Making Spaniards National Catholicism and the Nationalisation of the Masses During the Dictatorship of Primo De Rivera (1923-1930)
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MAKING SPANIARDS NATIONAL CATHOLICISM AND THE NATIONALISATION OF THE MASSES DURING THE DICTATORSHIP OF PRIMO DE RIVERA (1923-1930) Alejandro Quiroga Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD London School of Economics and Political Science October 2004 UMI Number: U192457 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Disscrrlation Publishing UMI U192457 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 r Liorary jrrosnüb*Byo»fttfitH' andtoiemirSo^i. •} ABSTRACT This thesis is a study of Spanish state and society during the 1920s. It analyses the official nationalist doctrine developed during the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and its transmission throughout Spanish society. It sets out to explain the ideological evolution of conservative Spanish nationalism in the 1920s and the process of ‘nationalisation of the masses’ undertaken by the state. The thesis is divided into two main thematic areas. The first part covers the making of the nationalist doctrine by the ideologues of the regime. Following a first chapter on Spanish nationalism prior to the dictatorship, Chapter 2 deals with the official discourse during the Military Directory (1923-1925) and Chapter 3 focuses on the phmorriverista nationalist doctrine during the Civil Directory (1926-1930). The second part analyses the state propagation of nationalist ideas throughout society. Chapter 4 looks at the role of the army as an agency of nationalisation. Chapter 5 analyses the educational system as a nationalising agency. Finally, Chapter 6 is concerned with showing the nationalising effects of the official party and the national militia. The conclusion is that during the 1920s the regime developed the principles of a fascisticised nationalism in line with the European radical Right that eventually constituted the ideological principles of Franco’s dictatorship. Nevertheless, the phmorriverista bid to carry out a process of nationalisation of the masses from above led to a ‘negative nationalisation’, in which increasing opposition to the state agents propagating the official canon of the nation was accompanied by the rejection of the very idea of nation defended by those agents. Thus the regime policies discredited the authoritarian canon of Spain and contributed to the popular consolidation of a republican and democratic idea of Spain. “..the Spanish masses will consent to be shaped, for they are a noble race’ (Emilio Rodriguez Tarduchy) “...you keenly personify the most dangerous trend for the preservation of national unity, which regionalisms and political autonomies are bound to destroy, for the masses’ ideas are simplistic and do not understand the subtleties of sharp minds” (Primo de Rivera to Cambo) 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis has been a long time in the making and the volume of my debts is commensurate with the time scale. Along the way I enjoyed financial assistance from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and the Government Department at the LSE. I am also indebted to my supervisor, Professor Sebastian Balfour, for his trust and encouragement. I should like to express my thanks to all those colleagues and friends in London and Madrid who helped me in various ways. I would especially like to mention Vasilios Alevizakos, Gregorio Alonso, Rodney Barker, Marta Bizcarrondo, Gerald Blaney, Eduardo Gonzalez Calleja, Helen Graham, Miguel Guerrero, John Hutchinson, Diego Muro Ruiz, Francisco Romero, Sandra Souto, and Guy Theaker. My warmest gratitude is to Mari Carmen Fernandez de Soto, whose support has made the completion of this thesis possible. Ill TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT............................................................................................................i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.....................................................................................iv INTRODUCTION - From Periphery to Centre: Studies on Spanish Nationalism ........... 1 The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera as a Nationalist Regime ...........10 - Research Questions and Framework ..................................................18 Approach and Sources ........................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 1 THE ROOTS OF NATIONAL CATHOLICISM (1808-1923) - Introduction ............................................................................................. 25 The Creation of the Modern Nation (1808-1898).................................. 26 - From Military Disaster to Military Rule (1898-1923) ..........................37 Conclusion: a New Spanish Nationalism in a State of Siege ................ 58 CHAPTER 2 THE MILITARY DIRECTORY (1923-1925): THE MAKING OF THE PRIMORRIVERISTA DISCOURSE Introduction: Towards the Monopolisation of the Political Discourse .. 60 The Secular Nation ...................................................................................... 64 The Sacred Nation ....................................................................................... 74 The State as Protector of the Nation .......................................................... 78 The Enemy Within ....................................................................................... 85 Conclusion: the Limits of Negative Discourse ........................................... 90 IV CHAPTER 3 THE CIVIL DIRECTORY (1926-1930): NATIONAL CATHOLICISM AND THE NEW STATE Introduction.................................................................................................93 - The Emergence of the Union Patriotica Ideologues and the Assault on Liberalism ..............................................................................................94 Dogmas of the National Catholic Canon ................................................. 99 The Creation of the New State and the Union Patriotica .......................118 - National Catholicism, Fascism and the Primorriverista Heritage 126 CHAPTER 4 STATE NATIONALISATION OF THE MASSES: THE ARMY Introduction .............................................................................................. 135 The Indoctrination in the Army ............................................................... 138 The Army as Educator of Civilians ......................................................... 160 Conclusion: a Negative Nationalisation ................................................... 183 CHAPTER 5 STATE NATIONALISATION OF THE MASSES: THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM Introduction ............................................................................................... 187 Primorriverista Educational Principles and the Control of Teachers .. 190 Patriotic Books and Ceremonies ............................................................. 197 Structural Reforms: Schools and Teachers ............................................ 203 Secondary Education Reforms .................................................................212 The ‘Spanishization’ of Catalonia ........................................................... 220 Conclusion: the Catholic Trap .................................................................231 CHAPTER 6 STATE NATIONALISATION OF THE MASSES: SOMATÉN NACIONAL AND UNION PATRIOTICA - Introduction ................................................................................................234 - The Somatén Nacional ...............................................................................237 - The Union Patriotica ..................................................................................257 Conclusion: a Poisoned Legacy ................................................................. 280 CONCLUSION FROM NEGATIVE INTEGRATION TO NEGATIVE NATIONALISATION....................................................................... 283 BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................. 289 VI INTRODUCTION FROM PERIPHERY TO CENTRE: STUDIES ON SPANISH NATIONALISM Any observer of Spain’s history will find the subjects of nationalism and national identity at the core of the country’s political discourse throughout the entire twentieth century. From the Colonial Wars in the 1890s up to the present, the diverse nationalisms of the Iberian Peninsula have remained an essential component of the political debate in Spain. And yet, whilst studies on Catalan, Basque and Galician nationalisms have been at the centre of research projects in history, political science, and sociology departments since the 1970s, Spanish nationalism did not become a topic of systematic academic investigation until the 1990s. Only in the last five years has a considerable bulk of historiography on Spanish nationalism begun to emerge. The reason for this ‘delay’ in the study of Spanish nationalism is related to the political context of Spain. During the 1940s and 1950s, Francoist historians paid very little attention to the development of Spanish nationalism. The few works written on the topic were mere propagandist efforts to ‘demonstrate’