The Interprovincial Council of Santander, Palencia and Burgos was a governing body established on 8 February 1937 to coordinate the Republican areas in Cantabria (then officially called the Province of Santander), Palencia and Burgos during the Spanish Civil War. The council was dissolved in August 1937 after the occupation of the region by Nationalist forces.[1]
Prior to the constitution of the Interprovincial Council, the Bank of Spain in Santander issued banknotes of different denominations; later the Council minted coins of one peseta and fifty cents.
With the outbreak of war in July 1936, Cantabria and the northern parts of Palencia and Burgos remained under Republican control, as well as the neighboring Asturias and Biscay, while most of Castilla fell under nationalist rule. On 27 July, a "War Committee" was formed to direct the war effort, while the "Santander Defense Council" was in charge of directing the regional government.
On 23 December, the government of the Spanish Republic decided to create three Interprovincial Councils to replace the Defense Councils in Asturias and León, Santander, Palencia and Burgos, and Aragon.[2] Following this order of the central government, the Interprovincial Council of Santander, Palencia and Burgos was officially constituted on 8 February 1937.
The government of the Republic delegated to the Council all functions except those of law enforcement, press and radio censorship, as well as meetings and public demonstrations.[2] Among other functions, the Council assisted refugees from neighboring provinces, evacuated children and refugees, provided food and weapons, and minted its own currency.
The end of the Interprovincial Council came with the military setbacks of the republican forces in the summer of 1937. The last agreements made during those days corresponded to a request for arms for the defense of the region and food with which to alleviate the situation of the population,[3] aggravated by the arrival of refugees from the nationalist-occupied areas.
With the fall of Santander on 26 August 1937 and the evacuation of the authorities to Asturias, the council was dissolved.
1 2 3 "Creación de los Consejos provinciales". ABC. 26 December 1936. p.5.
↑ Libro de Actas de 1937 (in Spanish). Diputación de Cantabria.
Bibliography
Ruiz Martínez, J.R. (1985). Consejo Interprovincial de Santander, Palencia y Burgos, El (in Spanish) (Edit. Cantabria SAed.). Santander: Gran Enciclopedia de Cantabria. pp.35–36. ISBN84-86420-03-2.
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