Sometent
Sign in to saveAlso known as Somatén
The Sometent (in Catalan; in Spanish: somatén) was a militia institution from Catalonia. In its beginnings it was an armed corps of civilian protection, separated from the army, for self-defense and defense of the local territory. It thus contrasted with the other Spanish militia, the miquelets, irregular troops that could also be sent to fight outside their territory.
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
10 sectionsContents
- History
- Middle Ages
- Modern Age
- 19th and early 20th century
- Extension of the Somatén to all of Spain under the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera
- Second Republic, civil war and Franco's dictatorship
- Sometent in Andorra
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
The Sometent (in Catalan; in Spanish: somatén) was a militia institution from Catalonia. In its beginnings it was an armed corps of civilian protection, separated from the army, for self-defense and defense of the local territory. It thus contrasted with the other Spanish militia, the miquelets, irregular troops that could also be sent to fight outside their territory.
The dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923–1930) extended the somatén to all of Spain, making it one of the pillars of the regime. It was dissolved in 1931 by the Second Spanish Republic, except for the Catalan rural Sometent, and reestablished under Franco's dictatorship. The definitive abolition took place in 1978 after the reestablishment of democracy. The name sometent literally means making noise.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Sometent” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.