Africanist (Spain)
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Africanists () were the people who encouraged a strong colonial involvement of
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, particularly in the early 20th century. Although Spain had been present in African territory for numerous centuries, it was not until the arrival of
New Imperialism In History, historical contexts, New Imperialism characterizes a period of Colonialism, colonial expansion by European powers, the American imperialism, United States, and Empire of Japan, Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...
and the
Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 was a meeting of colonial powers that concluded with the signing of the General Act of Berlin,
in 1884 that the colonial power set its interests in African soil. Africanism emerged mainly from the loss of
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,
the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...
,
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,
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, and various other islands in 1898 as a consequence of the
Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
. Africanists sought to compensate for these losses by consolidating their possessions in Africa. Spain's colonizing Africa was smaller when compared to other European colonizers, even after losing their colonies in the Americas and Pacific, because there was a lack of public support to re-establish themselves as an empire. Spain's economy recovered quickly after the loss of their colonies during the
Spanish-American War Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...
, and the general population lost their fervor for maintaining an empire. Countries like Italy which had started colonizing in the late nineteenth century colonized more than Spain because Italy had much more public support to create an empire. Within the army, Africanist officers espoused chiefly a conservative worldview with extreme-right views being common. The extreme nationalism and anti-democratic views enabled a potential linkage with
fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
. According to Sebastian Balfour, Africanist practices, intertwined with ideas on the "degeneration" of the Spanish masses, would become a core tenet of the ideology of "crusade" present in the 1936 coup d'etat.


Africanism after Spanish-Moroccan wars

Spain decided to establish a protectorate in Morocco in 1912, and the government used the Spanish military to administer their new territory. After Spain's evolvement in Morocco, Africanism evolved into a military mentality found within the army that occupied the Moroccan territories. Much of the army, especially the officer class, developed an interest in Spanish occupation because it was easier for both officers and infantry to get promoted as promotion was based on merit and military accomplishments. Many of the officers in the army desired a distinguished military career which led to a growth of support of the movement.


Africanists vs. Junteros

There was a growing rivalry within the Spanish military between the soldiers stationed in Africa, the Africanists, and the soldiers stationed on the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
, the Junteros. Another difference between the two groups was that the Africanists were composed of infantry and cavalry, while the Junteros were composed of artillery units and the majority of the officers in the military. The rivalry began when a conflict of interest arose. After the Spanish-Moroccan wars, the government began to reward the army stationed in Morocco higher pay and quicker promotion. Many Junteros felt envy that they were paid less and lost prestige. The Junteros blocked any support directed to help the soldiers stationed in Africa as an attempt to weaken the Africanists. This rivalry also took different sides in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, with Junteros supporting the Republicans, while the Africanists supported the rebels.
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...
was an important figure in the Africanist movement.


Appeal to Spanish Empire

Many Africanists supported the concept of empire due to a sense of nationalism. One of the justifications for Spanish imperialism in Africa was ''Hispanidad''. This was the idea of racial superiority of the Spanish linguistic-cultural people over those of non-Europeans. The other justification that Africanists used to justify imperialism, specifically in Morocco, was ''Parentesco''. This was the false conception that claimed that the Spanish and Moroccans shared some racial similarities, and thus should be unified.


Africanists and the public

The general Spanish public had no interest in imperialistic actions such as the administration of
Spanish Morocco The Spanish protectorate in Morocco was established on 27 November 1912 by a treaty between France and Spain that converted the Spanish sphere of influence in Morocco into a formal protectorate. The Spanish protectorate consisted of a norther ...
. The public also felt resentment not only toward the Africanists, but the military in its entirety. This was due to the military's role to put down populist revolts. The growing alienation from the Spanish mainland pushed Africanists to adopt many
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
traditions found in Morocco, and they respected the Berber's military might and bravery.


Africanists

*
Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...
King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...
from 1886 to 1931 * Prince Fernando de Baviera
Infante of Spain Infante of Spain (feminine infanta; Spanish language, Spanish: ''infante de España''; grammatical gender, f. ''infanta'') is a royal title normally granted at birth to the children of reigning and past Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchs, and to ...
* Alfonso de Orleans
Infante of Spain Infante of Spain (feminine infanta; Spanish language, Spanish: ''infante de España''; grammatical gender, f. ''infanta'') is a royal title normally granted at birth to the children of reigning and past Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchs, and to ...
*
Manuel Fernández Silvestre Manuel Fernández Silvestre (December 16, 1871 – July 22, 1921) was a Military of Spain, Spanish general. Manuel Fernández Silvestre was the son of a lieutenant colonel of artillery, Victor Fernández and Eleuteria Silvestre. In 1889, he enr ...
– a Spanish general * Damaso Berenguer – a Spanish general * Alfredo Kindelán – founder of the
Spanish Air Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Al ...
*
José Sanjurjo José Sanjurjo y Sacanell (; 28 March 1872 – 20 July 1936) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the military leaders who plotted the July 1936 ''coup d'état'' that started the Spanish Civil War. He was endowed the nobiliary title ...
*
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...
*
Emilio Mola Emilio Mola y Vidal (9 July 1887 – 3 June 1937) was a Spanish military officer who was one of the three leaders of the Nationalist coup of July 1936 that started the Spanish Civil War. After the death of José Sanjurjo on 20 July 1936, M ...
*
José Millán-Astray José Millán-Astray y Terreros (5 July 1879 – 1 January 1954) was a Spanish military officer who was the founder and first commander of the Spanish Legion. He was also a major early figure of the Francoist dictatorship. Astray was notable f ...
*
Juan Yagüe Juan Yagüe y Blanco, 1st Marquis of San Leonardo de Yagüe (9 November 1891 – 21 October 1952) was a Spanish military officer during the Spanish Civil War, one of the most important in the Nationalist side. He became known as the "Butcher of ...
* Emilio Blanco Izaga * José Marina *


References

{{reflist Culture of Spain Spanish nationalism Spanish Empire Spanish Africanists Spanish Africa Morocco–Spain military relations Proto-fascism New Imperialism