Ramiro de Maeztu y Whitney (May 4, 1875 – October 29, 1936) was a prolific Spanish essayist, journalist and publicist. His early literary work adscribes him to the

Generation of '98 The Generation of '98 ( es, Generación del 98), also called Generation of 1898 ( es, Generación de 1898, links=no), was a group of novelists, poets, essayists, and philosophers active in Spain at the time of the Spanish–American War (1898), comm ...

. Adept to

Nietzschean Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) developed his philosophy during the late 19th century. He owed the awakening of his philosophical interest to reading Arthur Schopenhauer's ''Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung'' (''The World as Will and Represe ...

and

Social Darwinist Social Darwinism refers to various theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics, and which were largely defined by scholars in We ...

ideas in his youth, he became close to

Fabian socialism The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The Fab ...

and later to

distributism Distributism is an economic theory asserting that the world's productive assets should be widely owned rather than concentrated. Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, distributism was based upon Catholic social teaching prin ...

and social corporatism during his spell as correspondent in London from where he chronicled the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. During the years of the Primo de Rivera dictatorship he served as Ambassador to Argentina. A staunch militarist, he became at the end of his ideological path one of the most prominent

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

theorists against the Spanish Republic, leading the reactionary voices calling for a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. A member of the cultural group '' Acción Española'', he spread the concept of "'' Hispanidad''" (''Spanishness''). Imprisoned by Republican authorities after the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, he was killed by leftist militiamen during a ''saca'' in the midst of the conflict.

Early life and career

Ramiro de Maeztu y Whitney was born on May 4, 1875 in Vitoria, the capital of Alava province. He was the son of Manuel de Maeztu Rodriguez, a

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a pers ...

engineer and landowner born in

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especia ...

with ancestry from

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

. While in Paris, he had met her mother, Juana Whitney, born in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

and daughter of a British diplomat, when she was 16 years old. Portrait of Ramiro de Maeztu

He was among the young Spanish intellectuals deeply affected by their country's humiliating defeat in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

of 1898, along with José Martínez Ruiz ("Azorín"),

Pío Baroja Pío Baroja y Nessi (28 December 1872 – 30 October 1956) was a Spanish writer, one of the key novelists of the Generation of '98. He was a member of an illustrious family. His brother Ricardo was a painter, writer and engraver, and his nephe ...

and others forming the literary

. His first collection of essays was published in 1898 under the name ''Hacia otra España'' ("Towards a Different Spain"). An early advocate of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...

, he became disillusioned by the

while he was serving as the London correspondent for several Spanish newspapers and travelled in France and Germany.

Move to right

After returning to Spain, Maeztu rejected many of his friends and argued that human reason alone was not enough to solve social problems, and he argued for the importance of strong authority and tradition rooted in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Those ideas were embodied in his 1916 book, ''Authority, Liberty, and Function in the Light of the War'', first published in English and later in Spanish as ''La Crisis del Humanismo'' (1919). Ramiro de Maeztu, de Sancha, Nuevo Mundo, 08-10-1920 (cropped)

Ramiro de Maeztu, de Sancha, Nuevo Mundo, 08-10-1920 (cropped)

Maeztu became one of the most prominent defenders of the regime of

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era. He deepl ...

and called for Spain to "recover its 16th-century sense of Roman Catholic mission". In 1926, his literary essays were published in ''Don Quijote, Don Juan y La Celestina'', and in 1928, he served as Spanish ambassador to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. In 1930, he joined the National Monarchist Union, the successor party to Primo de Rivera's Patriotic Union, along other defenders of the dictatorship such as the son of the dictator José Antonio and the former ministers José Calvo Sotelo and Eduardo Callejo de la Cuesta. Along with Pedro Sainz Rodríguez and others, Maeztu founded the

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalis ...

political movement Acción Española in 1931. In 1934, his final published book was written, ''Defensa de la hispanidad'' ("In Defense of Spanishness"), which advocated "a return to pure Spanishness" and strongly condemned

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostilit ...

and the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

's slogan " liberty, equality, fraternity", which he countered by his own motto, ''duty, hierarchy, and humanity''. He thought of Spanishness as a spiritual world that united Spain and its former colonies by the Spanish language and Catholicism, with rationalism and democracy being supposedly alien to the Hispanic

ethos Ethos ( or ) is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution, and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to ...

. Since 1932, he made it constant in several articles for Acción Española and the ABC newspaper, his admiration for

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

, also showing himself to be a supporter of the anti-Semitism of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. Also from the pages of ABC, he came to express his desire that a nationalist movement similar to Hitler's would triumph in Spain to confront democracy and Marxism, asking the extremist José María Albiñana to lead the project. 3

Death and legacy

On October 29, 1936, Maeztu was executed by Republican soldiers in the early days of the

near

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. These last words are attributed to him: "You do not know why you kill me, but I know why I'm dying: for your children to be better than you!" His political thoughts had a profound influence on the Chilean historian

Jaime Eyzaguirre Jaime Eyzaguirre (21 December 1908 – 17 September 1968) was a Chilean lawyer, essayist and historian. He is variously recognized as a writer of Spanish traditionalist or conservative historiography in his country.Góngora ''et al''., pp. 201� ...

. His younger sister was the Spanish educator and feminist, María de Maeztu, who founded the Residencia de Señoritas and the Lyceum Club in

, and his younger brother was the painter Gustavo de Maeztu, who has a museum named after him in the Palace of the Kings of Navarre in

Estella Estella may refer to: People *Diego de Estella (1524–1578) *Estella Sneider (born 1950) *Estella Warren (born 1978), Canadian actress *Estella, the ''nom de guerre'' of Italian labor leader Teresa Noce Fictional * Estella Havisham, a character ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. The Spanish philosopher

José Ortega y Gasset José Ortega y Gasset (; 9 May 1883 – 18 October 1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He worked during the first half of the 20th century, while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism, and dictatorship. His philosoph ...

dedicated his book ''Meditations on Quixote'' (1914) to Maeztu — "A Ramiro de Maeztu, con un gesto fraternal."

Works

* (1899). ''Hacia otra España'' * (1911). ''La Revolución y los Intelectuales'' * (1916). ''Inglaterra en Armas'' * (1919). ''La Crisis del Humanismo'' * (1920). ''Del Espíritu de los Vascos'' * (1926). ''Don Quijote, Don Juan y La Celestina'' * (1934). ''Defensa de la Hispanidad'' * (1935). ''La Brevedad de la Vida en la Poesía Lírica Española'' Works in English translation
"Expressionism,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIV, No. 4, 1913, pp. 122–123.
"England and Germany: Two Types of Culture,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVI, No. 12, 1915, pp. 303–304.
"On Belgian Nationality,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVI, No. 14, 1915, pp. 372–374.
"On Marx and Wealth and Power,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVI, No. 16, 1915, pp. 423–424.
"What is a Nation?,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVI, No. 16, 1915, p. 436.
"The Bellicose Pacifists,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVI, No. 18, 1915, pp. 481–482.
"Bureaucracy and War,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVI, No. 20, 1915, pp. 530–532.
"Death and Resurrection,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVI, No. 22, 1915, pp. 583–584.
"On Art and Luxury,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVI, No. 24, 1915, pp. 640–642.
"The Jealousy of the Guilds,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVI, No. 26, 1915, pp. 687–688.
"On Luxury and Waste,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 2, 1915, pp. 34–35.
"War and Solidarity,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 4, 1915, pp. 81–83.
"On Novels and Happiness,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 6, 1915, pp. 129–131.
"The Natural Defence of Luxury,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 6, 1915, pp. 141–142.
"On Compulsion,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 8, 1915, pp. 179–181.
"Art and Utility,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 9, 1915, p. 215.
"Not Happiness, But...,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 10, 1915, pp. 224–226.
"On Liberty of Thought,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 12, 1915, pp. 273–274.
"Happiness and Beauty,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 12, 1915, pp. 294–295.
"On Love and Veracity,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 14, 1915, pp. 330–332.
"On Liberty and Organization,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 16, 1915, pp. 377–378.
"The Historical Function of England,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 17, 1915, p. 411.
"Beyond the Barriers of Liberty and Authority,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 17, 1915, pp. 424–425.
"The Historical Function of England,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 19, 1915, p. 460.
"On Law and the Guilds,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 20, 1915, pp. 472–473.
"The End of Romanticism,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 22, 1915, pp. 521–522.
"The Historical Function of England,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 23, 1915, p. 558.
"On a Doctrine of Power,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 24, 1915, pp. 565–567.
"On the Primacy of Things,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVII, No. 26, 1915, pp. 617–619.
"On the Balance of Power,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 2, 1915, pp. 31–32.
"On the Legal Principles of the Human Commonwealth,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 4, 1915, pp. 78–80.
"On the Economic Interpretation of History,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 6, 1915, pp. 128–130.
"On Right and Might,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 8, 1915, pp. 178–180.
"On Right and Might II,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 10, 1916, pp. 224–226.
"The German Heresy: The Man of the Renaissance,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 12, 1916, pp. 273–275.
"The German Heresy: The State as Necessity,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 14, 1916, pp. 320–322.
"The German Heresy: The State as the Good,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 16, 1916, pp. 368–369.
"The German Heresy: Hegel and the State,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 18, 1916, pp. 417–418.
"Disconnected Connections,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 20, 1916, pp. 466–468.
"On the Primacy of Things,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 22, 1916, pp. 514–516.
"More Disconnected Connections,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 24, 1916, pp. 561–562.
"The Primacy of Things,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XVIII, No. 24, 1916, p. 574.
"A Reflection upon Sin,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 1, 1916, pp. 9–10.
"The Primacy of Things,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 1, 1916, p. 22.
"The Object of the War,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 2, 1916, p. 46.
"On Functions and Values,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 3, 1916, pp. 57–58.
"Authority, Liberty and Function,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 5, 1916, pp. 104–105.
"The Confusions of Mr. Bernard Shaw,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 7, 1916, pp. 152–154.
"The So-Called Law of Rent,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 7, 1916, pp. 198–199.
"Mr. Shaw and the German Republic,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 13, 1916, pp. 294–297.
"Independence & Interdependence,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 15, 1916, p. 344.
"A Visit to the Front: Train and Steamer,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 21, 1916, pp. 486–487.
"A Visit to the Front: The Sanitary Service,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 22, 1916, pp. 510–511.
"A Visit to the Front: The Joy of War,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 23, 1916, pp. 533–534.
"A Visit to the Front: The New British Tactics,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 24, 1916, pp. 557–559.
"A Visit to the Front: A Military Base,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 25, 1916, pp. 580–581.
"A Visit to the Front: On the North of the Somme,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XIX, No. 26, 1916, pp. 604–605.
"A Visit to the Front: The English in France,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XX, No. 1, 1916, pp. 5–7.
"A Visit to the Front: Salisbury Camp,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XX, No. 2, 1916, p. 29.
"A Visit to the Front: The Production of Munitions,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XX, No. 3, 1916, pp. 53–54.
"A Visit to the Front: Final Impression,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XX, No. 4, 1916, pp. 77–78.
"On Power and Things,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XX, No. 7, 1916, pp. 158–159.
''Authority, Liberty, and Function in the Light of the War''
London: George Allen & Unwin, 1916.
"Partnership and Fellowship,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XX, No. 12, 1916, pp. 272–274.
"On Love and Things,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XX, No. 15, 1917, p. 358.
"The Principle of Nationality,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XX, No. 16, 1917, p. 366-367.
"The Value of Nationality,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XX, No. 17, 1917, pp. 395–396.
"The Wonders of Desolation,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXI, No. 6, 1917, pp. 128–130.
"The Value of 'Function',"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXI, No. 6, 1917, p. 143.
"Liberty and Pleasure,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXI, No. 10, 1917, pp. 223–225.
"Liberty and Morality,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXI, No. 12, 1917, pp. 262–264.
"The Fetish of Personality,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXI, No. 14, 1917, pp. 301–303.
"Personal v. Political Liberty,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXI, No. 16, 1917, p. 344.
"Personal v. Political Liberty II,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXI, No. 17, 1917, pp. 363–364.
"The Principle of Growth,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXI, No. 19, 1917, pp. 402–404.
"To Begin With,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXI, No. 23, 1917, pp. 483–484.
"The Functional Principle,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXI, No. 25, 1917, pp. 526–527.
"The Nature of Societies,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXI, No. 26, 1917, pp. 542–543.
"Function in Land,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXII, No. 2, 1917, pp. 26–28.
"Liberty and Democracy,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXII, No. 6, 1917, pp. 107–109.
"Old Worlds for New,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXII, No. 6, 1917, pp. 132–133.
"Tolstoy's Revolution,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXII, No. 10, 1917, pp. 186–187.
"The Formula of the War,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXII, No. 14, 1917, pp. 266–267.
"'Necessity' in Law,"
''Inter-America'', Vol. I, No. 1, 1917, pp. 31–34.
"The Best of Both Worlds,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXII, No. 16, 1918, pp. 306–307.
"Land Power or Sea Power?,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXII, No. 17, 1918, pp. 323–324.
"Fate and Resignation,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXII, No. 19, 1918, pp. 371–372.
"The Russian Lesson for Industrial Democracy,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXII, No. 22, 1918, p. 431.
"Dostoyevsky the Manichean,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXII, No. 23, 1918, pp. 449–451.Lavrin, Janko (1918)
"The Dostoyevsky Problem,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXII, No. 24, pp. 465-466.
"Let Us Be Whole!,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXII, No. 26, 1918, p. 497.
"Function and Rights,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXIII, No. 22, pp. 347–348.
"Germany Now,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXIV, No. 10, 1919, pp. 155–157.
"East and West,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXVII, No. 14, 1920, p. 212.
"On Earth as in Heaven,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXVII, No. 21, 1920, pp. 308–309.
"The War Diary of a Square Peg,"
''The New Age'', Vol. XXVII, No. 26, 1920, pp. 369–370. * "The International Policy of Spain," ''Foreign Affairs'', Vol. I, No. 2, 1922, pp. 136–143. * "Automobiles and National Character," ''The Living Age'', Vol. CCCXXII, No. 4185, 1924. * "A Spaniard's Exposition of Spengler," ''The Living Age'', Vol. CCCXXVII, No. 4241, 1925. * "How to Make the Yankee Harmless," ''The Living Age'', Vol. CCCXXVIII, No. 4264, 1926.

Notes

External links

Works by Ramiro de Maetzu
at

Hathi Trust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...

Works by Ramiro de Maetzu
at Biblioteca Nacional de España

at Acción Española
Ramiro de Maeztu 1875-1936

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maeztu, Ramiro De 1875 births 1936 deaths People from Vitoria-Gasteiz Spanish Roman Catholics Renovación Española politicians Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Second Spanish Republic Acción Española Basque writers Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Roman Catholic writers Spanish male writers Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Spanish people of English descent People killed by the Second Spanish Republic Extrajudicial killings Executed Spanish people Spanish political writers Executed writers Ambassadors of Spain to Argentina Spanish nationalists Far-right politicians in Spain