Catalonia : a profile /
Victor Alba
- Reino Unido C. Hurst and Company c1975.
- 258 p. 22 cm.
Incluye n̕dice y referencias bibliogrf̀icas : p [243]-250.
An intimate country -- A mercantile empire -- A country in the back room -- The revolutionary bourgeoisie -- The tripartite country -- Three dreams in action -- A comfortable culture -- A provisional country.
Catalonia, today an integral part of the Spanish state, considers itself a nation in its own right. Not only has it had a long and independent history, but it has its own language and deep-rooted psychological, cultural, and economic characteristics. Ever since becoming a part of Spain, the Catalans have been an oppressed minority. They have at times been forbidden to speak their language, to teach it in their schools, to use it in newspapers and magazines. Political and economic self-determination has also been denied. Despite oppression, however, Catalonia has been a prime mover in whatever progress has taken place in Spain over the last 150 years. The Spanish labor movement, industrialization, political liberalism, modernization of the Church -all originated on Catalonia. In this book, Victor Alba traces the history of Catalonia from its earliest days in the sixth century B.C. and its life as a Mediterranean empire during the Middle Ages through modern times. Against this historical background is set an analysis of Catalan character and culture as well as of the social, political, and religious thinking among the various segments of the Catalan population. Special emphasis is given to the problems arising from Catalonia's unique situation within the Spanish state today. Indeed, an understanding of the "Catalan problem" and the role of this most highly industrialized and most prosperous region of the country is essential to an understanding of Spain as a whole. Particularly interesting is the author's first-hand report of the Spanish Civil War, in which he was a participant . Within the context of the war and the postwar period, he discusses Catalan nationalism, the relationship between Catalonia and Spain, and Catalonia's outlook for the future, for which he gives his own prescription. We have here, then, a portrait of what the Catalans refer to as the "nation of Catalonia" -shown in historical, political, cultural, and economic perspective.
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Cataluą (Espaą)--Polt̕ica y gobierno Cataluą (Espaą)--Condiciones econm̤icas. Cataluą (Espaą)--Condiciones sociales.