The egalitarian dream in revolutionary Catalonia: land, collectivisation and conflict during the Spanish Civil War

Quinn, Seán Danny (2024) The egalitarian dream in revolutionary Catalonia: land, collectivisation and conflict during the Spanish Civil War. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Text - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 25 April 2026. Download (6MB)

Abstract

Radical initiatives to collectivise land ownership and agricultural production were defining features of the profound social revolution that swept through loyalist Spain at the start of the Spanish Civil War. Yet the agrarian collectives established in Catalonia, the revolution’s epicentre, are frequently overlooked or examined in isolation from their political and military contexts. Using a range of original sources, this thesis analyses the initial wave of land expropriations and collectivisation as contingent components of the revolutionary transformations and violence that effectively paralysed the functions of the state across Catalonia. The research applies a multi-faceted approach to demonstrate that the Catalan collectives were more widespread and diverse than previously understood, and explores the varied experiences of participating groups in relation to their profoundly egalitarian ambitions. It sheds light on how the polarised responses to collectivisation were interwoven with broader contestations between the leading anti-fascist organisations at a local, regional and national level, and how agrarian issues deepened critical fractures within the libertarian movement. The thesis also provides a detailed account of the incendiary conflicts that erupted during the period of state reconstruction from the autumn of 1936 between anarchist groupings seeking to entrench their revolutionary power and those rural constituencies that fiercely opposed them. It analyses the long-disputed and bloody events of La Fatarella in January 1937 and highlights their impact on the escalation of tensions that culminated in the region’s May Day clashes. Finally, the thesis delves into the sporadically violent means by which many collectives were brought under the law and the precarious survival of others during the conflict’s final phase. Overall, it contributes to the understanding of the complex social and political dynamics of the Catalan rearguard, emphasising the significance of this marginalised topic within enduring debates over the competing priorities of war and revolution.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 2024 Seán Danny Quinn
Library of Congress subject classification:	D History General and Old World > DP Spain J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
Sets:	Departments > International History
Supervisor:	Preston, Paul
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4623

Actions (login required)

Record administration - authorised staff only