The making of a leader: Lluís Companys, journalism and politics (1908-1925)

Abstract

This article aims to reflect on some aspects of the doctoral thesis entitled Lluís Companys: politician and journalist, which deals with the formation of the political thought of Lluís Companys on the basis of a study of his journalistic career. While being aware of the importance that the republican period of the 1930s had on his biography, we are convinced of the need to expand the historiographical perspective in order to make our knowledge more accurate. Our historical research, focusing on the period between 1908 and 1925, has helped us to study in depth a series of articles and speeches which were published in different media. The more new interpretative data we obtain, the more we will be able to clarify a series of political actions marked by complexity.

KEYWORDS: Catalanism; Lluís Companys; leadership; working class movement; journalism; republicanism.