The history of Catalan political nationalism, also referred to as Catalanism (), traces its origins to the early years of the Bourbon Restoration in Spain following the failure of the federalist system of the short-lived First Spanish Republic. However, its roots extend to the first half of the 19th century, driven by the cultural revival movement known as the Renaixença and opposition to the centralist model of the liberal Spanish state. Historian John H. Elliott notes that the term "Catalanism," previously associated with cultural movements, began to take on significant political meaning during the Revolutionary Sexennium (1868–1874). Specifically, the term "Catalanist" emerged around 1870–1871, used by members of and the journal to signify ambitions beyond mere regionalism. As a political movement, Catalanism solidified in the late 1880s.
Origins of Political Catalanism (1808–1875)
Dual Catalan and Spanish Identity and Opposition to Centralist Liberal State
According to historian , around 1800, Spain was primarily an "administrative reference" for many Catalans, not a source of collective identity. Distinctive elements, from the Catalan language to civil law traditions, sustained a particular Catalan consciousness, further reinforced by an idealized memory of lost liberties. In 1775, English traveler Henry Swinburne noted the Catalans' "passionate enthusiasm for liberty," citing their numerous insurrections and describing the War of the Spanish Succession as a fierce struggle for freedom. Similarly, French general Jacques Dugommier, upon entering Catalonia in 1794 during the War of the Convention, reported to the Committee of Public Safety that Catalans were "enemies of the Spanish" and cherished liberty. However, historian observes that Catalan elites began embracing the Spanish project from the 1770s, with a significant shift during the Peninsular War against Napoleon.
A sense of Spanish identity emerged in Catalonia during the Peninsular War, as Catalans, for the first time, shared a common enemy with other Spaniards. Smith notes that the emotional term pàtria () was commonly used to refer to both Spain and Catalonia.
Yet, opposition to Castilian linguistic and legal dominance persisted, as Catalans continued to for their abolished institutions and laws of the Principality of Catalonia, abolished under the of 1714, and maintained the use of Catalan in administrative and academic contexts despite decrees mandating Spanish. Catalans rejected not Spain as a whole, but Castile's attempts to dominate it. French traveler Alexandre de Laborde and Spanish general Evaristo San Miguel noted this animosity toward Castile.
In the 1808 pamphlet Centinela contra franceses, Barcelona native Antonio de Capmany praised Spain's diversity as a strength against Napoleonic invasion, contrasting it with France's uniformity. However, he viewed Catalan as a "dead provincial language" for literary purposes. Similarly, liberal Antonio Puigblanch argued in 1811 that Catalonia should abandon Catalan for Spanish to integrate fully into the nation.
During the construction of Spain's liberal state, Catalan liberals emphasized the continuity between historical Catalan liberties and the new constitutional regime to foster integration into liberal Spain while reinforcing Catalan identity. In 1808, the Superior Junta of Catalonia urged deputies to the Cortes of Cádiz to preserve Catalonia's traditional privileges if uniform legislation proved unfeasible. During the Liberal Triennium (1820), the Provincial Deputation of Catalonia claimed to inherit the spirit of Catalan ancestors in defending civil liberties.
This period saw the emergence of a dual Catalan-Spanish identity, encapsulated in the phrase "Spain is the nation, Catalonia is the homeland." The newspaper El Nuevo Vapor in 1836 highlighted Catalans' pride in belonging to Spain while emphasizing their attachment to Catalonia. Catalanist priest Jaume Collell later attributed this dual identity to the Peninsular War, noting both unprecedented Spanish unity and a strong regional particularism. Anguera similarly observes that the war fostered solidarity with Spain while proving Catalans' self-reliance.
The first Catalan-language newspaper, , advocated preserving Catalan identity alongside Spanish unity while criticizing the centralist state model of the Moderate Party. Progressive liberal Tomás Bertran i Soler even proposed restoring Catalonia's historical constitution, akin to Basque privileges.
In 1851, J.B. Guardiola advocated for decentralization as the best guarantee of Spain's unity, viewing Spain not as a single nation but as a collection of nations. Three years later, following the success of the Vicalvarada, Víctor Balaguer launched the newspaper , which championed decentralization. An editorial declared its title a "gauntlet thrown at despots and tyrants" who sought to enslave Catalonia, whether from a throne or a ministerial chair. The paper, accused by some of being a "flag of independence," argued that Spain comprised several kingdoms distinguished by race, language, and history. In 1855, lamented in his pamphlet Cataluña en España that Catalonia and Castile, once distinct nationalities, had not been united by time and justice. , a leading ideologue of Catalonia's conservative bourgeoisie, echoed this sentiment, noting the lack of shared feelings and aspirations among "brother peoples," which he attributed to the Castilianizing uniformity imposed by Isabeline governments. In 1860, 's book Cataluña y los catalanes distinguished Catalans from other Spaniards while considering them "brothers," proposing a cohesive Spain. He also noted a group of Catalans with "exaggerated patriotic zeal" seeking to revive ancient administrations aligned with the free spirit of the Principality of Catalonia. That same year, wrote:
In March 1866, seven Catalan deputies led by Manuel Duran y Bas of the Liberal Union proposed a bill in the Congress of Deputies for broad administrative decentralization, transferring powers from the central government to provinces grouped into a new territorial division. They argued against uniformity imposed in the name of unity. The Minister of the Interior, José Posada Herrera, from the same party, opposed what he termed "excentralization," calling it "an enemy of liberty" that would lead to "horrible local tyrannies." He questioned whether all people under one government should be governed by the same law, arguing that Duran's system would create inequalities. Madrid's press attacked the proposal, labeling the Catalan deputies "regional deputies" and threatening tariff reforms to harm Catalonia. The bill was rejected, with 44 votes in favor (including all Catalan deputies) and 88 against.
Renaixença and Popular Catalanism
The Renaixença, or Catalan Romanticism, was a cultural movement aimed at restoring the Catalan language to its prestigious status, as it had remained vibrant in popular literature. Its beginning is traditionally dated to August 1833, with the publication of Buenaventura Carlos Aribau's in . This was followed by 27 Catalan poems by , published in the Diario de Barcelona from 1839, later compiled in Lo Gayter del Llobregat under his pseudonym. In the introduction, Rubió outlined his literary program, emphasizing love for "the things of one's homeland" and defending the Catalan language, which was "sadly fading day by day" and shamed by some. He wrote:
The movement focused on literature, particularly poetry, with a milestone being the first Jocs Florals held in 1859, organized by the Barcelona City Council. An earlier precedent was a 1841 poetry contest by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Barcelona, where Rubió won for a poem on the almogavars and for a historical essay on the Compromise of Caspe. The Jocs Florals, with awards for faith, homeland, and love, promoted historicist poetry, and their ceremonial speeches became a platform for regionalism, attracting diverse audiences. They "fanned the flame of Catalan identity while proclaiming Catalonia's Spanishness."
However, Enric Prat de la Riba, a key Catalan nationalist, later criticized Jocs Florals participants for lamenting the Catalan language's decline while speaking Castilian at home and ignoring Catalonia outside the contests. Most early Renaixença figures, except the progressive liberal Víctor Balaguer, aligned with Moderantismo. Rubió, known for conservative works like El libro de las niñas (1845) and Manual de elocuencia sagrada (1852), defended Catholic universities as barriers against error. , also conservative, wrote the first Catalan serial novel, L'orfeneta de Menargues o Catalunya agonisant (1862).
Alongside the Renaixença, Catalan historiography revived, beginning in 1836 with Félix Torres Amat's Memorias para ayudar a formar un diccionario crítico de escritores catalanes and Próspero de Bofarull y Mascaró's Los condes de Barcelona vindicados. In 1839, 's Recuerdos y bellezas de España passionately recounted the "glorious eras of the Raimundos and Jaimes," praising those who defended their homeland's freedoms. Historian Josep Fontana credits it as the first work to outline Catalonia's national history, including milestones like September 11.
Later historians included Víctor Balaguer, with Bellezas de la historia de Cataluña (1853) and Historia de Cataluña y de la corona de Aragón (1860), aiming for a united yet confederated Spain, and , who edited medieval Catalan chronicles and began Historia crítica (civil y eclesiástica) de Cataluña in 1876. Jaume Vicens Vives noted that Balaguer's work inspired patriotic poets, while Bofarull's supported jurists and politicians.
In 1863, Barcelona's City Council tasked Balaguer with naming streets for the city's Eixample district, blending Catalan regionalist and Spanish nationalist imagery. North-south streets honored historical institutions (e.g., Corts Catalanes, Diputació del General), while east-west streets commemorated battles, writers, and heroes (e.g., Balmes, Aribau, Roger de Lauria).
In his 1868 Jocs Florals inaugural speech, months before the Glorious Revolution, Balaguer declared Spain a "great nation composed of several nationalities," with Castilian as the language of the lips and Catalan as the language of the heart, enriching Spain with dual literatures.
Democratic-republican currents in Catalonia, left of Progressivism, used Catalan to reach popular sectors, advocating for el català que ara es parla (the Catalan spoken now) over the archaic Catalan of the Jocs Florals. (Serafí Pitarra) satirized revered figures like James I of Aragon in his 1856 play Don Jaume el Conqueridor, performed privately, followed by public works like La Esquella de la Torratxa (1860).
Democratic Sexennium: Federalism's Failure
After the Glorious Revolution of 1868, Catalan symbols and heroes of 1714 were celebrated, with calls to restore laws abolished by the . The journal proclaimed it was "time to regenerate Catalonia," denouncing the "bastonazos" of Castilianization.
While monarchists like Balaguer supported a "monarchical federation," republicans championed Federalism. On May 18, 1869, representatives of the Federal Democratic Republican Party from Catalonia, Valencia, Aragon, and the Balearic Islands signed the Tortosa Federal Pact, stating:
In 1869, conservative published El federalismo en España, defending federalism as Spain's traditional system—a "bundle of nationalities, united but not merged." Josep Narcís Roca Farreras proposed ending "absorbent, centralizing, uniform" unity to modernize Spain, distinguishing Catalonia's "defensive, fraternal" nationalism from Castile's "aggressive, domineering" one.