The Galician Republic ( gl, República Galega) was a short-lived Galician state that existed for only a few hours from 27 June 1931, a day ahead of the election to the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...

Constitutional Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

, to 28 June 1931. It was proclaimed by Galician nationalist and striking railway workers who had just lost their jobs after the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

decided to end construction of a railway between Zamora and

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

. While ideas on independence were floated on June 25, two days later on June 27, left-

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

leaders Pedro Campos Couceiro and Antón Alonso Ríos declared that full independence from Spain was the only way for Galicia to overcome its secular backwardness and to regain its national dignity. Eventually, negotiations between Spanish forces and the Galician instigators would defuse the movement and stop it from spreading. The republic was an ephemeral passage in the

history of Galicia The Iberian Peninsula has been inhabited for at least 500,000 years, first by Neanderthals and then by modern humans. Prehistory Megalithic culture Galicia, northern Portugal, Asturias, western León, and Zamora formed a single megalit ...

History

Background

Galicia's mountainous geography had always left it feeling isolated from the rest of Spain. With few roads and inadequate rail connections, it seemed to be neglected by the central states. In 1927, construction began on a railway line linking Zamora and A Coruña with hopes that it would rescue the region from its isolation. However, the difficult terrain and the high cost of construction made it far more challenging than other railway projects of the time. Despite the challenges, the railway project continued until the fall of

Primo de Rivera Primo de Rivera is a Spanish family prominent in politics of the 19th and 20th centuries: *Fernando Primo de Rivera (1831–1921), Spanish politician and soldier *Miguel Primo de Rivera (1870–1930), nephew of Fernando, military officer and dictat ...

's dictatorship in 1931. With the new

only two months old, the government needed to find ways to cut credit on infrastructure as it was more focused on securing control of the country than insuring people had work. Consequently,

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Indalecio Prieto Indalecio Prieto Tuero (30 April 1883 – 11 February 1962) was a Spanish politician, a minister and one of the leading figures of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in the years before and during the Second Spanish Republic. Early life ...

deemed the Zamora-La Coruña railway line unprofitable and, on June 23, got the Council of Ministers to agree on suspending its construction. This decision immediately left over 12,000 workers, known as "Carrilán", jobless, and they soon went on strike in protest of the government's actions.

Formation

The strike was supported by local merchants and the

petty bourgeoisie ''Petite bourgeoisie'' (, literally 'small bourgeoisie'; also anglicised as petty bourgeoisie) is a French term that refers to a social class composed of semi-autonomous peasants and small-scale merchants whose politico-economic ideological sta ...

and lasted for three days until June 25. On the last day, at two in the morning, a crowd of workers stormed and occupied the city hall in

Ourense Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path of the Way of St ...

. Protesters raised the Galician flag on the main balcony while a man gave a speech proclaiming the Galician Republic''.'' Despite the strike officially ending there, a separate demonstration began out in the streets against the government. Two days later, on June 27, a rally in the Galicia capital of

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

would bring together communist and Galician nationalist to proclaim an independent Galicia with some even advocating for a Soviet Galicia. At the end of the rally, the imposing crowd went into the city hall and raised the Galician flag on the building. All the local government officials immediately resigned and Antón Alonso Ríos, who in Buenos Aires had directed Casares Quiroga's

Autonomous Galician Republican Organization The Autonomous Galician Republican Organization ( gl, Organización Republicana Galega Autónoma, ORGA) was a Spanish left-wing republican and Galician nationalist party in Galicia. It was founded in October 1929 in A Coruña by Santiago Casares Q ...

, was chosen as president. At the same time, labour unions in Ourense called for a general strike and protesters in Sanabria raised the Galician flag over their city hall.

Dissolution

On June 28, before any other area could join the insurrection, the Spanish government gave into the demands of the strikers and resumed construction of the railway.

Legacy and repercussion

A number of leftist organizations and champions of Galician

national sovereignty Westphalian sovereignty, or state sovereignty, is a principle in international law that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its territory. The principle underlies the modern international system of sovereign states and is enshrined in the Un ...

still celebrate 27 June despite how short the republic lived. The news had an impact on the Galician, Spanish and international

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

, and was reviewed by

John dos Passos John Roderigo Dos Passos (; January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) was an American novelist, most notable for his ''U.S.A.'' trilogy. Born in Chicago, Dos Passos graduated from Harvard College in 1916. He traveled widely as a young man, visit ...

for the daily newspaper ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''.https://www.nosdiario.gal/articulo/memoria/republica-galega-1931/20200626163515100283.html

References

External links

Arquivo Dixital De Galicia
- Galician digital archive History of Galicia (Spain) Galician nationalism States and territories disestablished in 1931 States and territories established in 1931 1931 in Spain Galicia, Republic of Galicia Former countries of the interwar period {{Galicia-stub