Katalonien im Spanien des 19. Jahrhunderts

Abstract

Spain was an anachronism in nineteenth-century Europe, politically unstable, underdeveloped in agriculture and industry, and dependent on contemporary economic centers. The city and the region of Barcelona are above all the leading region in the direction of modernity, which also arrived despite many retarding factors. But unlike the developed states of Europe, economic and social progress has so far been limited to a few regions. This leads to deep tensions between the leading region, Catalonia, and the political center, Madrid. From about 1880, Catalanism articulated these differences in development politically and nationally. So that, from a modern point of view, Catalans could use standard elements of national identity - such as their own history, language and literature.