Carlist children in 1936: Inside a culture de guerre?

Abstract

In the transition from the 19th to the 20th century, the growing perception of childhood as a defined social sector, with its own characteristics and needs, made it the target of different political parties and ideologies. An example of this was Carlism in Spain, which began the political socialization of children in the early years of the 20th century. It counted on a past that served as a legitimizing element and provided the framework in which to insert the children. When the civil war of 1936 broke out, the carlist organization of infancy had experience for their mobilization and a structure, the Pelayos, which allowed the boys (not the girls) to fit into the heart of a war culture of their own, thus favoring the mobilization of its members within the total war effort and through heroic models widely disseminated through various mechanisms within the children’s group, such as indoctrination and military activities or the distribution of publications, among which the Pelayos magazine stood out. The escape and incorporation of adolescents to the tercios de requetés showed this mobilizing capacity and attachment to the Carlist war culture.