Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe

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Almirall i Llozer, Valentí

  • CatalanPublishing, periodicalsHistorical background and context
  • GND ID
    12124685X
    Social category
    Journalists, editors, publishersInsurgents, activists
    Title
    Almirall i Llozer, Valentí
    Title2
    Almirall i Llozer, Valentí
    Text

    Born into a wealthy family, Valentí Almirall i Llozer (Barcelona 1841 – Barcelona 1904) graduated in law in his native country in 1863 but rarely practised. He took part in literary life, particularly in the circle of Frederic Soler, and (under a pseudonym) wrote prologues to Soler’s Singlots poètics (1867) and Nits de lluna (1886). Even so, Almirall’s literary taste ran counter to the Romanticism of the circles around the Floral Games.

    He pursued a political and public career which proved turbulent. Originally a member of the Democratic Party, and a participant in the revolution of 1868, he became the driving force behind Federal Republicanism in the Catalan region, which he advocated in party politics and by means of periodicals and pamphlets (Bases para la constitución federal de la nación Española y para la del estado de Cataluña, 1868; Guerra a Madrid, 1869). In 1869 he participated in the Tortosa Pact between the republicans of the Catalan lands and Aragon. For his participation in the Barcelona federal revolt that same year he was interned on the Balearic Islands, but fled to Marseille; after receiving a pardon, he returned to Barcelona in 1870, where he obtained a public position thanks to Josep Clavé, who held high political office during the Republic’s brief flourish.

    Almirall’s Catalanist activities increased in the late 1870s. In 1878 he was president of the Ateneu Lliure and in 1879 founded the first newspaper to be printed completely in Catalan, the Diari Català (1879-81); he convened the First and Second Catalanist Congress (1880, 1883), defended Catalan law at the Congress of Catalan Legal Advisers (1881), drafted the Memorial de Greuges (an explosive and influential public declaration of regionalist grievances and demands, 1885) and was a committee member of the Floral Games, where he presided in 1886. In the same year he published his autonomist creed, Lo Catalanisme. He vehemently disapproved of the decision to delay the 1888 Floral Games in order to allow the regent queen to attend, going as far as organizing a separate venue on the traditional date.

    After 1887 Almirall’s health and public position declined; he was embittered by the lack of notice he received from younger, more radical generations. Some of his books were reprinted in 1901 by sympathizers: Regionalisme i particularisme and Aspecte polític i social del renaixement català.

    Word Count: 376

    Article version
    1.1.1.4/a
  • Almirall, Valentí; Obra completa: Edició, introducció i notes a cura de Josep M. Figueres (Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 2009).

    Duran i Solà, Lluís; Breu història del catalanisme I: Del segle XIX a la dictadura de Primo de Rivera (Barcelona: Curial / Abadia de Montserrat, 2009).

    Figueres, Josep Maria; El primer congrés Catalanista i Valentí Almirall: Materials per a l’estudi dels orígens del catalanisme (Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 1985).

    Figueres, Josep Maria; Valentí Almirall (Barcelona: Nou Art Thor, 1990).

    Figueres, Josep Maria; Valentí Almirall: Forjador del catalanisme polític (Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 2004).

    Figueres, Josep Maria; “Valentí Almirall i el «Diari català»”, in Cassany, Enric (ed.); Panorama crític de la literatura catalana segle XIX (Barcelona: Vicenç Vives, 2009).4:

    Molas, Isidre; Les arrels teòriques de les esquerres catalanes (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 2001).

    Pich i Mitjana, Josep; Almirall i el «Diari Català» (1879-1881): L’inici del projecte politicoideològic del catalanisme progressista (Barcelona: Institut universitari d’història Jaume Vicens i Vives, 2003).

    Pich i Mitjana, Josep; Federalisme i catalanisme: Valentí Almirall i Llozer (1841-1904) (Vic: Eumo, 2004).

    Pich i Mitjana, Josep; Valentí Almirall i el federalisme intransigent (Barcelona: Afers, 2006).

    Rovira i Virgili, Antoni; Valentí Almirall (Barcelona: Barcino, 1936).

    Solé-Tura, Jordi; Ideari de Valentí Almirall (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1974).

    Trias Vejarano, Juan; Almirall y los orígenes del catalanismo (Madrid: Siglo XXI, 1975).

    Vall, Xavier; Valentí Almirall i els Jocs Florals (Barcelona: Curial, 1989).


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    All articles in the Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe edited by Joep Leerssen are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://www.spinnet.eu.

    © the author and SPIN. Cite as follows (or as adapted to your stylesheet of choice): Vilardell, Laura, 2022. "Almirall i Llozer, Valentí", Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe, ed. Joep Leerssen (electronic version; Amsterdam: Study Platform on Interlocking Nationalisms, https://ernie.uva.nl/), article version 1.1.1.4/a, last changed 26-04-2022, consulted 28-03-2024.