Joaquín Milans del Bosch
Joaquín Milans del Bosch y Carrió (in Catalan, Joaquim Milans del Bosch i Carrió) (Barcelona, 1854 - Madrid, 1936)[1] was a Spanish military officer of Catalan origin. The change in the ideological orientation of the Milans del Bosch family was completed with his generation; traditionally, they had been liberal military officers, but during the twentieth century they aligned themselves with reactionary forces.
His father died when he was three years old. He was raised under the protection of his uncle, Lorenzo Milans del Bosch. He joined the cavalry army at a young age and lived through the Restoration, embracing the cause of Alfonso XII. He fought in the Third Carlist War, in Melilla (1893) and in the Philippines (1897–1898), where he coincided with the future dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera. Following the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, he returned to Spain where, after a few different military and diplomatic posts, he was named assistant to Alfonso XIII and Gentilhombre de camara con ejercicio. Closely linked to the king, he was later posted to Madrid and Morocco, where he was elevated to the rank of lieutenant general.
Captain General of Catalonia (1918-1920)
After the end of the First World War (1918), he was named Captain General of Catalonia. The situation in Catalonia was very tense due to the economic crisis caused by the halting of exportations to belligerent countries and by rising prices. The workers' movement, led by the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), organized itself and fought the gunmen of the Employers' Association (Patronal). Milans del Bosch gave his support to the employers' association and used military methods to repress social conflicts. He felt he had the support of the upper classes of Catalan society and did not quit his post until Alfonso XIII, prodded by the Cortes, directly ordered his resignation in 1920. During his tenure, he was invited to ceremonies and wedding banquets by the Barcelona aristocracy. The king, in compensation for his obediency and years of service, named him head of the Casa Militar de la Casa Real.
Civil Governor of Barcelona (1924-1930)
Three months after leaving his post at the Casa Militar in 1924, Milans del Bosch was named civil governor of Barcelona by his friend Miguel Primo de Rivera. Together with the minister of governance and the captain general of Catalonia, he carried out a fierce anti-Catalanist campaign. He closed the stadium of Futbol Club Barcelona and the Orfeó Català (1925), banned cultural and hiking organizations, and suspended publication of and fined Catalan newspapers and magazines.[1] He was removed from office upon the fall of the dictatorship and retired to Madrid.
From October 1927 to February 1930, he was a member of the Asemblea Nacional Consultiva by designation of the dictator Primo de Rivera.
Death
Milans del Bosch elected not to leave Madrid following the attempted coup d'état of 18 July 1936 that started the Spanish Civil War, though he had the option of taking refuge in the Turkish embassy, because his son Mariano had been imprisoned. He was detained by militiamen on August 30 and executed the following day at the Cementerio de la Almudena.
References
- 1 2 "Joaquim Milans del Bosch i Carrió" (in Catalan). Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana. Retrieved October 23, 2011.