Andalusian Nationalism - Brief History

Brief History

The predecessor of Andalusian nationalism is the peasant anarchism of 19th century. During the reign of Isabella II of Spain, Andalusia was a hotbed of anarchist insurgency. Later, these anarchist cores became protagonists in conflicts between local people and Madrid.

With the declaration of the First Spanish Republic in 1873, various nationalist currents began to emerge in Andalusia. In 1883, an assembly gathered at Antequera drafted a constitution styling Andalusia as an autonomous republic inside a federal state (República Andaluza o Estado libre o autónomo de Andalucía, in Spanish). This constitution is known as Constitución Federal de Antequera.

Blas Infante, a Georgist idealist and founder of modern Andalusian nationalism, initiated an assembly at Ronda in 1918. This assembly adopted a charter based on Antequera Constitution and also adopted the current flag and coat of arms as "national symbols". During the Second Spanish Republic, the Andalucismo was represented by the Junta Liberalista, a federalist political party led by Infante.

Andalusian nationalism was revived when Alianza Socialista de Andalucía or ASA (Socialist Alliance of Andalusia) was founded in 1971, at the last period of Francoism in Spain. Andalusian nationalism drew limited but considerable support from the western part of Andalusia, particularly from provincial capitals like Cádiz and Seville.