S1, E2: Barcelona, at the start of the 20th century, owing to its reputation as the Catalan Manchester, is experiencing unprecedented growth, annexing neighboring villages, building more factories, and inspiring a wave of immigration from within Spain. As Catalan politicians and factory owners strive to exert more control over the city and region, a new labor union, the CNT, forms to fight for workers’ rights. Significant events include Tragic Week, the rise of anarcho-syndicalism, the creation of a Commonwealth of Catalunya, state-sanctioned assassinations under the moniker “Pistolerisme,” and a military coup that results in Spain’s first 20th century dictatorship. Introducing major figures Lluís Companys and Miguel Primo de Rivera, the episode concludes with an historic municipal election in 1931, one that ushers in a period of democratic rule for the state known as the 2nd Spanish Republic.