Catalan “Apaches”? Stereotypical Depictions of Foreigners and Minorities in Barcelona before the Spanish Civil War (1918–1936)

Abstract

When Barcelona became the industrial center of the Iberian Peninsula in the second half of the 19th century, it began to attract thousands of people searching for work. The integration of working migrants in Barcelona was rather successful until the beginning of the First World War. This process was facilitated by the fact that most of the people who came to Barcelona in search for work at that time originated from Catalonia or other Catalan-speaking areas and shared the same language and the same local traditions. The situation changed dramatically in the interwar period, when the percentage of migrants coming from other parts of Spain and from abroad grew significantly. Due to rising Catalan nationalism and the high rate of unemployment caused by the Great Depression, attitudes toward foreigners and other minorities in Barcelona turned hostile. This process was also reflected in the stereotypical depictions created by the local press. This paper examines three minorities in Barcelona: “gypsies,” internal migrants, and foreigners. It elaborates on the questions of how “the other” was perceived in Barcelona before the Civil War and which prejudices were established.