Trenches in the streets and grandiloquent dreams: Barcelona 1900-1925
In the Catalan capital there were great inequalities, but also great projects that radically transformed it.
BarcelonaIn just twenty-five years, Barcelona saw major insurrections, attempts to change the world, fierce repression, a population explosion, a true urban transformation, and an intense cultural life. There were those who wanted revolution and those who wanted to impose order. Anarchism, republicanism, anticlericalism, antimilitarism, Catalanism, colonialism, the labor movement... all converged. It's extremely complicated to summarize what happened between 1900 and 1925. Not only because of everything that happened in the city, but also because of everything that happened abroad and what ended abroad (1909-1927), the First World War (1914-1918), and the Russian Revolution (1917), among many other international conflicts.
The first major outbreak of violence on the streets of Barcelona came in the form of a spontaneous social insurrection: the Tragic Week (1909), whose genesis must be sought in the defeat of Spain and the loss of overseas colonies. Spain and its army, with the aim of satisfying the interests of the great capitalists, occupied northern Morocco to exploit the mines of the Rif. The need to recruit men, especially among the working class because they had no money to pay and be free, caused popular anger to explode. The violence spread throughout the city and had a terrible toll: two thousand arrests, two hundred deportations and five executions. Among them, that of an internationally renowned teacher, Francesc Ferrer i Guardia, who was shot as a Turkish chief. It was the beginning of a very turbulent period.
Shortly after, the the Commonwealth of Catalonia, which had a short life (1914-1923) but contributed to modernizing the country, launched a massive educational project, and created the outline of a state. It didn't have an easy time, and it had to face Madrid's outright rejection of demands for self-determination and many violent declarations and demonstrations, such as the boycott of Catalan products. Some of its battles may sound quite contemporary. In May 1916, the Council of the Commonwealth publicly asked the Spanish government for co-official status for the Catalan language in all areas. Madrid's response was resounding: "Never."
Milestones of the Labor Movement
The years of the Commonwealth were not only politically turbulent. The violence of class struggle was their backdrop. Working conditions were harsh. "There was brutal inequality, and in the poorest families, everyone worked for miserable wages. Without the labor of women and often children, the family economy was unsustainable," says Ginés Puente, professor of contemporary history at the Rovira i Virgili University (URV).
Feminism began to gain ground, and the union movement gained significant strength. The historian Josep Termes explains in History of the anarchist movement in Spain 1870-1980 that, between 1902 and the end of the Civil War, mass revolutionary syndicalism prevailed. "The local Barcelona federation of the CNT had, in 1918, 54,572 members, a figure that would quadruple the following year, out of a working population in Barcelona's industrial core of 205,542 people," writes Termes. On February 4, 1919, the strike began at Canadiense, the company that produced and supplied 70% of the electricity consumed in Catalonia. On February 26, workers from all electricity, gas, and water companies joined the strike. Among many other milestones, the eight-hour day was achieved, something unheard of in Europe. On March 13, a state of war was declared, and on March 25, Barcelona was militarily occupied. The Employers' Federation decreed a locou, which left many workers jobless. The repression against unions and workers was terrible, and violence took hold in the streets of Barcelona: in 1920, in a single month, 49 people were shot or killed by bombs. It was the era of gun violence. All of this would come to a bad end: the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera, beginning in 1923.
"At that time, the working class believed that revolution was possible. For the society of that time, social change was achievable, and therefore they fought," says Puente. "There was great tension between a consolidated bourgeoisie and the working class. In fact, Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship was imposed largely by outlawing a labor movement that had gained great strength and was well organized," the historian adds.
The Urban Planning Revolution
Barcelona's urban transformation was also extraordinary. "The 20th century began in the 19th century," Puente asserts. The Municipal Association was created in 1897 and united the towns of Gràcia, Sant Martí de Provençals, Sant Andreu de Palomar, Sant Gervasi de Cassoles, Santa Maria de Sants, and Les Corts in Barcelona. Horta was added in 1904, and Sarrià in 1921.The city grew exponentially and it went from having 15.5 square kilometers to 77.8; and from 383,000 inhabitants to more than half a million," explains Puente.
In 1854, the city had decreed the demolition of the walls, after a deadly cholera epidemic, and in 1860 the Cerdà plan had begun to be implemented and the Cerdà plan has begun to be implemented. "The social and political structure of Barcelona changed radically," says Puente. the demolition of many houses in the neighborhoods of the Cathedral, Ribera, Sant Pere and Santa Cugat del Rec"It was a dark city, but also very bright," says Puente. While workers lived alongside factories and shantytowns existed in different parts of the city, the bourgeoisie created Passeig de Gràcia and invested heavily in emblematic buildings like La Pedrera and Casa Batlló. "There were also many projects that sought to integrate different political and social realities with new road infrastructure, green spaces, and social spaces..." adds Puente. Among many other projects that became reality were the metro, in 1921, and the creation of the Compañía General de Autobuses (General Bus Company), which began operating four lines in 1922.
Back then, the city had big dreams. Some were grandiose, while others materialized. It wanted to grow infinitely and become a modern city on par with the great European metropolises. Culturally, these were also very intense years with Modernisme and Noucentisme and with the creation of large cultural infrastructures such as the Palau de la Música (1908) and a powerful network of cultural centers and libraries that allowed many Barcelona residents access to culture.
