Spanish Nationalism
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The creation of the tradition of the political community of Spaniards as common destiny over other communities has been argued to trace back to the
Cortes of Cádiz The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional ''Cortes Generales, cortes'' (Spanish parliament), which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as a single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous o ...
. From 1812 on, revisiting the previous history of Spain, Spanish liberalism tended to take for granted the national conscience and the Spanish nation. A by-product of 19th-century Spanish nationalist thinking is the concept of ''
Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...
'', which holds the power of propelling the weaponized notion of Spain being a nation shaped against Islam. The strong interface of nationalism with colonialism is another feature of 19th-century nation building in Spain, with the defence of slavery and colonialism in Cuba being often able to reconcile tensions between mainland elites of Catalonia and Madrid throughout the period. During the first half of 20th century (notably during the
dictatorship of Primo de Rivera General Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship over Spain began with a coup on 13 September 1923 and ended with his resignation on 28 January 1930. It took place during the wider reign of King Alfonso XIII. In establishing his dictatorship, ...
and the dictatorship of Franco), a new brand of Spanish nationalism with a marked military flavour and an authoritarian stance (as well as promoting policies favouring the Spanish language against the other languages in the country) as a means of modernizing the country was developed by Spanish conservatives, fusing regenerationist principles with traditional Spanish nationalism. The authoritarian national ideal resumed during the Francoist dictatorship, in the form of National-Catholicism, which was in turn complemented by the myth of
Hispanidad (, typically translated as "Hispanicity") is a Spanish term describing a shared cultural, linguistic, or political identity among speakers of the Spanish language or members of the Hispanic diaspora. The term can have various, different implicat ...
. Identified with Francoism, positive affirmation of Spanish nationalism was delegitimised after the death of the dictator in 1975. A distinct manifestation of Spanish nationalism in modern Spanish politics is the interchange of attacks with competing regional nationalisms. Initially present after the end of Francoism in a rather diffuse and reactive form, the Spanish nationalist discourse has been often self-branded as " constitutional patriotism" since the 1980s. Often ignored as in the case of other State nationalisms, its alleged "non-existence" has been a commonplace espoused by prominent figures in the public sphere as well as the mass-media in the country. A central scholarly debate pertaining to the construction of the contemporary Spanish national identity revolves around the assessment of the effective reach of nationalising mechanisms, most specifically vis-à-vis the axiom of 19th-century weak nationalization, supported, for example, by José Álvarez Junco. Spanish nationalism is a justification of the centralist Spanish state, according to
Borja de Riquer Borja may refer to: * Borja (name) Borja is both a surname and a male given name of Spanish origin. January 11 is the international Borja day. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Álvaro Alfredo Magaña Borja (1925–2001), interim pr ...
. In this sense, it is the historical result of well-known political-ideological-economic interests, in the minds of some pressure groups, among which he mentions many elites of the "Hispanic peoples".


History

Historically, Spanish nationalism specifically emerged with
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, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
, during the
Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
against occupation by the
Napoleonic France The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...
. As put by José Álvarez Junco, insofar we speak of nationalism in Spain since 1808, the Spanish nationalist enterprise was a work of liberals, who turned their victory "to a feverish identity of patriotism and the defense of liberty". The
Carlism Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...
, which was a defensive movement of the Old Regime, did not regard the adjective "national" with any esteem (
national sovereignty A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly or ideally) co ...
, national militia, or national properties) and considered it a term used only by liberals (who were becoming more and more '' progresistas''). Up until the 1860s, the Carlism movement tended to label its followers as "Catholics" rather than as "Spaniards". Only after the 1859–1860 Hispano-Moroccan War (which was embraced by an until then unseen patriotic fervour across the political spectrum) the hitherto rather uninterested Catholic conservative forces were sold into the possibilities offered by Spanish nationalism; thus, in the last half of the century, a number of Conservative historians (most notably Menéndez Pelayo, whose figure eventually became a lodestar of national catholicism) propelled a new canon of the
history of Spain The history of Spain dates to contact between the List of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, pre-Roman peoples of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula with the Greeks and Phoenicians. During Classical A ...
underpinned by their idea of "Catholic unity" as tenet for the Spanish nationality and the
monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
. The ''menéndezpelayista'' nationalist construct was well defined in its Catholic matrix (Catholicism would end up becoming the keystone of the reactionary right wing in the 20th century) yet more nuanced in other regards accounting for both a staunch rejection of alternative nationalisms and separatisms and a recognition of the internal plurality of Spain. Restoration prime minister and historian Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, reproduced some of the best-known paragraphs of the Memorial of the Count-Duke of Olivares in his book ''Estudios del reinado of Felipe IV'', published in 1888, and considered that the Memorial should be read as a manifesto in which the bases of the project of the Spanish nation state devised by the Count-Duke were established. With the loss of Cuba interpreted as the first crack on the unity of the nation (the Cuban War had been seen by many in the country as a civil war rather than a foreign conflict), Spanish nationalism of the time had to come to terms with the loss of the island at a time when the possession of colonies was seen as a sign of the vitality of the nation. The so-called "spirit of the 98", created after disaster of 1898, entailed a response coming from the elite intellectual milieus striving for the development of a new Spanish nationalism. While this reaction was not initially identified ''per se'' with the right, (several of the representatives of the literary nationalism of the 98 were actually close to socialist or anarchist stances early in their life) many of the most prominent ''noventayochistas'' espoused ideas compatible with the conservative thought and several of them eventually evolved towards non-liberal forms of Conservatism, and a group of them would have a substantial intellectual influence in the moulding of the later Fascist ultranationalism. While not yet Fascist nor proto-Fascist, the socalled : Azorín, Pío Baroja and Ramiro de Maeztu, laid the seeds for a potential doctrinal articulation susceptible of being seized by a Fascist movement.


19th century


First Moroccan War

After continued incidents, in October 1859 the First Moroccan War began, with a patriotic enthusiasm to imitate the French colonial advances in
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
, and the dazzle by the opportunities. Articles and books about it were published everywhere, telling about Spain's mission 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 ...
, and creating a story that contrasted
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
and Spain, identifying them with despotism and freedom, or integrism and tolerance, respectively, and they listed Spanish exploits throughout history. Numerous speeches were also made, such as that of Francisco Javier Simonet at the
Ateneo de Madrid The Ateneo de Madrid ("Athenæum of Madrid") is a private cultural institution located in the capital of Spain that was founded in 1835. Its full name is ''Ateneo Científico, Literario y Artístico de Madrid'' ("Scientific, Literary and Artistic ...
, in 1859, legitimizing the right to assist Spain in its civilizing mission, given that in his opinion,
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
was populated by two great races, Tamites (Arabs) and Semites (Berbers), both in a state of ignorance and barbarism. By itself or through the patriotism of the media, the war acted as a nationalist agent among the population. Nevertheless, journalists like Ruperto de Aguirre go further, and talk about race and degeneration applied to the North African population, as does Emilio Castelar in the ''Crónica de la guerra de África'', where he elaborates a patriotic text that uses the concept of the Iberian race, and describes it as having a civilizing mission, in the same way that the Slavic race had to "civilize"
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, and also mentions the Indo-European race, "opposed ''from centuries ago to the Semitic race"''.


20th century

In the view of Ismael Saz, within regenerationism, a diverse brand of nationalism, the two main antiliberal nationalist political cultures in the 20th century in Spain would come to be forged: the reactionary nationalist one ( national catholicism) and the fascist one, both enjoying hegemony during the
Francoist dictatorship Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...
. Spanish liberal philosopher and essayist
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 ...
defined Spain as an "enthusing project for a life in common" ''(proyecto sugestivo de vida en común).'' Meanwhile, the Fascist leader
José Antonio Primo de Rivera José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquess of Estella GE (24 April 1903 – 20 November 1936), often referred to simply as José Antonio, was a Spanish fascist politician who founded the Falan ...
preferred the definition of a "unity of destiny in the universal" and defended a return to the traditional and spiritual values of Imperial Spain. The idea of
empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
makes it universalist rather than localist, this is what makes it singular among other forms of nationalisms, but closer to others (
Italian fascism Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...
).


Relationship between Spanish nationalism and Argentine nationalism

Many of the people involved in the establishment of the word ''
Hispanidad (, typically translated as "Hispanicity") is a Spanish term describing a shared cultural, linguistic, or political identity among speakers of the Spanish language or members of the Hispanic diaspora. The term can have various, different implicat ...
'' have a relationship with
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, to live there, such as the Spanish writer José María Salaverría, resident in Argentina between 1910 and 1913, the Spanish priest Zacarías de Vizcarra, resident in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, or Ramiro de Maeztu, ambassador to Argentina between 1928 and 1930. In fact, throughout the first third of the 20th century there is a fluid relationship between Spanish nationalism and Argentine nationalism, which would include the creation of material of great impact on both sides of the Atlantic, such as now the book ''El Solar de la raza'', by the argentine Manuel Gálvez, from 1913. An impact that would extend to 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 ...
, for example in the instructions of the Fiscalía del Ejercito de Ocupación, of January 1939, preparing the occupation of
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, which unified the criteria of the military prosecutors in the ''Memoria de la Fiscalía de Ejercito de Ocupación'', with instructions such as:
" ''The national site must be disinfected. And here is the work - glorious and glorious - entrusted by chance to military justice... This immense pyre in which so much dross is being eliminated... The Inquisition must be resurrected,... of very Spanish originality. .. here isa need for a new legal building on the site of the race... stripped of all feelings of personal piety... The enemies are factions guilty of the crime of Military Rebellion, factions of rebels against the Fatherland'' "
Perhaps the fact that, during the 1919
pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
in Argentina, during the Argentinian Tragic Week, it was called to attack
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and
Catalans Catalans ( Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; ; ; or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autono ...
indiscriminately can be placed within the relations with Spanish nationalism . The reasons are not clear, especially considering that, in the case of Buenos Aires, the Catalan colony, established mainly in the neighborhood of Montserrat, came from the very foundation of the city. It could be pointed to the fact that Spanish nationalism already at that time qualified the Catalans as of Semitic ethnicity.


Relations Spanish National Catholicism - German National Socialism

Apart from the contacts of Spanish politicians and military with Nazi leaders, there is also a wider influence of
Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
in Spanish society, through the German cultural centers in Spain. After the
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
had to endure economic sanctions and scientific boycotts. To overcome the obstacles to an international relationship, Germany opted for a cultural foreign policy, particularly intense with countries that had become neutral. Among them, Spain became a preferred target, for itself and as a bridge to
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
. German schools and cultural centers were established in Barcelona and Madrid, and in a reciprocal sense, Ibero-American institutes were opened in Germany. And with the arrival of the National Socialist party in power in Germany, the centers abroad became propaganda instruments.Janué I Miret, Marició
Relaciones culturales en el «Nuevo orden»: la Alemania nazi y la España de Franco
''Hispania. 2015; 75 (251): 805-32'', 2015.
Martínez, Isabel Bernal. La Buchpropaganda nazi en el primer franquismo a través de la política de donaciones bibliográficas (1938-1939). ''Ayer'', 2010, 195-232. In addition to soldiers from the Spanish Military Union, very active in the spread of Spanish nationalist and coup ideology, both people from the
CEDA The Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (, CEDA) was a Spanish right-wing political party in the Second Spanish Republic. A Catholic conservative force, it was the political heir to Ángel Herrera Oria's Acción Popular and defined ...
and the Falange, like the respective parties, had relations with Nazism,Thomàs, Joan Maria
La Alemania nazi y el fascismo español durante la Guerra Civil.
''Cuadernos de Historia de España'', 2020, 87: 37-54.
and when the revolt against the Spanish Republic began, an intense collaboration was established, numerous German soldiers collaborated with the Spanish rebels, and even military units, such as the
Condor Legion The Condor Legion () was a unit of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany’s Wehrmacht which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War. The legion developed methods of strategic bombing that were ...
, fought there. At the same time, the German National Socialist government sought to establish relations with civil society figures favorable to the Franco coup d'état, with priority given to those who had already had contact with German culture, both in Spain and in Germany (e.g., through the former scholarships of the JAE - Board for the Extension of Studies-), for example, the Antonio Vallejo-Nágera. They also promoted visits to Germany (including the first concentration camps) by influential figures of the Spanish right, such as Gil Robles or the priest Tusquets. The cultural collaboration extended to many other areas, such as cinema, or the intense cooperation between the Ahnenerbe and Falangist archaeologists, in which even the secretary of the Falange, José Luis Arrese, reported
Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...
personally about the interest in creating a kind of Spanish Ahnenerbe dependent on the Falange to investigate Spanish prehistory, as was done by the Nazi organization, with whom he wanted to coordinate. It can also be mentioned that, since 1937, the Hitler Youth and the Youth Organizations of FET and JONS, organized some joint activities and exchanged material such as magazines, or the collaboration between the Women's Section of the Falange and the Nazi women's organizations (youth and adult: Bund Deutscher Mädel and NS-Frauenschaft) between 1936 and 1945.


Spanish civil war

By calling itself "national", the rebel side makes both a declaration of intent and a great advertising maneuver, complemented by the designation of the red side towards the republicans, and generally Anti-Spain to all those they considered enemies. It is a successful propaganda action, given that currently there are still those who call the sides (or on "national" radio) with the fascist denomination. In each of the dams of a population, the motto ''Entra España'' or ''Ya es España'' was repeated; and in addition to identifying the Republican side as red and anti-Spanish, they also did it with
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and the
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
. In the case of Russia, it continued to be done obsessively after the war with the topics, turned into clichés, of Russia is guilty and Moscow's gold). In the case of the Jews, after the fall of the Axis, public culpability decreased drastically. In the context of the civil war, the rebel side issued orders of an ultra-nationalist nature:
Order and Hand: Article 1: Any extremist element who, when given the cry of VIVA ESPAÑA, does not respond in the same way, will be executed by firing squad in the act. Article 2: When the authorities present themselves in the vicinity of their homes and the personnel who are inside before the arrival of the force do not come out with their arms open in the air shouting VIVA ESPAÑA they will be passed by the weapons in the act (...) Falces, August 11, 1936. His Excellency. Mr. Military commander of the square.


= Racism and eugenics within Franco's Spanish nationalism

= Both before and after the civil war, Spanish nationalism was heavily imbued with
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
. Even the influential lawyer and politician
José Antonio Primo de Rivera José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquess of Estella GE (24 April 1903 – 20 November 1936), often referred to simply as José Antonio, was a Spanish fascist politician who founded the Falan ...
wrote an essay titled "Germans against Berbers", with clear racial connotations. The speeches, articles and harangues of the
fascists 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 h ...
were full of allusions to the "Spanish race". Since it does not seem to have had consequences, not much has been investigated, but there are works that postulate that the war served to purify impurities within the Spanish race. Several Francoist scientists and intellectuals proposed racial selection, such as Antonio Vallejo-Nájera:
...the race received parasitic Hebrew and Arab elements, which continued to adhere to it, despite the exile of Jews and Moors. Today, as during the Reconquest, we fight the Spanish-Roman-Goths against the Jews-Moriscos. The pure racial trunk against the spurious.
As in the case of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, the Jews were the ultimate enemy, the race to be exterminated. There are exhortations against them at all political levels, starting with General Franco himself. With the practical absence of Jews from the
peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
, except for the community in
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
, which was made up of
Sephardim Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendan ...
who returned after the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the Francoist regime abstractly redirected the violence towards those Spaniards who were alleged to have physical features which were considered "Semitic remains". Another target of the Francoist regime was the segment of the Spanish population which was alleged to have physical features which were considered "Moorish racial remnents", Kabyles they were called, since they were still reeling from the defeats in the
Rif War The Rif War (, , ) was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several ...
. And the last were the Masons, servants of the Jews in their plans to dominate the nations. The Spanish racial model was Castilian, mythologized by an imperial past consisting of ''conquistadores'' and wealth acquired through conquest. The Castilians sought to purge individuals who had Semitic and Berber racial traces, despite the ancient expulsion of Jews and Moors, and they were also opposed to
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
and separatism (the name which was given to the catalanism). The Catalans were identifiable by the ways in which they made money – through industry, commerce, and banking, not through conquest and agriculture – and they were also identifiable by their anti-patriotism: they refused to accept Castilianity, they continued to practice self-government, and they continued to speak Catalan. Purifying proposals arose from here. Those include one by Felipe Aparicio Sarabia:
The war in Spain has put the urgent problem of purifications on the table.... The Spanish population of the future must be rigidly controlled. And for that we have to start from purification, that is, a previous selection that defines the inhabitants... not only in the interior of Spain, but also outside.... The undesirables, the evil ones will oppose them.
another by Antonio Vallejo-Nágera, who believed that the war should be waged in an environment that allowed a selection without neglecting the Christian mandates:
In racial politics, two criteria can be followed: the geneticist and the behaviourist. Geneticists advocate the selection of good quality biotopes and the elimination of biological inferiors.... Behaviorists act by modifying the environmental conditions that affect the biotype, in order to achieve its progressive improvement over the generations. Regenerating the breed for the benefit of selecting the best has the counterpart of the elimination – impossible and anti-Christian – of deteriorated genotypes.... The degeneration of the Hispanic race – in regard to the loss or decrepitude of ethical racial values specific and acquisition of moral flaws embedded in the genotype- comes from the noxious spiritual environment.... In the heat of war, the germs of race regeneration have flourished with extraordinary vigor.... The anvil of war is an appropriate instrument to forge select groups, because it eliminates from the ranks of combatants those with a bad temper of spirit and negligible biological quality. War has the drawback that many of the best succumb, because they are the ones who risk the most. The surviving heroes will be the regenerators of the race. Of the cowards and the ambushers, no other progeny can be expected than the rickety of body and spirit. The hero of the front must be granted... the quality of select, due to his physical vigor and his moral mettle... Selection of the best at the front; then forge in the rear so that they return to combat with the responsibility of command.... Military Academies are the ideal way to train the eugenic aristocracy that we advocate in our "Racial Hygiene Program.
and another from Juan José López Ibor, years after the war
It has felt.... Spain, broken at the very core of its history, and.... positive and negative forces have collided on its surface, in a purer way. Thus, the Spaniard, in that terrible purification of war, has been able to purify himself as a people and as destiny, and after the dark night of a life without depth, dedicated to remedying his daily needs, he has felt the sudden illumination of his own essence.
According to statements by the Rebel faction spokesman Gonzalo de Aguilera:
We must kill, kill, you know? They're like animals, you know? And you don't have to wait for them to get rid of the virus of Bolshevism. After all, rats and lice are the carriers of the plague. Now I hope you understand what do we mean by the regeneration of Spain.... Our program consists... in exterminating a third of the male population of Spain.
The purge pointed to tens of thousands of individuals throughout the State, but also special attention to the peripheral territories that had been independent from Castile: Galicia, the Basque Country, the old
Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
(
Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
and
Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...
), where the repression was brutal, and especially the
catalan language Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...
zones of the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...
, where the repression was continued over time until it was consolidated as state policy.


Theft of children

Francoism seen from a broad
biopolitics Biopolitics is a concept popularized by the French philosopher Michel Foucault in the mid-20th century. At its core, biopolitics explores how governmental power operates through the management and regulation of a population's bodies and lives. ...
, which includes the artificial dynamics of populations, applied as a eugenic action, the theft of tens of thousands of children of republicans and the adoption of them by fascist families, and the prevention of their degeneration, so they could be controlled with ease and taught to grow up to become loyal followers of Franco. According to "''Racisme i supremacisme polítics a l'Espanya contemporània''", although "at that time it was normal for children to be stolen from single mothers in fascist countries such as Italy or ultra-Catholic countries such as Ireland, the difference was that in Spain, married women were also stolen ( they were imprisoned either with or without their husbands). Child thefts in Spain are similar to child thefts in some Nazi-occupied areas (for example, in certain Polish areas that the Nazis considered Aryan), where race rather than the family environment is considered correct." Over time, eugenics gave way to the simple business of baby trafficking, which continued to occur well into the era of the democracy.


Post-1978 politics

The political transition which occurred in Spain, together with social and economic changes rooted in a detailed sense of modernization, began at the end of Franco's time in power and lasted until the creation of current institutions (
Spanish Constitution of 1978 The Spanish Constitution () is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. The current version was a ...
and Statutes of Autonomy). This also produced a strong reversal of the social uses for Spanish symbols of national identification. Peripheral nationalisms have acquired a significant presence and territorial power, especially in
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
( Convergence and Union
Republican Left of Catalonia The Republican Left of Catalonia (, ERC; ; generically branded as ) is a pro-Catalan independence, social democratic political party in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, with a presence also in Valencia, the Balearic Islands and t ...
) and the Basque Country (
Basque Nationalist Party The Basque Nationalist Party ( , EAJ; , PNV; , PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially the Basque National Party in English, is a Basque nationalist and regionalist political party. The party is located in the centre of the political spectrum. It has been de ...
, as well as among EA and so-called '' abertzale left''). The numbers are substantially lower in comparison to Catalonia and Basque Country, but these nationalisms are still present in
Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
(Nabai) and Galicia (Galician National Bloc) too. The
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
( Coalición Canaria),
Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
( Partido Andalucista) and other autonomous communities also have less obvious nationalism and are often grouped as regionalisms, based on linguistic or historical differential facts no less distinct than the previous ones. In comparison to other nationalisms, "Spanish nationalism" is often referred to as ''españolismo'', an equivalent to centralism. Usually with a controversial political purpose, it may be identified with
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
nostalgia for Franco's regime or with alleged state oppression in those territories, which in extreme cases (particularly
ETA Eta ( ; uppercase , lowercase ; ''ē̂ta'' or ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel, . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative, , in most dialects of Ancient Greek, it ...
in the Basque Country and
Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...
) is used as justification for
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
that sees itself as '' armed struggle'' for '' national liberation''. By contrast, none of the major political parties affected by such designation of ''españolistas'' or "Spanish nationalists", self-identify as such. Instead, they use the phrase ''non-nationalist'' to separate themselves from the ''nationalist'', which is how they usually designate the so-called "periphery" or outliers. It seeks to respect the different visions of Spain and fit it into a pluralistic framework, ''inclusive'' and ''non-exclusive.'' Concepts which often coincide the majority's political parties,
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...
and People's Party, the minority's, United Left,
Union, Progress and Democracy Union, Progress and Democracy ( , UPyD ) was a Spanish list of political parties in Spain, political party founded in September 2007 and dissolved in December 2020. It was a social liberalism, social-liberal party that rejected any form of nation ...
, and other regional or nationalist parties sometimes called ''moderate'', despite maintaining deep political differences.


21st century

Democracy consolidated an apparent asymmetric regime of bilingualism of sorts, wherein the Spanish government has employed a system of laws that favored Spanish over other Spanish languages (such as Catalan) which becomes the weaker of the two languages' relationship, and therefore, in the absence of other states where it is spoken, is doomed to extinction in the medium or short term. In the same vein, its use in the Spanish Congress was not allowed until 2023, with previous attempts before that year blocked. During the Spanish EU presidency in 2023, there was a formal request to add Catalan, Basque and Galician to the list of official languages of the EU, following past requests from
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
with Gaelic with less speakers. In other institutional areas, such as justice,
Plataforma per la Llengua Plataforma per la Llengua (literally: Pro-Language Platform) is a non-governmental organization born in 1993 in Barcelona, in order to defend and promote the Catalan language all over the Catalan-speaking territories in the European states whe ...
has denounced Catalanophobia. The association Soberania i Justícia have also denounced it in an act in the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
. It also takes the form of
linguistic secessionism Language secessionism (also known as linguistic secessionism or linguistic separatism) is an attitude supporting the separation of a language variety from the language to which it has hitherto been considered to belong, in order for this variet ...
, originally advocated by the Spanish extreme right and which has finally been adopted by the Spanish government itself and state bodies. Aside, the fiscal drainage of the Catalan-speaking territories is something studied by some public and private bodies, from Chambers of Commerce to banks. This is added to the investment deficit in infrastructure, and even in political actions of business relocation of Catalan companies, initiated by the Franco regime and continued during democracy, and accelerated during the catalan sovereignist process. Also, after the 2017 thwarted referendum on Catalan independence, hitherto stigmatized public displays of Spanish nationalism (such as flags hanging from buildings) increased.


Banal nationalism

The language and culture of a population of around 10 million Catalan-Valencian speakers is non-existent in the Spanish media for all the state. At the same time, the media and social networks are a vehicle for the dissemination of a subtle or explicit Catalanophobia accompanying banal Spanish nationalism. Often the message emerges from the media or from ultra-nationalist groups and then becomes more clearly or discreetly incorporated into the discourse of the major Spanish parties and their majority of voters. The incorporation of varying degrees of Catalanophobia into the banal nationalism of large sections of Spanish society is sublimated in cries of attack such as "a por ellos, oé" by the population but also by the Spanish law enforcement forces, during the violent police repression of October 1, 2017. Within banal nationalism there is a whole range of insulting references to Catalans used in Spanish, such as "Catalufos", "Catalinos", "Catalardos" or " Polacos", among others.Joan Avenalleda, ''Viatge a l'origen dels insults'' Ara Llibres, Badalona, 2006, p. 39


Linguistic nationalism

According to JC. Moreno Cabrera, in addition to the principles of indivisibility of the Spanish nation and the sovereignty belonging only to the Spanish people included in articles 1 and 2 of the 1978 Constitution.,Moreno Cabrera, J.C. 2010, 3-8. or. there is another nationalist principle enshrined in Article 3 of the Spanish Constitution, concerning language policy, reading "Castilian is the official language of Spain". Article 3 of Article 2 combines the indivisible unity of the Spanish nation with the Spanish language as a linguistic component of the indivisibility of this nation, which, in the view of Cabrera, underpin the denial of the fundamental rights of other nations within the state.


See also

*
Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain Both the perceived nationhood of Spain, and the perceived distinctions between different parts of its territory derive from historical, geographical, linguistic, economic, political, ethnic and social factors. Present-day Spain was formed in the ...
*
Spanish unionism Spanish unionism is a term used mainly by the Basque nationalism and Catalan independence movements to refer to the political attitude which opposes independence and favours the continuity of the Kingdom of Spain as a single united nation-state ...
* Spanish republicanism *
Spanish irredentism Spanish irredentism mainly focuses on claims over the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, whose long-standing territorial vindication as a British colony is enshrined in the Spanish foreign policy. Along history, other minor irredentist prop ...
* Iberian federalism (Iberism) * The two Spains * Hispanophobia * Catalanophobia *
History of Spain The history of Spain dates to contact between the List of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, pre-Roman peoples of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula with the Greeks and Phoenicians. During Classical A ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spanish Nationalism Nationalism in Spain