A People's History of Catalonia
Understanding the Struggles and Triumphs of a Unique Region
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Pluto Press
Published:20th Sep '22
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£16.99(9780745342139)
This book chronicles Catalonia's enduring struggle for independence and identity, illustrating its historical challenges and resilience throughout the centuries.
A People's History of Catalonia provides an in-depth exploration of Catalonia's rich and tumultuous past. The narrative begins with the region's early struggles for survival, highlighting the peasant revolts of the 15th century and the significant events that shaped its national consciousness. The book delves into the violent resistance against oppression and the suppression of language and rights that Catalans have faced over the centuries. Through vivid storytelling, the author captures the essence of Catalonia's identity and the resilience of its people.
As the narrative unfolds, the reader is taken through pivotal moments in history, such as the siege of Barcelona in 1714 and the emergence of a powerful workers' movement in the 20th century. The author emphasizes the intertwining of the fight for national sovereignty with the quest for social justice, particularly during the Spanish Civil War and the anti-Franco resistance. The book illustrates how Barcelona earned its nickname, the Rose of Fire, as a center of revolutionary fervor and hope.
Ultimately, A People's History of Catalonia serves as a reminder that the struggle for independence and recognition is ongoing. The events of October 1, 2017, when Spanish police clashed with peaceful voters during a referendum, reignited global interest in Catalonia's plight. The book invites readers to reflect on the complexities of identity, history, and the enduring spirit of a people determined to shape their own future.
'Catalonia’s aspiration to cut loose from the Spanish state is often dismissed as the whim of a self-interested merchant class. The truth is more complicated. As Michael Eaude’s sharp, engrossing, and comprehensive historical narrative makes clear, the centuries-long push for Catalan independence is closely entwined with the peasant- and working-class struggle for social justice and democratic government'
-- Sebastiaan Faber, author of ‘Exhuming Franco’'This well-written study takes us on a much-needed historical journey from below, eloquently capturing the rebellious traditions of Catalonia's assertive and proudly defiant popular classes from medieval times to today. By combining broad strokes and intricate detail, he establishes crucial connections between past and contemporary struggles to produce a vivid picture of the class war in a fractured and divided society that produced, in many respects, the most far-reaching social revolution in European history'
-- Chris Ealham, author of 'Anarchism And The City’'This timely and impressive book not only dispels the myths and prejudices about the Catalan people's struggles, so prevalent in Spain and elsewhere, but demonstrates the constant intertwining of the battles for national rights with peasant and working-class revolt "from below". A thoroughly recommended read'
-- Andy Durgan, historian and author of 'Voluntarios por la revolución’'Gives a voice to one of the most rebellious people in Europe whose insurgency reached a pinnacle in 1936 with working class revolution in Catalonia and continued through the ending of the Franco dictatorship through to today's fight to gain independence in the face of Spanish repression and nationalism. Michael does the Catalan people proud'
-- Chris Bambery, author of 'Catalonia Reborn' and Public Point of Enquiry for the All Party Parliamentary Group on Catalonia'Gripping … Eaude provides an impressive and accessible roller-coaster history'
-- Luke Stobart, JacISBN: 9780745342122
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 518g
288 pages