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Provincial Councils in constitutional Spain (19th century)
Despite their initial historicist approach, the Provincial Councils set up under the Constitution of Cádiz quickly fell under the influence of Jacobinism, which in fact validated the absolute monarchy’s trends toward centralisation and uniformity. While the Councils respected the external limits of the Principality of Catalonia, they brought about a new set of territorial divisions that eliminated the Principality as a political entity by dividing it into four provinces. Furthermore, following the model of Napoleon, the theory and practice of the Spanish Government gradually shifted toward the subordination of collective bodies under the supervision of individual officers that made up a hierarchical chain including everything from the head of government in Madrid to the ministers (especially those from Governance), the provincial political leaders (also known as civil governors) and the mayors. These posts, starting with the chairperson of the Council of Ministers under Isabella II, were often militarised, helping to reinforce authoritarianism, which was increased in Catalonia and Barcelona by the frequent declaration of a state of emergency and the suspension of constitutional guarantees. Even so, the provincial and municipal representative bodies frequently voiced demands on behalf of a society that had its own brand of dynamism and a model quite distinct from that of Spain. These differences became even more pronounced when the industrial revolution got into full swing in the mid 19th century. Catalonia, and especially the city of Barcelona, took on a significant and often central role in manoeuvring the liberal Spanish regime toward the left in order to decentralise the state or thoroughly re-examine the federalist model. In these perpetually unstable yet highly creative times, such as the Two Progressive Years (1854-1856) and the Six Democratic Years (1868-1874), the Provincial Councils of Catalonia—especially Barcelona—became a strategic political scene.
Hopes for reforming the liberal Spanish regime were repeatedly crushed. During the restoration, frustration favoured the search for solutions on the fringes of state institutions and the birth of nationalism. However, in the early 20th century, the Spanish Government ultimately recognised Catalonia’s distinct personality by uniting the four Provincial Councils in a Commonwealth. This experience, which lasted from 1914 to 1925, is the most recent precedent for the Government of Catalonia as we know it today.