Annex to the category
This annex illustrates that during the Spanish Civil War many republican town councils decided to change a large part of the colonial and slave-holdings nomenclature of their streets . It is also interesting to note that the Franco regime reinstated most of these changes . Although this situation is not part of the project , it can be a field of reference or study to be taken into account . This section includes the changes documented by Sergi Yanes in his article on the “ Catalunya Negrera ” database .
The restitutions of the Second Republic .
During the Second Republic and in the context of the Civil War , numerous changes were made to the nomenclature , and many of the monuments that paid tribute to renowned slave-holders were demolished , and then restored when the Franco dictatorship was imposed .
Most of the monuments and names of slave traders were incorporated in the early 1880s , coinciding with the context of the abolition of slavery in Cuba , where there was also a climate of continuous tension between the colony and the metropolis , exemplified by the wars for Cuban independence .
It was in this context that many town councils in Spain filled the public space of their respective towns with the names of businessmen who had become rich in the colonies and had returned to their towns of origin as true philanthropists , known as indianos ( Indians ) or americanos ( Americans ): they donated large sums to charity and to the public coffers of the towns to build churches , schools , roads , etc . What was overlooked and not condemned was the strong involvement of most of these successful businessmen in slavery and the trafficking of enslaved people , much of it in a context of illegality .
It is important to point out that the only historical period in which there was a clear condemnation of the statutory sector and the nomenclature occupied by the Indians-slaveholders was during the Second Spanish Republic . Most of these names were restored .
Calle Marqués de Comillas , Sabadell , January 1937 , changed to Via Engels . Calle ( Joan ) Güell i Ferrer , Sabadell , 1937 , changed to Pompeu Gener . Calle ( Joan ) Güell i Ferrer , Badalona , 1937 , changed to Cooperació , ( demand by the consumer cooperative La Moral ). Monument to Joan Güell i Ferrer , Barcelona , 1936 , destroyed . Monument to Antonio López y López , 1936 , destroyed . Calle Capità Conill Sala , Lloret de Mar , 1937 , changed to Francesc Layret .
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