo: el proyecto Expo Zaragoza 2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2d6KJ2VnfAkC&pg=PA48|year=2006|publisher=Univ. Politèc. de Catalunya|isbn=978-84-8301-893-4|page=48}}</ref> while Spain started to suffer an economical crisis caused by the economical policy of the government and the [[Wall Street crash]].

=== Republic and autonomy ===
{{Main|Autonomous Region of Catalonia (1931-1939)}}
[[File:Proclamació Segona República Francesc Macià. Amadeu Aragay. 14 abril 1931.jpg|thumb|left|[[Francesc Macià]] proclaiming the Catalan Republic on 14 April 1931 in Barcelona]]
After the fall of Primo de Rivera, the Catalan [[left-wing politics|left]] made great efforts to create a united front under the leadership of left-wing independentist leader [[Francesc Macià]], founder of Estat Català. The ''Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya'' ([[Republican Left of Catalonia]], or ERC) represented a break with the electoral abstentionism that, until then had been characteristic of the Catalan workers. Advocating moderate [[socialism]], [[republicanism]] and Catalan [[self-determination]], the party achieved a spectacular victory in the municipal elections of 12 April 1931, which preceded the 14 April proclamation of the [[Second Spanish Republic]]. After a brief proclamation of the [[Catalan Republic (1931)|Catalan Republic]] (14–17 April) by the ERC leader, Francesc Macià,<ref>Roglan, Joaquim (2006). ''14 d'abril: la Catalunya republicana (1931-1939)''. Cossetània Edicions, p. 13 {{ISBN|8497912039}}</ref> the [[Generalitat of Catalonia]] was revived as an autonomous government, and a [[Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1932|Statute of Autonomy]] for Catalonia was approved on 9 September 1932 by the Cortes of the Republic after many discussions and political difficulties that considerably amended the original project. The Statute gave a strong, though not absolute, grant of self-government, and declared Catalan as official language in Catalonia alongside Spanish.<ref>Abelló Güell, Teresa: [https://www.parlament.cat/document/cataleg/47988.pdf ''El debat estatutari del 1932''] Parliament of Catalonia</ref> A similar statute granted autonomy to the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]], few years later. The [[Parliament of Catalonia]] [[1932 Catalan regional election|was elected on 20 November 1932]], and ERC won a large majority of seats, while the Regionalist League, almost hegemonic during the Monarchy, came in second place but far behind ERC.<ref>* [http://www.historiaelectoral.com/e1932.html 1932 Parliament of Catalonia election in ''Historia Electoral'']</ref>

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| footer = Left: [[Francesc Macià]], first President of the restored Generalitat of Catalonia (1931–1933)  Right: [[Lluís Companys]], second President of the Generalitat (1933-1940), executed by Franco's regime
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Under its two presidents, [[Francesc Macià]] (1931–1933) and [[Lluís Companys]] (1934–1939), the Republican Generalitat, democratically led by the left, carried out a considerable task in different areas such as culture, health, education and civil law, despite the serious economic crisis that the Republic inherited, its social repercussions, the low fiscal autonomy granted by the Statute, and the political vicissitudes of the period. On 25 December 1933 Macià died and the Parliament appointed Companys as new president. Under his presidency, the Parliament continued to legislate in order to improve the living conditions of the popular classes and the petite bourgeoisie, approving laws like the [[Crop Contracts Law]], which protected the tenant farmers and granted access to the land they were cultivating, but it was contested by the Regionalist League and provoking a legal dispute with the Spanish government led by [[Ricardo Samper]], rising the tensions. Meanwhile, the Generalitat established its own Court of Cassation (Catalan: ''[[Tribunal de Cassació]]'')<ref>Roca i Trias, Encarna. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140407101706/http://www.ajilc.cat/noticies/E.%20Roca%20article%20Puig%20Salellas.pdf ''El tribunal de Cassació de la Generalitat republicana: La història d'una tradició prohibida''], 2009, 18 pages from a conference</ref> and assumed executive powers in public order. The Statute was suspended in 1934, due to [[Events of 6 October|an uprising]] in Barcelona on 6 October of that year. President Companys proclaimed the [[Catalan State (1934)|Catalan State of the Spanish Federal Republic]], as a response to the accession of right-wing Spanish nationalist party [[CEDA]] to the government of the Republic. The CEDA was considered close to [[fascism]] and, therefore, they feared that it was the first step of this party to suppress the autonomy and take the power in Spain as [[Hitler]] and [[Dollfuss]] made in Germany and Austria. The proclamation was quickly suppressed by the Spanish army, and the Catalan Government members were arrested.<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Finestres| first1=Jordi| last2=López| first2=Manel| title = Entre la revolució i l'estelada| journal=Sàpiens| year=2014| location=Barcelona| language=ca| issn=1695-2014|pages=31–32}}</ref>

As for the workers' movement, there was a crisis in the CNT (the greatest trade union in Catalonia at the time) with the break-away faction in the 1930s<ref>{{cite book |last1=Horn |first1=Gerd-Rainer |title=European Socialists Respond to Fascism: Ideology, Activism and Contingency in the 1930s. |date=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-509374-7 |page=56}}</ref> and its hostility against the Republic as a bourgeoisie regime growth, realizing demonstrations, [[general strike]]s and proclamations of the libertarian communism in some places like in the Alt Llobregat mining area in 1932, while the Marxist parties were progressively unified with the formation of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification ({{langx|es|link=no|Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista}}, [[POUM]]) in September 1935 and [[Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia]] (Catalan: ''Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya'', PSUC) in July 1936.<ref>[http://psuc.cat/historia/ History] psuc.cat</ref>

After the electoral victory of the left in the [[1936 Spanish general election|Spanish general election of February 1936]] the government of the Generalitat was pardoned and reinstated in their functions.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pagès i Blanch |first1=Pelai |title=War and Revolution in Catalonia, 1936–1939|date=2013|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-9004254275|pages=16–17 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IfZ0AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|access-date=16 March 2018}}</ref> The period between that event and the military rebellion of July 1936 is considered as relatively peaceful in Catalonia, in contrast with the rest of Spain.{{sfn|Fontana|2014|pp=352}} The Parliament restored their legislative activities and the government prepared the [[People's Olympiad]] in Barcelona, as a response against the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] held in [[Berlin]], which was then under control of [[Nazi Germany]], but the same day of its planned inauguration (19 July), the Spanish Army carried out a partially failed coup d'état which led to the [[Spanish Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Movement to Boycott the Berlin Olympics of 1936 |url=http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007087 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202095138/http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007087 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 February 2014 |website=Holocaust Encyclopedia |publisher=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |access-date=16 February 2019}}</ref>

=== Civil War ===
{{Main|Revolutionary Catalonia}}
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[[File:Mapa guerra civil.png|thumb|upright|Francoist offensives during the occupation of Catalonia]]

The defeat of the initial [[July 1936 military uprising in Barcelona|military rebellion against the Republican government in Barcelona]] by forces of the Generalitat and workers' militias placed Catalonia firmly in the [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republican camp]]. The loyalist victory allowed to the workers' self-armed militias, predominantly anarchists, to become the real power of the streets, which meant the beginning of a harsh repression in Catalonia against those elements of being "fascist" or right-wing sympathizers{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}. Both the Generalitat and the central government were unable to stop the arbitrary revolutionary violence.{{Dubious|date=February 2021}} During the war, there were two powers coexisting in Catalonia: the ''de jure'' power of the Generalitat and the ''de facto'' power of the [[anarchist Catalonia|armed popular militias]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Spanish Civil war: Revolution and counter-revolution. |last=Bolloten |first=Burnett |author-link=Burnett Bolloten |year=1991 |publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]] |pages=388–389}}</ref> In order to begin the recovering of some control of the situation, Companys authorized on July 21 the establishment of a joint body by the different Catalan republican parties and the anarchist [[CNT-FAI|CNT]] and socialist [[Unión General de Trabajadores|UGT]] trade unions, The [[Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia]] (CCMA), becoming the effective Catalan government until its dissolution, two months later, replaced by a new government of the Generalitat which included anarchist ministers. Throughout Catalonia many sectors of the economy fell under the control of the CNT and the UGT, where workers' self-management was implemented. These included any kind of industry and services and thousands of dwellings previously owned by the upper classes. Initially, the newly collectivized factories encountered various problems. In response to these problems, the Generalitat, backed by the CNT approved a decree on "Collectivization and Workers' Control" on 24 October 1936. Under this decree all firms with more than 100 workers were to be collectivized and those with 100 or less could be collectivized if a majority of workers agreed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fabregas |first1=Joan P |last2=Tarradellas |first2=Josep |author-link2=Josep Tarradellas |title=Col·lectivitzacions i Control Obrer |url=https://www.llibertat.cat/2013/11/colect-69514.jpg |date=24 October 1936}}</ref> Violent confrontations between the workers' parties culminated in the defeat of the CNT-FAI and POUM in the 1937 [[May Days]], against whom the PSUC unleashed strong repression. The local situation resolved itself progressively in favor of the Generalitat, but at the same time the Generalitat partially lost its autonomous power within republican Spain.

The military forces of the Generalitat, weakly structured between December 1936 and May 1937 in the [[People's Army of Catalonia]] (''Exèrcit Popular de Catalunya''), were concentrated on two fronts: Aragon and Majorca. The latter was an utter disaster. The Aragon front resisted firmly until 1938, when the occupation of [[Lleida]] and [[Balaguer]] destabilized it. Finally, Franco's troops broke the republican territory in two by occupying the Valencian coastal town of [[Vinaròs]], isolating Catalonia from the rest of Republican Spain. The defeat of the Republican army in the [[Battle of the Ebro]] led in 1938 and 1939 to the [[Catalonia Offensive|occupation of Catalonia]] by Franco's forces, who abolished completely the Catalan self-government and brought in a dictatorial regime, which took strong measures against Catalan nationalism and culture.<ref name="Guibernau2004">{{cite book|author=Guibernau, Montserrat|title=Catalan Nationalism: Francoism, Transition and Democracy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H0p-AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30|date=31 July 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-35326-2|page=30}}</ref> Only forty years later, after Franco's death (1975) and the adoption of a democratic constitution in Spain (1978), did Catalonia recover its autonomy and reconstitute the Generalitat (1977).

[[George Orwell]] served with the POUM in Catalonia from December 1936 until June 1937. His memoir of that time, ''[[Homage to Catalonia]]'', was first published in 1938 and foreshadowed the causes of [[Second World War]]. It remains one of the most widely read books on the Spanish Civil War.<ref>[http://www.george-orwell.org/Homage_to_Catalonia/index.html ''Homage to Catalonia''] by George Orwell (1938)</ref>