|
Showing 1 - 7 of
7 matches in All Departments
During the Spanish Civil War (1936 1939) the British public raised
an estimated one to two million pounds for Republican Spain, mostly
through small individual donations at a time when large parts of
Britain were experiencing severe economic depression. Across the
country people were moved by the plight of Spain, a land in which
most had never set foot. The response was quintessentially British;
through picnics, whist drives, concerts, dances and rambling
expeditions, the war in Spain became embedded in British social and
cultural life. Innovative fundraising campaigns ran alongside
lectures, film screenings and exhibitions, engaging people with the
Spanish conflict. But it was a fragile alliance of progressive
opinion, for those involved often had very different
interpretations of the political significance of the war and of the
Republics fight for a broadly defined concept of democracy.
Democracy, Deeds and Dilemmas provides a fresh perspective on what
is a well-trodden area of scholarship. It places British
humanitarian responses to Spain within the context of Britains
flourishing civic and popular political culture, following the
advent of mass democracy in 1928 as supported by the Equal
Franchise Act. Emily Mason explores engagement with Spain through
three foci: the peace movement, the co-operative movement and
British Christians groups that were at the heart of the
humanitarian response, but which remain underexplored in current
historiography. The book explores how the Republican cause
resonated with notions of British identity and with the crises that
different groups perceived to be threatening their world order. It
explores the dilemma that non-intervention posed for many Britons,
and argues that humanitarian support for the Spanish Republic
offers an example of active citizenship and popular
internationalism in Britain between the wars.
During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) the British public raised
an estimated one to two million pounds for Republican Spain, mostly
through small individual donations at a time when large parts of
Britain were experiencing severe economic depression. Across the
country people were moved by the plight of Spain, a land in which
most had never set foot. The response was quintessentially British;
through picnics, whist drives, concerts, dances and rambling
expeditions, the war in Spain became embedded in British social and
cultural life. Innovative fundraising campaigns ran alongside
lectures, film screenings and exhibitions, engaging people with the
Spanish conflict. But it was a fragile alliance of progressive
opinion, for those involved often had very different
interpretations of the political significance of the war and of the
Republics fight for a broadly defined concept of democracy. The
book provides a fresh perspective on what is a well-trodden area of
scholarship. It places British humanitarian responses to Spain
within the context of Britains flourishing civic and popular
political culture, following the advent of mass democracy in 1928
as supported by the Equal Franchise Act. Emily Mason explores
engagement with Spain through three foci: the peace movement, the
co-operative movement and British Christians groups that were at
the heart of the humanitarian response, but which remain
underexplored in current historiography. The book explores how the
Republican cause resonated with notions of British identity and
with the crises that different groups perceived to be threatening
their world order. It explores the dilemma that non-intervention
posed for many Britons, and argues that humanitarian support for
the Spanish Republic offers an example of active citizenship and
popular internationalism in Britain between the wars. Published in
association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish
Studies.
|
|