This book is a new short history of Spain during a crucial period,
the reign of Alfonso XIII (1902-1931). Traditionally, this has been
seen as a time that epitomised the worst features of 'old Spain': a
backward country, poor and chronically unequal, with a government
dominated by a tiny oligarchy ruling over a corrupt system -- an
anomaly in Western Europe. However, this study, in line with the
most recent historiography, offers a new insight into the period as
one that was actually characterised by extensive modernisation in
Spanish society and politics. Spain experienced, albeit in an
unbalanced way, many of the changes already in progress in other
European countries, such as urbanisation, industrialisation, mass
migration, the rise in literacy, secularisation, and the emergence
of mass politics. It then suffered profound conflicts associated
with these changes, and a political dynamic of reform and reaction,
revolution and counter-revolution. The book is divided into four
main sections, dealing, chronologically, with the beginnings of the
regenerationist era, the climax of the liberal monarchy, conflicts
during the crisis of liberalism, and the military dictatorship of
Primo de Rivera. Primarily a political history, it also touches on
social, cultural and economic issues, and offers a comparative
European perspective. Last but not least, there is a special
interest in the problems of nation-building, a central theme of the
period, and the competition between different versions of Spanish
nationalism and regional nationalist movements -- above all,
Catalanism and Basque nationalism. Overall, the Spanish situation
is presented here not as a unique case but as a variation within
the difficulties that were encountered all across continental
Europe in achieving the transition from classical liberalism to
mass democracy.
General
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