José María Cunill Postius (10 July 1896 – 27 November 1949), , was a Spanish Catalan entrepreneur. Politically active within Carlism, he is known mostly as commander of the regional branch of the Carlist paramilitary organization, Requeté; he was also among key civilians engaged in the anti-Republican conspiracy and the 1936 coup in Catalonia. He vehemently opposed unification into the state party Falange Española Tradicionalista and after the civil war he remained engaged in conspiracy against the Franco regime.

Family and youth

The family of Conill/Cunill is among the oldest ones in Catalonia, noted since the medieval times.Cunill, [in:] Heraldica Familiar service, available here Over time it got moderately branched, mostly in the provinces of Barcelona, Girona and in the Baleares. It is not clear which branch the ancestors of Cunill Postius were related to. The most distant of his forefathers identified is a paternal grandfather, José Cunill Traserra; in the 1870s he was referred to as “conocido industrial” in the city of Berga, already at the Pyrenean foothills.La Cronica 23.05.77, available here His son Victoriano Cunill Pujol (1860-1925)La Vanguardia 14.07.25, available here; some sources claim he was born in 1855, Carles Figols, Hostal cal Patata (Berga), [in:] Antics hostals de camí ral service, 23.01.17, available at Blogspot service [blocked by Wikipedia] was also an entrepreneur. In the late 19th century he operated a mid-size textile plant Lluis Nè, and then purchased another one, called cal Patata; in the 1920s the integrated business consisted of some 38 machines.Figols 2017 Cunill Pujol was also president of Sindicato Patronal de Sastrería de Berga and Sociedad de Maestros Sastres.La Vanguardia 14.07.25, available here

In 1883 Cunill Pujol married Rosa Postius Sala (1864-1929);Figols 2017 she was daughter to Jaime Postius Vilardaga, a merchant from Berga.he was married to Maria Sala Casas, who originated from Castella de n’Hug, P. Maxím Muñoz, El P. Joan Postius i Sala, missioner claretià, ànima de la Coronació de la Marededéu de Queralt, [in:] L’Erol 129-130 (2016), p. 39 The couple had 3 children, born between 1886 and 1899; José María was born as the younger son and second oldest child.Figols 2017 There is nothing known about his early childhood, except that the family was very pious; the brother of Rosa, Juan Postius Sala, entered the Claretian order, served on overseas missions, and was personal friend to Federico Tedeschini and Eugenio Pacelli.Maxím Muñoz 2016, p. 39 In the 1910s the young José María frequented Escuela Superior de Comercio in Barcelona and obtained the title of contador mercantil;La Vanguardia 19.08.11, available here it is not clear whether he pursued an academic career afterwards. He engaged in the family business and following military service at the turn of the decades,La Vanguardia 14.05.21, available here in the early 1920s he remained busy upgrading the Berga textile plant.e.g. in 1923 Cunill requested and got permission to install new machines in the plant, La Vanguardia 14.05.21, available here

At unspecified time but in 1928 latestin March 1929 Mercedes Solá was already listed as the daughter-in-law of Rosa Postius Sala, La Vanguardia 12.01.29, available here Cunill Postius married Mercedes Solá Brujas (1907one source claims she was 85 when passed away in 1993, see La Vanguardia 30.01.93, available here. Elsewhere her birth year is stated as 1907, Esteve Canyameres i Ramoneda, Can Solà del Racó de Matadepera (segles XIII-XVII), [in:] Terme 16 (2001), p. 107-1993La Vanguardia 30.01.93, available here); she descended from an established family from Matadepera near Terrassa, which since medieval times owned large plots in the area.originally the estate was known as Can Solà; in the modern era it was divided into can Solà del Pla and can Solà de la Font, for details ses Canyameres i Ramoneda 2001, pp. 91-107 The couple settled at the bride's estate and since 1928 Cunill is noted as related to agricultural business in Terrassa, propietarioJosé Fernando Mota Muñoz, ¡Viva Cataluña española!: Historia de la extrema derecha en la Barcelona republicana (1931-1936), Valencia 2020, ISBN 9788491345909, p. 93 and l’industrial terrasenc.Manell Ametller i Bassets, Una masia de Matadepera: Can Solà de la Font, o del Racó. Notes per a la seva història, [in:] Terme 13 (1998), p. 47 They had 8 children.José María, Victoriano, Rosa María, Ramón, Carlos, Rafael, Antonio and Francisco Javier, La Vanguardia 30.01.93, available here The oldest one, José María Cunill Solá, became a Catholic priest and served on apostolic missions overseas; he propagated liberation theology, embraced socialism and was co-founder of Comité Oscar Romero and Asociación de Amics del Bisbe Casaldàliga.Josep Maria Cunill i Sola, [in:] Periferia [online], available here Another son, Antonio Cunill Solá, as a deacon remained active in Bandera Roja and served in the Terrassa council as the representative of PSUC.Josep Maria Solé Soldevila, Bandera roja (1968-1974) [PhD thesis Universitat de Barcelona], Barcelona 2019, pp. 321-323 Cunill Postius’ grandson Francesc Dalmases Cunill was a well-known mountain climber.La Vanguardia 22.10.07, available here

Towards Catalan requeté command

In the 1920s Cunill remained engaged in his agricultural Terrassa business, which at some point involved even international trading in grain.El Debate 08.11.30, available here By the end of the decade he suffered a series of accidents: in 1928 his Granja de Productos Agrícolas warehouse in Terrassa was consumed by fire,La Voz 17.07.28, available here in 1929 his warehouse at Rambla de Egara was robbed,El Dia Grafico 11.05.29, available here and in 1930 there was another robbery and minor damage recorded.El Dia Grafico 17.09.30, available here It is not clear whether these were accidental misfortunes or rather the mark of growing social tension. Cunill animated Sindicato Agrícola de Terrassa and in 1930 as its representative he entered junta directiva of Unión de Sindicatos y Agricultores de Cataluña, where he became the vice-president.La Vanguardia 06.11.32, available here Except for agricultural syndicates, there is no information either on his public activity at the time or on political stand adopted during dictadura and dictablanda.

Following declaration of the Republic in 1931 Cunill was involved in Peña Ibérica, a Barcelona association which originated as a sports group and which gradually assumed a right-wing political flavor. Its members - Carlists, Alfonsists, supporters of PNE – might have been involved in loose conspiracy against the regime.José Fernando Mota Muñoz, ‘Precursores de la Unificación’. El España Club y el voluntariado español, una experiencia unitaria de la extrema derecha barcelonesa (1935-1936), [in:] Historia y Política 28 (2012), p. 279 What political current Cunill was associated with at the time is unclear; there is neither any information on political preferences in his family. However, in 1932 he was for the first time recorded as related to Carlism. During elections to the newly established Catalan parliament he appeared as Traditionalist on the list of Dreta de CatalunyaRobert Vallverdú i Martí, El carlisme català durant la Segona República Espanyola 1931-1936, Barcelona 2008, ISBN 9788478260805, p. 116, César Alcalá, D. Mauricio de Sivatte. Una biografía política (1901-1980), Barcelona 2001, ISBN 8493109797, p. 22 in the Barcelona province district.La Voz de Cantabria 09.11.32, available here The alliance performed badly, trailing behind Esquerra (65,300), Lliga (36,980), Partit Catalanista Republicá (21,654) and Partit Republicá Radical (19,025); with 5,903 votes Dreta failed to win a single mandate.Josep Arqué i Carré, Derecha de Cataluña: Monarquics alfonsins contra la Segona República i la Catalunya Autonoma (1931-1936) [PhD thesis Universitat Autónoma], Barcelona 2014, p. 67

In the early 1930s Cunill was engaged in buildup of the local Terrassa branch of the Carlist paramilitary organization, Requeté. Uniformed members of the unit took part in public religious events, held guard in front of churches or convents, engaged in leafleting and assembled own rallies.Vallverdú i Martí 2008, pp. 138-139 Though the organization was short of massive, Cunill-led detachments amounting up to 50 members commenced trainings and drills in the countryside.Mota Muñoz 2020, p. 113 Until 1933 the Terrassa branch emerged as the best-organized local requeté section in Catalonia.Vallverdú i Martí 2008, pp. 138-139 Cunill himself was recognized as supporter of firm anti-Republican measures, “partidario de pasar a la acción”.Mota Muñoz 2020, p. 117 As such, he opposed the moderate line advocated by the Catalan Carlist leader, Miguel Junyent. In mid-1933 the Catalan Carlist hardliners, including Cunill, Conde de Valdellano and the Marcet brothers, mounted an offensive against Junyent; they travelled to Saint-Jean-de-Luz to speak with the claimant Alfonso CarlosAlcalá 2001, p. 24 and met the nationwide requeté leader, José Luis Zamanillo.Vallverdú i Martí 2008, pp. 134-136 Some scholars claim the coup was animated by local Integrists.Alcalá 2001, p. 24 Eventually Junyent decided to step down, replaced by Lorenzo Alier Cassi. Cunill was nominated head of requeté in the entire Catalonia.Vallverdú i Martí 2008, pp. 134-136

Conspiracy

As head of Catalan requeté Cunill embarked on major shake-up of the paramilitary, carried out in line with general re-organisation enforced centrally. Already in 1933 representatives of the Catalan branch took part in national rally in the Cantabrian Potes;Vallverdú i Martí 2008, p. 169 throughout 1934 Cunill implemented new hierarchical structure and command chain, introduced strict discipline, issued ID cards and commenced regular tactical drills in the countryside. In 1934 some 15 Catalan requetés attended a training in Fascist Italy.Vallverdú i Martí 2008, pp. 195-198 Cunill was eager to maintain some separate identity of the Catalan branch, be it in terms of organisation or uniforms, though this did not lead to major problems.Vallverdú i Martí 2008, p. 199 His role in buildup of the Catalan requeté is compared to this of Antonio Lizarza in Navarre.Julio Aróstegui, Combatientes Requetés en la Guerra Civil española, 1936-1939, Madrid 2013, ISBN 9788499709758, p. 81