In April 1931, the King of Spain was overthrown and a Republic was declared amid huge public excitement. The new government made it a priority to introduce modern education and culture to everyone in the country, including the rural poor. Some of Spain's leading writers and artists volunteered to go on 'Missions' to villages where the inhabitants were illiterate and life had not changed since the Middle Ages. Simon Watts introduces first-person accounts from the time.



Audio of the Choir of the Missions courtesy of the Residencia de Estudiantes, Madrid.



Photo: The Republican flag is raised in Madrid in April 1931 (Getty Images)