Anarchism, Revolution and Reaction

The period from 1898 to 1923 was a particularly dramatic one in Spanish history; it culminated in the violent Barcelona “labor wars” and was only brought to a close with the coup d’état launched by the Barcelona Captain General, Miguel Primo de Rivera, in September 1923. In his detailed examination of the rise of the Catalan anarchist-syndicalist-led labor movement, the author blends social, cultural and political history in a novel way. He analyses the working class “from below” and the policies of the Spanish State towards labor “from above.” Based on an in-depth usage of primary sources, the authors provides an unrivalled account of Catalan labor and the Catalan anarchist-syndicalist movement and thus makes an important contribution to our understanding of early twentieth-century Spanish history.

“The major and significant achievement of Ángel Smith’s exhaustively researched monograph is to provide a balanced and intelligent explanation for the tremendous influence of anarchism amongst the Catalan working class and the Barceloneses in particular that was so evident in the first heady months of the Spanish revolution from July 1936… Ángel Smith has produced an exemplary study that will surely establish itself as the core text on the growth and development of Catalan anarchism, but which also contributes much to a more profound understanding of the broader course of twentieth century Spanish history.”  ·  Social History “This detailed work provides a valuable account of the factors which destabilized Spain in the period up to 1923. In essence this is an excellent reference work to the complicated labour and political situations which existed in early twentieth-century Spain, and it should find a place on the shelves of libraries and historians of contemporary Spain.”  ·  Bulletin of Spanish Studies “In sum this is an invaluable work, which no historian of modern Spain, anarchism or European labour can afford to do without.”  ·  History “[this] outstanding study enriches…our understanding of Catalan anarchism and syndicalism..”  ·  International Socialism

Angel Smith in Senior Lecturer in Spanish History at the University of Leeds. He has worked extensively in the areas of Spanish labor and Spanish nationalisms. His books include An Historical Dictionary of Modern Spain (Scarecrow Press, 1996), Clare Mar-Molinero and Angel Smith (eds), Nationalism and National Identity in the Iberian Peninsula. Competing and Conflicting Identities (Berg, 1996), Angel Smith and Emma Dávila-Cox (eds), The Crisis of 1898. Colonial Redistribution and Nationalist Mobilization (Macmillan, 1999), Stefan Berger and Angel Smith (eds), Nationalism, Labour and Ethnicity, 1870-1939 (Manchester University Press, 1999), Angel Smith (ed), Red Barcelona. Social Mobilization and Labour Conflict in the Twentieth Century (Routledge, 2002).