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.

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.

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.

[8] 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.

[9] In the 1910s the young José María frequented Escuela Superior de Comercio in Barcelona and obtained the title of contador mercantil;[10] it is not clear whether he pursued an academic career afterwards.

[19] 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.

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.

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.

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 Carlos[36] and met the nationwide requeté leader, José Luis Zamanillo.

Already in 1933 representatives of the Catalan branch took part in national rally in the Cantabrian Potes;[40] throughout 1934 Cunill implemented new hierarchical structure and command chain, introduced strict discipline, issued ID cards and commenced regular tactical drills in the countryside.

[44] During the October 1934 unrest Cunill remained in touch with the local UME; he pledged 500 men ready to confront the revolution, though it is not clear whether there were indeed any requetés engaged in action along the military.

[47] Though one of key men of Catalan Carlism[48] he was barely engaged in nationwide politics, and his taking part in consultations with Fal Conde on would-be entry into the National Bloc was rather an exceptional episode.

Resolved to confront a forthcoming revolution, they were prepared to practice urban combat by staging assaults on a masonic centre in Terrassa and an Anarchist one in Figueres.

[54] Initially he devised a local plan of action based on provocation; requetés were supposed to stage a series of sabotages disguised as revolutionary work, and pre-agreed army crackdown on Left-wing organizations was to follow.

They immediately engaged in organization work and kept re-opening Carlist círculos in the city; the plan was to ignore unified FET structures and return to status quo ante.

[75] Despite the ban on non-licensed political activity Cunill engaged in buildup of semi-clandestine Carlist structures and attempted to use religious and official events as cover when advancing Traditionalist propaganda.

[77] In 1940 an informant of security services agonized about “dangerous freedom of action” enjoyed by Sivatte and Cunill, who “promueven disturbios, editan hojas clandestinas, etc”.

[82] Among other charges,[83] the Falangists claimed that Cunill was co-responsible for intimidation of Barcelona bookstore owners, told to remove books of Primo de Rivera and Franco.

[86] Since the mid-1940s the Navarrese Carlists tried to lure Cunill into their schemes, intended against what was perceived as appeasement policy of Fal Conde towards the Franco regime; his stand is not clear.

The claimant asked him to have full trust in the Carlist command,[88] but also dismissed him from the post of Catalan requeté leader, the move immediately protested by Sivatte.