Continuities and ruptures in the Spanish identity of the Catalan intellectuals of Buenos Aires (1850-1950)

Abstract

Between mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth century, the Catalan community of Buenos Aires was represented by a number of prominent intellectuals who participated in the activity of its associations, in its periodical press and in the field of publishing. One of the main problems that were engaged in their work was the relationship between Catalonia and Spain, through a series of topics that were becoming more relevant at the time: the language issue, Catalan history and conflicts with Spain, emigration to America, the political choice between monarchy and republic, the struggle for autonomy. The hypothesis argued here is that, if we exclude supporters of radical Catalanism, who created their own newspapers and associations, interest in Spain subsisted on these authors, adopting new forms of expression and coexisting with the defense of Catalan identity.