Spanish Civil War labourers, and parts of the middle class. The conservative, strongly Catholic Basque country, along with Catholic Galicia and the more left-leaning Catalonia, sought autonomy or independence from the central government of Madrid. The Republican government allowed for the possibility of self-government for the two regions, whose forces were gathered under the People's Republican Army ("Ejército Popular Republicano", or EPR), which was reorganized into mixed brigades after October 1936. A few well-known people fought on the Republican side, such as English novelist George Orwell (who wrote "Homage to Catalonia" (1938), an account of his experiences in the war) and Canadian thoracic
The Spanish Civil War and the British Left carefully researched examination" with "much to commend it." Julius Ruiz, in "The Historical Journal", described "The Spanish Civil War and the British Left" as "a significant addition to the historiography" and praised Mates's discussion of the impact of the popular front strategy on the CPGB, but took issue with his belief that industrial action could have proved a better strategy or succeeded in changing government policy. The Spanish Civil War and the British Left The Spanish Civil War and the British Left: Political Activism and the Popular Front is a 2007 book by Lewis H. Mates. Mates uses archival research