Civil War, Dictatorship, 'Independentistas' and Taxes: A Short History of Catalan Secession

There are some parallels between the independentistas of today and those who supported Catalonia’s independence nearly 100 years ago. While Catalans like to talk about a history that dates back to the 9th Century, the modern roots for Independence began in 1922 when Francesc Macià founded the first pro-independence political party in Catalonia: Estat Catala. In 1926 he led an abortive insurrection against the dictatorship in Madrid of Gen. Miguel Primo de Rivera.

Then in 1931, Spain, like the rest of the world, was in the midst of the Great Depression, and Primo de Rivera lost his grip on power. Municipal elections were held in an effort to relieve political tensions and, remarkably, Macià’s independence party won in coalition with two others. Spain’s monarch fled, and  Macià proclaimed a Catalan Republic. For a full three days, Catalonia was a country. Negotiations began with the new provisional government in Madrid, and Catalonia remained part of the Second Spanish Republic, but as an autonomous region.

When Franco’s fascists decided to take over Spain with the backing of Hitler in the mid 1930s, Barcelona became a key battleground, but independence was not the issue.