Galician nationalism of the “Irmandades da Fala”, 1916–1931

The aim of this study is the main directions and forms of activity of Galician nationalism presented by “Brotherhoods of the Speech”. Methodologically, the article is based on the principles of interdisciplinary historiography of nationalism, which allows us to analyze early Galician nationalism as a social, intellectual, political or cultural movement. The author analyzes the problems of the history of the Galician nationalist movement, believing that the activity of nationalists significantly influenced the subsequent stages in the history of Galicia as a region in the context of the radicalization of nationalism. The novelty of the study lies in the analysis of the history of the “Brotherhoods of the Speech” as an organizational form of nationalism in Galicia. The article analyzes 1) the main problems of the history of nationalism during the period of activity of the “Brotherhoods of Speech”, 2) the role of the “Brotherhoods of Speech” in the development and transformation of the ideology and practices of Galician nationalism, 3) the features of the political program proposed by the activists of the “Brotherhoods of Speech”, 4) the role of the “Brotherhoods of Speech” in the development of Galician ethnicity, including language and culture, 5) the place of the “Brotherhoods of Speech” in the general logic of the history of the Galician nationalist movement in Galicia. The article also shows the role of the “Brotherhoods of Speech” as a form of history of the cultural and linguistic nationalist movement in Galicia. The results of the study suggest that the activities of the leaders of the “Brotherhoods of Speech” created the conditions and incentives for the subsequent development of Galician nationalism in the 1930s.