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Joaquín Gomis Cornet

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Joaquín Gomis Cornet
Born
Joaquín Gomis Cornet

1869
Manresa, Spain
Died1957
Barcelona, Spain
NationalitySpanish
Occupationbusinessman
Known forentrepreneur, politician
Political partyCarlism

Joaquín Gomis Cornet (1869–1957) was a Spanish Catalan entrepreneur and politician. In business he is known mostly as co-owner and manager of numerous mid-size companies from the Catalan hydroelectricity sector, which controlled large part of the power grid based on the Llobregat and the Segre basins. In politics he is known as a Traditionalist; in the 1930s and 1940s he formed part of the Catalan Carlist executive, Junta Regional, though he was not its active protagonist. In the early 20th century Gomis was briefly the mayor of Manresa. His few bids for the Cortes ticket failed.

Family and youth

[edit]
father

The Gomis surname has been noted in Spain since the Middle Ages, especially along the Mediterranean coast in Catalonia and Levante. Over the centuries it became extremely popular with many well-known representatives.[1] One branch settled in Manresa, where they formed part of emerging bourgeoisie; in the 18th century the Gomis were running metalworking facilities in the city,[2] yet it is not clear whether they were Joaquín's ascendants.[3] His only forebear identified is his father, Francesco Gomis Soler (1833–1897).[4] In the mid-19th century he opened in Manresa a manufacture producing silk ribbons for Cuban tobacconists. In 1884 he took over a mid-size[5] cotton spinning Can Canals factory in San Martí de Torroella. In the early 1890s he opened a cotton yarn factory near Monistrol de Montserrat, in a place named Costa de Vallbona.[6] He built a nearby residential quarter – including a church[7] and a school – for employees;[8] it was named Colònia Gomis.[9] In 1881–1883 and 1890–1891[10] Gomis Soler was among the regidores of Manresa.[11]

At unspecified time, though probably either in the late 1850s or in the early 1860s, Gomis Soler married Francesca Cornet Viladés (died 1908);[12] nothing is known about her or her family. The couple lived in Manresa.[13] They had at least 5 children; all of these known were boys: Francisco,[14] Joaquín, Enrique,[15] Luis, and Manuel,[16] yet it is not clear in what sequence they were born.[17] Neither any of the sources consulted provides information on childhood and early teen years of Joaquín. e.g. where he obtained the bachillerato. He followed a fairly typical path for young men of his class and studied law, though not clear whether in Barcelona or at some other university.[18] He graduated probably in the early 1890s, as in 1892 he was recorded back in Manresa.[19] Since the mid-1890s he was noted as engaged together with Francisco[20] and Enrique in Viuda y Hijos de Francisco Gomis Soler,[21] the company which operated the cotton business, inherited from the late father;[22] with Enrique as director, in the early 20th century the Gomis factory employed 130 workers.[23]

church in Colònia Gomis

At unspecified time Gomis Cornet married Concepción Ynglada Sallent from an established Catalan Ynglada[24] family, active in particular in trade business with Cuba;[25] she was sister to a well-known graphic, Pere Ynglada Sallent.[26] The couple had no children[27] before Concepción died in 1929. As a widower[28] and already a sexagenarian,[29] Gomis remarried with María (in some sources Maruja) Soldevila Grau;[30] nothing is known about her or her family except that she was much younger (died 1986).[31] Neither the second marriage produced any offspring.[32] Gomis' best known relatives are his brothers, moderately recognized in Catalonia: Enrique as a manager in the electricity business and Luis as a Catholic priest, publisher,[33] author[34] and educator.[35] Joaquin's nephews were Enrique Gomis Perera, a ski-jumper, ice-hockey player and tourist,[36] and Luis Gomis Perera, both entrepreneurs in Catalan energy industry.[37]

Carlist: Manresa (until 1918)

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L'Amic del Poble

More distant Gomis' ancestors tended to support the Conservatives,[38] but his father was a Carlist, perhaps of some Integrist leaning.[39] He remained on friendly terms with the regional party leader Luis Maria Llauder Dalmases[40] and in Manresa he ranked as the second Carlist after Ignacio Vidal Balet,[41] though he did not feature prominently in the Catalan party organisation.[42] Joaquín inherited political preferences from his parent. In 1890 he took part in homage sessions to Carlist leader marqués de Cerralbo,[43] in the early 1890s he served as secretary in Centro Católico de Manresa[44] and joined Juventud Carlista Manresana. He demonstrated particular interest in press endeavors; during the decade he edited a periodical La Voz Manresana, the mouthpiece of local Traditionalism.[45] In 1905 he founded the Catalan-language L'Amic del Poble,[46] which initially proved short-lived until revived some time later.[47]

In 1903 Gomis decided to run for the Manresa city council; various sources claim he formed part either of "candidatura administrativa"[48] or "candidatura regionalista"[49] or featured on a joint Catalanist-Carlist list[50] led by Leonci Soler March.[51] He was elected as one of 4 Carlists,[52] thus commencing a string of almost 15 years of service in the ayuntamiento; he was later repeatedly voted into the town hall on various lists, though usually this of a right-wing alliance Candidatura Manresana, e.g. in 1911[53] or 1915.[54] In 1909 it reproduced the overall regional electoral pattern, marked by emergence of Solidaridad Catalana, and appeared as Solidaridad Manresana.[55] In the council he was member of various commissions.[56] During numerous strings Gomis served as one of many deputy mayors, e.g. in 1906 as primero teniente de alcalde[57] and in 1910 as segundo teniente.[58] He was last noted as member of the town hall in 1918.[59]

Manresa, aftermath of 1907 flood

Gomis twice during brief few-month periods served as alcalde of Manresa, in both cases in somewhat unusual circumstances. In 1907 he was alcalde incidental as alcalde titular Pere Armengou i Mansó was unfit;[60] in 1909[61] the Maura government nominated him alcalde accidental following turbulent elections and revolutionary unrest.[62] Both strings were marked by extraordinary developments. On October 12, 1907, the city suffered from catastrophic flood; following torrential rains the Llobregat burst its banks, causing extensive damages to infrastructure.[63] On July 29, 1909, the city was engulfed in violence as part of so-called Tragic Week. Gomis asked commander of local military detachment[64] to patrol the city and ordered Guardia Civil to protect the railway station. Unlike in other Catalan locations the Anarchist and Republican revolutionaries failed to take over the town hall and destroy railway tracks; there were no fatal casualties recorded in the city.[65] In his later report to Madrid Gomis blamed "subversive ideas", circulating among workers.[66] As mayor he declared his 3 priorities: founding a local Instituto, urbanistic reform and upgrade of charity infrastructure.[67]

Carlist: Catalonia (1918–1923)

[edit]
Manresa requeté

It is not clear whether Gomis resigned from career in the municipal self-government or whether he failed in elections. At the time he was already a locally recognized personality. He held vice-presidency of Junta Tradicionalista de Manresa[68] and featured prominently in Bages party structures.[69] His standing in the local milieu was enhanced by the Gomis electricity business, in the 1910s just taking off the ground, especially that since mid-1910s he was president of Camara de Comercio e Industria de Manresa.[70] The family owned minor press titles,[71] he served also in local arbitrary board[72] and his brother Lluis was a key man behind the local Federación Obrera Católica.[73] In 1919 Gomis tried to launch his career nationwide: as a Carlist he ran for the Cortes from his native district of Berga.[74] His counter-candidate was José Olano Lozaga, supported by governmental administration and by Unión Monárquica Nacional,[75] an anti-Catalanist Catalan right-wing party. Gomis got 1.996 votes (24,65%) and lost.[76] In the 1921 elections for Mancomunitat he was supposed to stand as official Carlist candidate from one of the Barcelona districts;[77] this time he was supported by UMN.[78] It is not clear whether he was defeated ot withdrew.

At the turn of the decades Gomis was already emerging among the regional party leaders, though scholars do not count him among the elite of Catalan Carlism, composed – apart from Llanza Pignatelli and Batlle Baró – of politicians younger than him: Pedro Llosas, Miguel Junyent, Lluís Argemí, Lluís Pericàs, Bartomeu Trias, Dalmacio Iglesias, Llorenç M. Alier, Marià Bordas or Daniel Serres.[79] However, local Carlist youth from Manresa viewed him with suspicion as the man stained by collaboration with "caciquisme radical-conservador", rotten corrupted networks of the restoration regime,[80] especially that in fact Gomis negotiated electoral deals with Antonio Maura.[81] Though Manresa is usually identified as birthplace of the Carlist paramilitary requeté, in literature Gomis never appears as related to the organisation.[82]

Carlist standard

Present-day scholar presents Gomis as a moderate politician. Though young Manresan Carlists considered the emerging Catalanism their key foe, Gomis remained on friendly terms with La Lliga, both locally with Pedro Armengou Manso[83] and regionally with Enric Prat de la Riba.[84] By closing alliances like Solidaridad Manresana he demonstrated preference for a local "coalició carlo-regionalista".[85] This tendency reportedly stemmed not that much from Gomis' sympathy to Catalanism, but rather was the result of his underestimating the potential of political Catalan nationalism, whom he thought a minor partner.[86] His key political opponent was rather republicanism, especially in its radical version. In Manresa it was led by Maurici Fius i Palà, whom Gomis confronted a number of times when trying to reduce his position in the ayuntamiento;[87] to Gomis he represented "bandera de la pertorbació social".[88] In the early 1920s Gomis launched a local weekly Seny; its purpose was specifically to confront young Radicals.[89] It disappeared soon; the 1923 coup of Primo de Rivera put political life in the country on hold. For Gomis it was an opportunity to focus on business.

Hydropower (1920s)

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Berga installation

The business inherited by the Gomis brothers was related to textiles; however, the Monistrol de Montserrat plant was powered by own small hydro-electric installation, built in the 1890s by Gomis Soler on the Llobregat.[90] Initially this station performed an auxiliary role, yet starting early 20th century the brothers started to develop it above the demand of their textile factory. In 1908 they set up Elèctrica Gomís and started to sell electricity; one of their first customers was the Montserrat Abbey[91] and later its funicular,[92] while in the coming years they became suppliers to the neighboring area.[93] In 1916 Gomis decided to focus on energy production, installed new turbines in their Monistrol station[94] and leased the cotton plant out.[95] Following long-lasting maneuvers[96] in 1921 they took control of Companyia Anònima Manresana d'Electricitat (CAME),[97] a company which served Manresa and surroundings.[98]

In 1923 the Gomis integrated their business in Fuerza y Alumbrado (FASA), to be quoted on Barcelona and Madrid stock markets; with annual production of 1.75m kWh it was a minor player which served some 30 locations. In the mid-1920s they took over Fábrica de la Luz, another provider centred around Berga,[99] and in the late 1920s FASA emerged as a mid-size company on the Catalan company energy market, serving areas from Berga to Terrassa and Martorell.[100] Later the Gomis brothers made first incursions into the Cadí-Moixeró area, their eyes set on small Llobregat tributaries the Bastareny and the Pendís; negotiations about purchase of some 1.650 ha went on with no success.[101] At the same time the brothers started to expand beyond the Llobregat and focused on the Segre basin. They obtained appropriate concessions to develop infrastructure in so-called Llano de Lérida, on Canal de Piñana, the Segre and Canal de Urgel.[102] Following mergers with Saltos del Piñana, Eléctrica de Balaguer and Eléctrica Baiget[103] they set up Explotacions Hidroelèctriques (EHSA),[104] which commenced construction works in the early 1930s.[105]

plan of Gomis-owned power station in the Segre basin

The Gomis business strategy was this of systematic growth by means of minor steps, either takeovers of similar smaller companies or building of own small installations.[106] The present-day scholar underlines "extrema prudencia de la familia propietaria", which involved takeovers via front-companies, technically diversified ownership[107] and staying clear of publicity.[108] It reportedly resulted from modus operandi typical for Catalan bourgeoisie and interdependence of the energy market, but also from personal threads like caution ensuing from textile-related origins of the Gomis business, religiosity of the brothers, and their technical incompetence, as they relied on a close circle of professional engineers.[109] This strategy allowed the Gomis to maintain business independence on the market dominated by giants like La Catalana de Gas y Electricidad, Riegos y Fuerza del Ebro or Energia Eléctrica de Cataluña. Their network was integrated into the regional energy grid, controlled by Confederación Sindical Hidrográfica del Pirineo Oriental, but this was in usual terms of co-ordinating supply across a patchy structure of overproduction and unmet demand areas, not in terms of business control.[110]

Carlist: Catalonia (after 1931)

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Manresa, funeral service of Carlist pretender Don Jaime, 1931

In late 1930 Gomis was supposed to run as independent in Cortes elections, expected the following year.[111] In February 1931 he entered the Carlist Junta Regional.[112] During funeral service to the defunct Carlist king, Don Jaime, he featured among key attendees.[113] In the spring of 1932 he was co-organizing Semana Tradicionalista in Barcelona, though characteristically, he was not among many speakers but among members of its economic committee.[114] The same year the 63-year-old was briefly detained following disturbances related to inauguration of new premises of Círculo Central Tradicionalista in Barcelona.[115] He did not count among protagonists of national or even regional Carlist politics, though the 1933 luxury album which celebrated 100 years of Carlism mentioned him as "jefe carlista del Distrito de Manresa".[116] His contribution to the movement was financial; in 1934 Gomis invested large sums in the company issuing El Correo Catalan, the regional party mouthpiece,[117] and entered its Consejo de Administración.[118] In 1936 he ran for the Cortes from Barcelona city district on the joint list of Front d'Ordre;[119] with 151.018 votes[120] he was among most-voted Carlists nationally, but failed to obtain the mandate. In early summer, once the regional jefe Alier resigned, local juntas suggested Gomis as member of the ruling triumvirate; the post eventually went to Tomás Cayla.[121]

Fate of the Gomis brothers during the civil war is not clear. Since the early days of the Republic they were engaged in labor conflicts with workers of their hydro-energy conglomerate, be it in 1931[122] or in 1934, when Sindicat Regional de Llum i Força went on strike in CAME.[123] In proletarian press they were dubbed "saboteurs of the Republic".[124] However, after the July coup the revolutionaries were rather after Lluis, spiritus movens of competitive Catholic trade unions.[125] Colonia Gomis was raided and burnt down.[126] The brothers in unclear circumstances made it to France.[127] They spent the war in Paris[128] and in Belgium.[129]

Gomis with Saenz-Diez in board of Prensa Castellana, 1953

Following the Nationalist triumph the Gomis returned to Catalonia; in the mid-1940s Joaquín was president of the board of Fomento de Prensa Tradicionalista (FPT)[130] and its daily, El Correo Catalan.[131] When faced with conflict between the intransigent anti-Francoist Catalan leader Mauricio de Sivatte and more cautious Jefe Delegado Manuel Fal Conde, Gomis sided with the latter. Following destitution of Sivatte in 1949 he was re-appointed to a new Junta Regional,[132] Due to his financial standing Gomis remained in the FPT board until the mid-1950s.[133] In 1953 he became president of Prensa Castellana SA, a company which issued a Madrid daily Informaciones;[134] it was another Carlist media enterprise posing as commercial entity, as the party was seeking ways to remain present in tightly censored public life.[135] He was not noted in any political institutions of the regime and in public limited his activity to charity,[136] culture,[137] vice-presidency[138] and then presidency[139] in Camara Americana de Comercio, Catalan press life[140] and religion.[141] He kept attracting criticism of the émigré press, which lambasted him as "conocido financiero barcelonés" who ruthlessly exploits workers in his hydro-power business.[142]

Hydropower (after 1939)

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Gomis brothers, 1955

There is little known about the Gomis-owned grid during the civil war; as both brothers sought refuge abroad, the power and distribution installations must have been operated by local committees or sindicates.[143] After the war it turned out that the infrastructure was badly damaged,[144] unclear whether due to technical incompetence, poor maintenance,[145] destruction carried out by withdrawing Republican troops or result of "artillería hidraulica", Nationalist damage intended to cause power shortages in Republican zone.[146] Joaquín and Enrique embarked on reconstruction works, carried out until the early 1940s. As they maintained good relations with the regime the works were heavily subsidized, especially that brothers cultivated personal links to local administration, e.g. in the Lerida province.[147] In 1941 there were 8 installations of EHSA operational on Canal de Piñana, Segre and Canal de Urgel; the largest one, Torrefarrera (8,1 m high, 4.800 liters/second) produced 1.2m kWh annually, and in aggregate they produced 2.6m kWh per annum.[148] Similarly, power plants on the Llobregat were brought back to shape.

Shortly after the war long-time talks about the Bastareny and the Pendís were successfully concluded and the Gomis purchased 1.650 ha needed. In 1943 the plan to build a power plant was officially declared "absoluta necesidad nacional"; however, owners of neighboring estates protested and amidst a spate of civil lawsuits and compensations the installation was not launched before Joaquín's death.[149] In 1945 the brothers set up two companies. Fuerzas Hidroeléctricas del Segre (FHSA) was supposed to operate the Lerida grid, about to be expanded;[150] Joaquín became its president.[151] Productora y Distribuidora de Electricidad was intended more as a power distribution entity.[152] The expansion anticipated consisted of launch of the Castillonroy dam on the Noguera Ribargorzana, part of the Segre system.[153] After it went into operation, in the late 1940s the overall capacity of the Segre grid was 5-8m kWh per year.[154]

Oliana dam today

In the early 1950s FHSA intended to integrate the Segre and the Llobregat grids and the plans were well advanced.[155] However, the company found itself in conflict over the La Vansa river with another operator, Cooperativa de Fluido Eléctrico. Following various lawsuits a compromise settlement plan to create La Vansa-Segre-Oliana system emerged, but eventually it remained in suspense.[156] At that time the focus of Gomis was on the Oliana dam on the Segre, built entirely by the company.[157] Works started already in 1951 and took a few years, especially following damages during the 1953 storm. Given its massive scale, the project was "opus magnum" of FHSA.[158] The Oliana project was the last one that Joaquín Gomis was engaged in; he did not live to see it completed, as the installation, crowned by 95-metre dam and producing 90m kWh per annum,[159] was pompously opened 2 years after his death.[160] In 1957, the year he passed away – still as the CEO of FHSA – the company was the 30. largest Spanish electricity producer and the 7th largest one in Catalonia;[161] it depended entirely on hydro-power.[162]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Apellido Gomis, [in:] SignificadoDeApellidos service, available here
  2. ^ Jaume Plans, La indústria metal•lúrgica manresana als segles XVII i XVIII: pedrenyalers, armers, encepadors, canoners i daguers, [in:] Dovella 107 (2011), pp. 24-32
  3. ^ the scholar expert in the Gomis business claims that Joaquin's father was "descendiente de una familia de fabricantes de galones y telas de seda", Mercedes Arroyo Huguet, Empresarios y técnicos en la electrificación del territorio. Fuerzas Hidroeléctricas del Segre, 1909–1988, Barcelona 2010, p. 25
  4. ^ Arroyo 2010, p. 25. Another author claims that he passed away in 1895, Maria Gemma Rubí i Casals, El món de la política en la Catalunya urbana de la restauració. El cas d'una ciutat industrial. Manresa: 1875–1923 [PhD thesis Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona], Barcelona 2003, p. 426. Because Arroyo Huguet dedicated many detailed works to the Gomis family, the date she advances is accepted here over the one advanced by Rubi i Casals
  5. ^ The installation consisted of some 4,000 spinning heads. Francesc Cabana i Vancells, Can Gomis, a Monistrol, Força i Enllumenat SA i Forces Hidroelèctriques del Segre SA, [in:] Enciclopedia.Cat service 2021, available here
  6. ^ Cabana i Vancells 2021, Arroyo 2010, p. 25
  7. ^ it was designed in neo-romanseque style by Leonci Soler i March, from a well-known Manresa family. It is not clear whether Gomis Soler and Soler March were interrelated
  8. ^ Mercedes Arroyo, De las "Fábricas de Luz" a la creación de un sistema. La organización regional de Fuerzas Hidroeléctricas del Segre, 1920–1952, [in:] Horacio Capel, Vicente Casals (eds.), Capitalismo e historia de la electrificación, 1890–1930. Capital, técnica y organización del negocio eléctrico en España y México, Barcelona 2013, p. 3. Pagination quoted after the online version, available here
  9. ^ Arroyo 2013, pp. 3-4
  10. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, Apéndix [not paginated], pp. 230, 238
  11. ^ in the late 19 century Carlism – the current that Gomis Soler represented – was the second force in Manresa, see tables in María Gemma Rubí i Casals, Les bases de dades al servei de la prosopografia. L'univers polític de Manresa durant el Sexenni Democràtic i la Restauració borbònica a través dels electes municipals, [in:] Cercles: revista d'història cultural 10 (2007), pp. 189-190
  12. ^ Cabana i Vancells 2021
  13. ^ at what is now Plaça Hospital 24, Jordi Bonvehí i Castanyer, Un passeig entre carrers, [in:] Històries Manresanes service 31.12.21, available here
  14. ^ the oldest one, date of birth unclear. He died in January 1936; he was married to Concepción Naval, El Noticiero Universal 08.01.36, available here
  15. ^ 1884–1966, Arroyo 2010, p. 33. He was married to Inocencia Perera, El Noticiero Universal 13.05.66, available here
  16. ^ for Luis and Manuel dates of birth and death unknown. Except Francisco, deceased 21 years earlier, all brothers are listed in Joaquin's obituary note, see El Noticiero Universal 11.01.57, available here. Nothing closer is known about Manuel
  17. ^ except Joaquín and Enrique, their birth dates are not known. Francisco appeared to have been the oldest one
  18. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 460
  19. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 291
  20. ^ Francisco soon pull out of the family business, Lourdes Martínez Prado, The Image Collection: Fuerzas Hidroeléctricas del Segra, [in:] Uncommon Culture 5/9-10 (2014), p. 161
  21. ^ following death of the widow in 1908 renamed to "Compañía mercantil regular colectiva Hijos de Francisco Gomis Soler", Arroyo 2010, p. 27
  22. ^ in source the name of the company is quoted in its Catalanized version of "Vídua i Fills de Francesc Gomis i Soler", which has never been used, Cabana i Vancells 2021
  23. ^ Cabana i Vancells 2021
  24. ^ also spelled "Inglada"
  25. ^ business engagements of the Ynglada family are in detail discussed in José Miguel Sanjuan Marroquin, Las elites económicas barcelonesas. 1717–1919 [PhD thesis Universitat de Barcelona], Barcelona 2018
  26. ^ La Veu da Catalunya 07.03.29, available here
  27. ^ there are no children listed in her necrological note, El Noticiero Universal 08.03.29, available here, and neither in later Joaquín's obituaries
  28. ^ El Noticiero Universal 10.01.58, available here
  29. ^ the date of marriage is not known, yet in the late 1930s she was already mentioned in the press as Gomis' wife
  30. ^ La Vanguardia 26.09.52
  31. ^ La Vanguardia 03.04.86
  32. ^ "Joaquin fallecio sin descendencia", Arroyo 2010, p. 34. In Gomis' obituary notes there are no children mentioned, though it meticulously lists his wife, hermanos, hermanos políticos, tia, sobrinos, primos etc, compare El Noticiero Universal 11.01.57, available here, also El Noticiero Universal 18.01.57, available here, also Diario de Barcelona 12.01.57, available here. No children are mentioned also in her obituary note, see La Vanguardia 03.04.86
  33. ^ see Patria, [in:] Trencádis service, available here
  34. ^ in 1913 he published a pamphlet on scouting and Christianity, Los boy-scouts españoles desde el punto de vista católico, compare GoogleBooks service, available here
  35. ^ compare the Avemaria college website, available here
  36. ^ Enric Gomis Perrera entry, [in:] Enciclopedia.Cat service, available here
  37. ^ it was Luis Gomis Perrera the last of the Gomis dynasty who managed the electricity business; in 1988 he sold it to one of giant Catalan conglomerates, Mercedes Arroyo Huguet, Estratègies empresarials pioneres. L'electricitat al Berguedà, 1901–1964, [in:] L'Erol: revista cultural del Berguedà 128 (2016), p. 35
  38. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 607
  39. ^ In 1889 a "Francisco Gomis" and "Francisco Gomis Cornet" were signatories of protest letters to an Integrist daily, El Siglo Futuro 31.01.89, available here
  40. ^ El Siglo Futuro 07.03.90, available here
  41. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 426
  42. ^ Gomis Soler is not a single time mentioned in large monographic work on Catalan Carlism, see Jordi Canal, El carlisme català dins l'Espanya de la Restauració, Vic 1998, ISBN 84-7602-243-3
  43. ^ Correo Detortosense 07.03.90, available here
  44. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, pp. 290-291
  45. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 291
  46. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, pp. 290, 337
  47. ^ compare L'Amic del Poble at XacPremsa service, available here
  48. ^ see appendix in Rubí i Casals 2003
  49. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, pp. 307-308
  50. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 308
  51. ^ La Publicidad 11.11.03, available here
  52. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, pp. 307-308
  53. ^ see non-paginated appendices in Rubí i Casals 2003
  54. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003
  55. ^ La Veu de Catalunya 30.04.09, available here
  56. ^ in 1903 he was member of commissions of education, calamities, and economy, Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 261, in 1911 of commissions of water, education, charity, and economy, Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 264, in 1912 of commissions of external relations, internal reform, charity, and drinking water, Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 266, in 1914 of commissions of water, internal reform, and external relations, Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 268, in 1918 of commission of economy, Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 273
  57. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 260
  58. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 264
  59. ^ contemporary scholar considers the end of Gomis' spell in the town hall against the background of Josep Coll i Roca and his regionalist groupings gaining dominant position in the ayuntamiento, Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 291
  60. ^ Les inundacions del 12 d'octubre de 1907 i la visita del rei Alfons XIII a Manresa (part I), [in:] Historia de Manresa service 2016, available here
  61. ^ Gomis served as alcalde between July 1, 1909 and January 1, 1910, Rubí i Casals 2003, see appendix Els alcaldes de Manresa [non paginated, in sequence p. 215]. Another author claims Gomis served as alcalde between 1909 and 1911, Arroyo 2020, p. 32. Because Rubi i Casals dedicated her work specifically to local Manresa politics, her version is accepted here over the one advanced by Arroyo
  62. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 326
  63. ^ Les inundacions del 12 d'octubre de 1907 i la visita del rei Alfons XIII a Manresa (part I), [in:] Historia de Manresa service 2016, available here
  64. ^ Batallón de Cazadores de Reus from Cuartel del Carmen
  65. ^ Ferran Sardáns, Manresa es revolta i crema durant una setmana, [in:] El Pou 22.01.13, available here, see also Jordi Bonvehí i Castanyer, La Setmana Tràgica a Manresa, [in:] Històries Manresanes service 24.07.09, available here, also Rubí i Casals 2003, pp. 331-333, 498-499
  66. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 334
  67. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 538
  68. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 291; the president was Eduardo Martínez Codina, Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 464
  69. ^ e.g. during Traditionalist banquets, L'Amic del Poble 14.04.17, available here
  70. ^ La Publicidad 22.03.14, available here
  71. ^ L'Amic de Poble was re-launched in 1913; it was managed by Pere Ausió i Rovira
  72. ^ in 1908 Gomis was member of Jurado Mixto de Manresa, La Publicidad 14.09.98, available here
  73. ^ Colin M. Winston, Workers and the Right in Spain, 1900–1936, Princeton 1985, ISBN 978-1-4008-5809-5, p. 62
  74. ^ El Poble Catala 29.05.19, available here
  75. ^ Albert Balcells, Joan B. Culla, Conxita Mir, Les eleccions generals a Catalunya de 1901 a 1923, Barcelona 1982, p. 570
  76. ^ Balcells, Culla, Mir 1982, pp. 570-571
  77. ^ La Veu de Catalunya 09.06.21, available here
  78. ^ El Dia 09.06.21, available here
  79. ^ Isidre Molas, Els senadors carlins de Catalunya (1901–1923), Barcelona 2009, p. 16
  80. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, pp. 337, 476
  81. ^ e.g. to ensure Cortes triumph of Lluis Vila i Miralles, see Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 359
  82. ^ compare Jordi Canal i Morell, Banderas blancas, boinas rojas: una historia política del carlismo, 1876–1939, Madrid 2006, ISBN 978-84-96467-34-7, p. 38, Jordi Canal, El carlismo, Madrid 2000, ISBN 84-206-3947-8, p. 265
  83. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 537
  84. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 359
  85. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 327
  86. ^ "no contemplava el catalanisme politic, que tot just començava a despertar, potser perqué era incapaç d'esbrinar l'enorme força i impuls que durant els dos primers decennis de segle tindria", Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 461
  87. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 376
  88. ^ details in Rubí i Casals 2003, p. 343
  89. ^ Rubí i Casals 2003, pp. 290, 337
  90. ^ Cabana i Vancells 2021
  91. ^ Martínez Prado 2014, p. 161
  92. ^ earliest notes of "Electra Gomis" delivering electricity to the Montserrat funicular come from 1918, Santiago Rubió i Tuduri, Los tres directores de la Escuela durante la guerra (1936–1939), [in:] Documentos de la Escuela de Ingenieros Industriales de Barcelona 25 (2015), p. 19
  93. ^ the network was expanding in 1910 (Monistrol de Montserrat, Olesa de Montserrat, Castellbell, Vilar), 1914 (Viladecavalls, Pont de Vilomara, Collbató), 1915 (Capellades, Piera, Hostalets de Pierola) and 1916 (El Bruc)
  94. ^ in the 1910s Joaquín and Enrique initiated buildup installation of new turbines in Monistrol, Arroyo 2013, p. 3
  95. ^ Cabana i Vancells 2021
  96. ^ details in Arroyo 2010, pp. 32-33
  97. ^ Martínez Prado 2014, p. 161
  98. ^ large stakes in CAME were owned by the distantly related Galiffa Gomis family. However, Gomis Cornet took it over in sort of hostile takeover, using frontmen, Arroyo 2016, pp. 30-31. In 1920–1921 they build a second electricity line to Manresa, L'Arribada del Progrés [brochure prepared for 15. Fira del Vapor], Manresa 2023, p. 14
  99. ^ Rosa Serra i Rotés, L'aigua del Llobregat i els seus aprofitaments energètics, [in:] Trobades Culturals Pirinenques 16 (2020), p. 163, 167
  100. ^ Arroyo 2013, p. 5
  101. ^ Martínez Prado 2014, pp. 161-162
  102. ^ Cabana i Vancells 2021
  103. ^ Arroyo 2013, p. 13, Arroyo 2010, pp. 86-87
  104. ^ according to some sources EHSA was founded in 1923, Francesc X. Barca Salom, Empresarios y técnicos, [in:] Transportes, Servicios y Telecomunicaciones 20 (2011), pp. 220
  105. ^ Arroyo 2013, p. 6
  106. ^ the author of related monograph names it "crecimiento orgánico", Arroyo 2010, p. 18
  107. ^ Fuerzas Hidroeléctricas del Segre had unclear and diversified ownership structure, and it was unclear for contemporaries and historians to understand who was behind the decision-making process, Arroyo 2013, p. 8
  108. ^ Barca Salom 2011, pp. 222-223
  109. ^ especially Buenaventura Aran Ferrer, Juan Gelpí Blanco and Luis María Gonzaga Cascante Portabella, Arroyo 2010, pp. 37-43. "Mercedes Arroyo trata de dar explicación a este rasgo específico basándose en los orígenes textiles de esta familia, en su profunda religiosidad, en el escaso interés por el negocio o en su deseo de evitar las enemistades y ser señalados por sus riquezas, alejando así situaciones de riesgo. También apunta otras razones menos personales como los vínculos comerciales entre compañías eléctricas o la obligatoriedad que las concesiones fuesen otorgadas a ingenieros. Quizás por eso, los Gomis se rodearon de ingenieros de mucha confianza", Barca Salom 2011, pp. 220-223
  110. ^ Arroyo 2016, p. 30
  111. ^ El Diá Gráfico 19.11.30, available here
  112. ^ La Veu de Catalunya 27.02.31, available here, Robert Vallverdú i Martí, El carlisme català durant la Segona República Espanyola 1931–1936, Barcelona 2008, ISBN 978-84-7826-080-5, p. 70
  113. ^ he appeared among Catalan carlist moguls like Juan Maria Roma, Bartolomé Trias, Juan Bautista Viza, and Luis Argemi, La Cruz 18.10.31, available here
  114. ^ other members of the committee were Salvador Anglada Llongueras and Mauricio de Sivatte, César Alcalá, D. Mauricio de Sivatte. Una biografía política (1901–1980), Barcelona 2001, ISBN 84-931097-9-7, p. 20, Vallverdú i Martí 2008, p. 101
  115. ^ following detention of some attendees, others were investigating their fate and got also detained; Gomis was among them, Alcalá 2001, p. 21
  116. ^ Album Histórico del Carlismo, Barcelona 1933, p. 333
  117. ^ Jaume Guillamet Lloveras, El periodisme catalá contemporani. Diaris, partits polítics i llengues, 1875–1939, Barcelona 2022, ISBN 978-84-9965-652-6, p. 132
  118. ^ see Album Histórico del Carlismo, Barcelona 1933, p. 333
  119. ^ initially Gomis was supposed to be no. 11 (last one) in the Barcelona province district, but as Lorenzo Alier resigned from 18. position in Barcelona city, Gomis replaced him. His place in Barcelona province was taken by José Prat Piera, Josep Argué i Carré, Derecha de Cataluña: Monárquics alfonsins contra la Segona República i la Catalunya Autónoma (1931–1936) [PhD thesis UAB], Barcelona 2015, pp. 248-249
  120. ^ Manuel Álvarez Tardío, Roberto Villa García, 1936, fraude y violencia en las elecciones del Frente Popular, Barcelona 2017, ISBN 978-84-670-4946-6, p. 583
  121. ^ the Girona junta provincial proposed a directorio of composed of Roma, Gomis and Bau, Vallverdú i Martí 2008, pp. 300-301
  122. ^ in December 1931 Manresa workers employed in the Gomis conglomerate were engaged in bitter conflict with both brothers, Mirador 24.12.31, available here
  123. ^ La Humanitát 30.01.34, available here
  124. ^ "sabotejador impenient de la República", La Publicitat 21.08.32, available here
  125. ^ Ramon Viladés Llorens, Rosa Serra Rotés, Inventari del patrimoni artístic i documental, religiós i civil, desaparegut durant la Guerra Civil [in:] L'Erol 141-142 (2019), p. 45
  126. ^ J. M. Martí Bonet, Monumentos sacros en llamas (1936–1939), Barcelona 2016, ISBN 978-84-686-8217-4, p. 134
  127. ^ "los Gomis, el mismo Maristany Casajuana, Luis María Gonzaga Cascante Portabella o Juan Gelpí Blanco, huyeron a la zona norte del país o al extranjero al inicio de la contienda", Arroyo 2010, p. 101
  128. ^ Archives commerciales de la France 16.11.38, p. 3124, available here
  129. ^ Mas Gribet, Jaume entry, [in:] Cens de depurats pel franquisme a l'Ajuntament de Manresa, available here. It is not clear whether their residence in Belgium was related to the fact that a Gomis served as Belgian consul in Tarragona in the early 20th century
  130. ^ La Prensa 29.01.46, available here
  131. ^ La Almudaina 28.03.47, available here
  132. ^ Alcalá 2001, p. 95. It was led by Santiago Julía, Robert Vallverdú i Martí, La metamorfosi del carlisme català: del "Déu, Pàtria i Rei" a l'Assamblea de Catalunya (1936–1975), Barcelona 2014, ISBN 978-84-9883-726-1, pp. 113-114
  133. ^ for 1953 see El Noticiero Universal 15.04.53, available here
  134. ^ La Rioja 26.06.53, available here
  135. ^ it put on sale by the previous owner, María García Verde, Manuel Martorell Pérez, La continuidad ideológica del carlismo tras la Guerra Civil [PhD thesis in Historia Contemporanea, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia], Valencia 2009, pp. 336-337. See also Mercedes Vázquez de Prada, El final de una ilusión. Auge y declive del tradicionalismo carlista (1957–1967), Madrid 2016, ISBN 978-84-16558-40-7, p. 41. According to Santa Cruz "el periódico —sin ser portavoz oficial de la Comunión Tradicionalista— defendía y propugnaba en la medida legalmente posible las orientaciones carlistas", Manuel Santa Cruz, Apuntes y Documentos para la Historia del Tradicionalismo español vol. 15, Madrid 1953, p. 222
  136. ^ e.g. in 1955 he was among sponsors of a Wagnerian festival, Festivales Wagner 1955, Barcelona 1955, available here
  137. ^ vie their business enterprises the Gomis brothers, and Joaquin in particular, heavily subsidized Casa Familiar Recreativa, a Carlist cultural and social centre. Today it hosts theatre, known as "Els Carlins", though the institution has nothing to do with Carlism any more, Josep Camprubi i Plans, Teatres a Manresa, [in:] Dovella 63 (1999), p. 28
  138. ^ La Prensa 01.05.51, available here
  139. ^ he served as presidente accidental, La Prensa 12.03.52, available here
  140. ^ 1953 press events taking part, homage to Claudio Colomer, La Prensa 12.01.53, available here
  141. ^ in 1953 received Gomis was received by the Pope within a delegation of El Correo Catalan, El Diario de Avila 06.05.53, available here
  142. ^ España Libre 29.11.53, available here
  143. ^ at least some remained operational. It is known that proceeds of Fuerza y Alumbrado in 1935 were some 0.9m ptas; in 1937 this figure dropped to 0.5m and in 1938 it was 0.8m, see graph in Arroyo Huguet 2010, p. 64
  144. ^ detailed review in Arroyo 2010, pp. 101-106
  145. ^ much of the infrastructure was saved thanks to efforts of Buenaventura Aran, engineer who stayed in the Republican zone, Arroyo 2010, p. 39
  146. ^ a British engineer in Nationalist service, Charles Smith, developed the modus operandi, Arroyo 2010, p. 102
  147. ^ Juan Jose Antonio Targa, an engineer related to the Gomis, joined FET and in the early 1940s was teniente de alcalde of Lerida, Arroyo 2010, p. 103
  148. ^ Arroyo 2013, p. 18
  149. ^ Arroyo 2016, pp. 32-34
  150. ^ FHSA eventually integrated – by means of absorption, merger or alliance – 12 companies, see a graph in Arroyo Huguet 2010, p. 17
  151. ^ Cabana i Vancells 2021
  152. ^ Arroyo 2013, p. 20
  153. ^ Arroyo 2013, p. 6
  154. ^ Arroyo 2013, p. 19
  155. ^ Barca Salom 2011, pp. 220-223
  156. ^ Arroyo 2013, p. 23
  157. ^ first plans to build a dam in Oliana were dated 1932, Arroyo 2010, p. 136
  158. ^ "the Oliana plant was the magnum opus of Fuerzas Hidroeléctricas del Segre", Martínez Prado 2014, p. 161
  159. ^ El Adelantado 03.06.59, available here
  160. ^ the opening was attended by Franco, see the No-Do coverage at YT service, available here
  161. ^ after Fuerzas Eléctricas de Cataluña, Empresa N.H.E. Ribagorzana, Catalana A.G., Productora de Fuerzas Motrices, Hidroeléctrica de Cataluña, and Cooperativa de Fluido Eléctrico, Gregorio Núñez Romero-Balmas, Empresas de producción y distribución de electricidad en España (1878–1953), [in:] Revista de Historia Industrial 7 (1995), pp. 78-79
  162. ^ Núñez Romero-Balmas 1995, p. 79. In 1988 Lluis Gomis Perera, the last owner, sold Fuerzas Hidroeléctricas del Segre to Fuerzas Electricas de Cataluña (FECSA), Arroyo 2016, p. 35
Gomis, mid-1930s

Further reading

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  • Mercedes Arroyo, De las 'fábricas de luz' a la creación de un sistema. La organización regional de Fuerzas Hidroeléctricas del Segre, [in:] Horacio Capel, Vicente Casals (eds.), Capitalismo e historia de la electrificación, 1890–1930. Capital, técnica y organización del negocio eléctrico en España y México, Barcelona 2013, pp. 271–296
  • Mercedes Arroyo Huguet, Empresarios y técnicos en la electrificación del territorio. Fuerzas Hidroeléctricas del Segre (1909–1988), Barcelona 2010, ISBN 978-84-614-2665-2
  • Mercedes Arroyo, Estratègies empresarials pioneres. L'electricitat al Berguedà, 1901–1964, [in:] L'Erol 8/128 (2016), pp. 22–29
  • Ramon Benavente i Freixas, Can Gomis: història d'una colònia industrial a les ribes del Llobregat, Argentona 1992, ISBN 978-84-86332-77-8
  • Josep Camprubi i Plans, Una revolució a Manresa. 100 anys de llum elèctrica (1894–1994), Manresa 1996, ISBN 84-86327-08-3
  • Maria Gemma Rubí i Casals, El món de la política en la Catalunya urbana de la restauració. El cas d'una ciutat industrial. Manresa: 1875–1923 [PhD thesis Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona], Barcelona 2003
  • Robert Vallverdú i Martí, El carlisme català durant la Segona República Espanyola 1931–1936, Barcelona 2008, ISBN 978-84-7826-080-5
  • Robert Vallverdú i Martí, La metamorfosi del carlisme català: del "Déu, Pàtria i Rei" a l'Assamblea de Catalunya (1936–1975), Barcelona 2014, ISBN 978-84-9883-726-1
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