Regenerationism
Encyclopedia
Regenerationism was an intellectual and political movement in late 19th century and early 20th cemtury Spain
. It sought to make objective and scientific study of the causes of Spain's decline as a nation and to propose remedies. It is largely seen as distinct from another movement of the same time and place, the Generation of '98
. While both movements shared a similar negative judgment of the course of Spain as a nation in recent times, the regenerationists sought to to be objective, documentary, and scientific, while the Generation of '98 inclined more to the literary, subjective and artistic.
The most prominent representative of Regenerationism was the Aragonese
politician Joaquín Costa
with his maxim "School, larder and double-lock the tomb of El Cid
" ("Escuela, despensa y doble llave al sepulcro del Cid"): that is, look to the future and let go of the grand triumphal narrative that begins with El Cid.
in the early 19th century as a medical term, the antomym of corrupción (corruption); over time it became a metaphor for the opposite of political corruption
. It became a new expression of the longstanding patriotic concern with the decline of Spain, a concern first expressed by the Arbitrista
s in the 16th and 17th centuries, then by Enlightenment
thinkers and Bourbon reformers in the 18th century, sometimes satirized in the form of so-called Proyectismo ("Project-ism") attacked by José Cadalso
in his Cartas marruecas ("Moroccan Letters"). But late 19th century Regenerationism was specifically a reaction against the political system founded by Cánovas under the Bourbon restoration
. Under Cánovas system, alternation between conservative and liberal parties was guaranteed by rigged elections. This made the late 19th century, after the last of the Carlist Wars
, a period of an illusory stability sustained on the basis of massive political corruption. This false stability hid, for a time, the misery of the common people, the poor economic distribution of Spain's belated industrial revolution
, caciquism, and the triumph of an economic and political oligarchy
. Only Catalonia
and the Basque Country
had seen the sustained rise of an industrial capitalist bourgeoisie (early industrialzation in Andalusia
having largely failed). With the end of feudalism
and, in particular, the fraud-ridden expropriation of ecclesiastical properties (see, for example, Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal
), and the failure of land reform efforts, practically all of Spain's potentially productive farmland was under unproductive use in latifundia (large estates). Wages were low and many Spaniards were day laborers living on the edge of hunger.
Regenerationism was strongly influenced by Krausism, the philosophy of Karl Christian Friedrich Krause
, which proclaimed freedom of conscience. Introduced into Spain by Julian Sanz del Rio, Krausism was very influential among liberal reformers in that country throughout the 19th century (combining with positivism
in the latter portion of the century). Today, Regenerationism survives mostly as a component of Aragonese nationalism, for which it has long provided an ideological foundation.
in 1876. Among these were Rafael Altamira, Julián Sanz del Río, Rafael María de Labra, and Urbano González Serrano
, who imported contemporary European aesthetic and philosophical currents and propagated them within Spain breaking links with Spanish cultural tradition. Another prestigious publication was La España Moderna (1889–1914). Founded by José Lázaro Galdiano
, it sought to be Spain's Revue des deux mondes
. Like Revista Contemporánea, it sought to be cosmopolitan, European, and contemporary. Among its collaborators were Ramiro de Maeztu
and Miguel de Unamuno
. Another Regenerationist magazine was Nuevo Teatro Crítico ("New Critical Theater"), written almost entirely by literary theorist Emilia Pardo Bazán
, who was Europeanist as well as sincerely feminist
.
of 1898, when Spain lost virtually all that remained of its colonial empire
(losing Cuba
, Puerto Rico
, the Philippines
and several smaller island possessions).
Certainly the most important author (and political figure) of this movement was Joaquín Costa
, who caused an authentic commotion with his works Colectivismo agrario en España ("Agrarian Collectivism in Spain", 1898) and Oligarquía y caciquismo como la forma actual de gobierno en España ("Oligarchy and caciquism as the current form of the Spanish government", 1901). The way had been somewhat prepared earlier by Lucas Mallada's Los males de la patria y la futura revolución española ("The ills of the country and the future Spanish revolution", 1890) and Ricardo Macías Picavea
's El problema nacional ("The national problem"), as well as Krausist attacks on illiteracy and official state pedagogy, most notably as led by the Institución Libre de Enseñanza directed by Francisco Giner de los Ríos
. Later, a constellation of authors would follow the Costa's road. Rafael Altamira (1866–1951), from Alicante
, wrote Psicología del pueblo español ("Psychology of the Spanish people", 1902), where he conceived patriotism as a spiritual concept innate in peoples. Other Regenerationists were Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda
, Francisco de Quevedo
, Benito Jerónimo Feijoo, and others.
Lucas Mallada, Aragonese like Costa, strongly criticized the Idearium español proposed by Ángel Ganivet
and addressed French Hispanophobia as a grave evil, countered somewhat by German Hispanophilia. He defended Spanish activity in the Americas and believed that its reputation had improved, despite inadequate attention to its own affairs. He rejected the pessimism of Ricardo Macías Picavea (1847–1899) in the latter's El problema nacional. Rejecting Macías Picavea's call for a dictatorship, he sympathized instead with the 18th century satirist Juan Pablo Forner and with Joaquín Costa, who sought to reform Spain's democracy. He separated national life from the mere poor example set by its leaders, and summarized the national failings as:
Similar views can be found in the work of the Castilian-Leonese
writer José María Salaverría (1873–1940), author of Vieja España ("Old Spain", 1907).
The ideals and proposals of the Regenerationists were seized upon by conservative politicians such as Francisco Silvela, whose famous article "Sin pulso" ("Without a pulse") was published in El Tiempo 16 August 1898, and Antonio Maura, who saw Regenerationism as a sufficient vehicle for his political aspirations. At the same time, Regenerationsim was equally taken up by liberal politicians such as Santiago Alba, José Canalejas
and Manuel Azaña
. Benito Pérez Galdós
assimilated Regenerationism to his initial Krausism in his final work Episodios nacionales and even the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera
appropriated some of Costa's discourse, particularly his call for an "iron surgeon" to accomplish urgently needed national reforms. He brought to fruition at least one of Costa's dreams: a national hydrological
plan. But the figures who most prominently prolonged the current of Regenerationism until the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
in 1936 were such writers as Juan Pío Membrado Ejerique, Julio Senador Gómez, Constancio Bernaldo de Quirós, Luis Morote, Ramiro de Maeztu
, Pedro Corominas, Adolfo Posada, and José Ortega y Gasset
.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It sought to make objective and scientific study of the causes of Spain's decline as a nation and to propose remedies. It is largely seen as distinct from another movement of the same time and place, the Generation of '98
Generation of '98
The Generation of '98 was a group of novelists, poets, essayists, and philosophers active in Spain at the time of the Spanish-American War ....
. While both movements shared a similar negative judgment of the course of Spain as a nation in recent times, the regenerationists sought to to be objective, documentary, and scientific, while the Generation of '98 inclined more to the literary, subjective and artistic.
The most prominent representative of Regenerationism was the Aragonese
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
politician Joaquín Costa
Joaquin Costa
Joaquin Costa was a Spanish politician, lawyer, economist and historian....
with his maxim "School, larder and double-lock the tomb of El Cid
El Cid
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar , known as El Cid Campeador , was a Castilian nobleman, military leader, and diplomat...
" ("Escuela, despensa y doble llave al sepulcro del Cid"): that is, look to the future and let go of the grand triumphal narrative that begins with El Cid.
The origin of Regenerationism
The word regeneración entered the Spanish languageSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
in the early 19th century as a medical term, the antomym of corrupción (corruption); over time it became a metaphor for the opposite of political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
. It became a new expression of the longstanding patriotic concern with the decline of Spain, a concern first expressed by the Arbitrista
Arbitrista
Arbitristas, a Spanish word meaning "projectors." The name of a group of reformers in 17th century Spain. The arbitristas were concerned about the decline of the economy of Spain and proposed a number of measures to reverse it. From John H...
s in the 16th and 17th centuries, then by Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
thinkers and Bourbon reformers in the 18th century, sometimes satirized in the form of so-called Proyectismo ("Project-ism") attacked by José Cadalso
José Cadalso
José de Cadalso y Vázquez , Spanish, Colonel of the Royal Spanish Army, author, poet, playwright and essayist, one of the canonical producers of Spanish Enlightenment literature...
in his Cartas marruecas ("Moroccan Letters"). But late 19th century Regenerationism was specifically a reaction against the political system founded by Cánovas under the Bourbon restoration
Spain under the Restoration
The Restoration was the name given to the period that began on December 29, 1874 after the First Spanish Republic ended with the restoration of Alfonso XII to the throne after a coup d'état by Martinez Campos, and ended on April 14, 1931 with the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic.After...
. Under Cánovas system, alternation between conservative and liberal parties was guaranteed by rigged elections. This made the late 19th century, after the last of the Carlist Wars
Carlist Wars
The Carlist Wars in Spain were the last major European civil wars in which contenders fought to establish their claim to a throne. Several times during the period from 1833 to 1876 the Carlists — followers of Infante Carlos and his descendants — rallied to the cry of "God, Country, and King" and...
, a period of an illusory stability sustained on the basis of massive political corruption. This false stability hid, for a time, the misery of the common people, the poor economic distribution of Spain's belated industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, caciquism, and the triumph of an economic and political oligarchy
Oligarchy
Oligarchy is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with an elite class distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, commercial, and/or military legitimacy...
. Only Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
and the Basque Country
Southern Basque Country
The Southern Basque Country is a term used to refer to the Basque territories within Spain as a unified whole.It does not exist as a political unit but includes the three provinces and two enclaves of the Basque Autonomous Community in the west, as well as the Chartered Community of Navarre to...
had seen the sustained rise of an industrial capitalist bourgeoisie (early industrialzation in Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
having largely failed). With the end of feudalism
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
and, in particular, the fraud-ridden expropriation of ecclesiastical properties (see, for example, Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal
Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal
The Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizabal, more often referred to simply as La Desamortización, encompasses a set of decrees from 1835-1837 that resulted in the expropriation, and privatization, of monastic properties in Spain....
), and the failure of land reform efforts, practically all of Spain's potentially productive farmland was under unproductive use in latifundia (large estates). Wages were low and many Spaniards were day laborers living on the edge of hunger.
Regenerationism was strongly influenced by Krausism, the philosophy of Karl Christian Friedrich Krause
Karl Christian Friedrich Krause
Karl Christian Friedrich Krause was a German philosopher, born at Eisenberg, Thuringia.-Education and Life:...
, which proclaimed freedom of conscience. Introduced into Spain by Julian Sanz del Rio, Krausism was very influential among liberal reformers in that country throughout the 19th century (combining with positivism
Positivism
Positivism is a a view of scientific methods and a philosophical approach, theory, or system based on the view that, in the social as well as natural sciences, sensory experiences and their logical and mathematical treatment are together the exclusive source of all worthwhile information....
in the latter portion of the century). Today, Regenerationism survives mostly as a component of Aragonese nationalism, for which it has long provided an ideological foundation.
Regenerationist magazines
The Regenerationist intellectuals wished to form a new, authentic idea of Spain, to which end they attempted to expose the deceptions of official Spain by disseminating studies in widely circulated magazines. Many of these predated those publications associated with the Generation of '98. The first was the Revista Contemporánea (1875–1907), founded by José del Perojo. Among its initial collaborators were numerous scholars associated with the Krausist Institución Libre de Enseñanza (Free Institute of Instruction), an independent institution of higher education founded in MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 1876. Among these were Rafael Altamira, Julián Sanz del Río, Rafael María de Labra, and Urbano González Serrano
Urbano González Serrano
Urbano González Serrano was a Spanish philosopher, psychologist, educator, and literary critic of the late 19th century.-Biography:...
, who imported contemporary European aesthetic and philosophical currents and propagated them within Spain breaking links with Spanish cultural tradition. Another prestigious publication was La España Moderna (1889–1914). Founded by José Lázaro Galdiano
José Lázaro Galdiano
José Lázaro Galdiano was a Spanish financier, journalist, publisher and art collector, who at the time of his death owned one of the largest and most significant art collections in Spain. He was described in 1940 as "one of the greatest patrons of culture in nineteenth century Spain"...
, it sought to be Spain's Revue des deux mondes
Revue des deux mondes
The Revue des deux Mondes is a French language monthly literary and cultural affairs magazine that has been published in Paris since 1829....
. Like Revista Contemporánea, it sought to be cosmopolitan, European, and contemporary. Among its collaborators were Ramiro de Maeztu
Ramiro de Maeztu
Ramiro de Maeztu y Whitney was a Spanish political theorist, journalist, literary critic, occasional diplomat and member of the Generation of '98....
and Miguel de Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright and philosopher.-Biography:...
. Another Regenerationist magazine was Nuevo Teatro Crítico ("New Critical Theater"), written almost entirely by literary theorist Emilia Pardo Bazán
Emilia Pardo Bazán
Emilia Pardo Bazán was a Spanish author and scholar from Galicia.-Life:...
, who was Europeanist as well as sincerely feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
.
Regenerationist writers
The Regenerationist writers published studies and essays that denounced the corrupt Canovist system. This was given particular evidence and impetus by the defeat of Spain's technically obsolete military in the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
of 1898, when Spain lost virtually all that remained of its colonial empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
(losing Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and several smaller island possessions).
Joaquin Costa
Joaquin Costa was a Spanish politician, lawyer, economist and historian....
, who caused an authentic commotion with his works Colectivismo agrario en España ("Agrarian Collectivism in Spain", 1898) and Oligarquía y caciquismo como la forma actual de gobierno en España ("Oligarchy and caciquism as the current form of the Spanish government", 1901). The way had been somewhat prepared earlier by Lucas Mallada's Los males de la patria y la futura revolución española ("The ills of the country and the future Spanish revolution", 1890) and Ricardo Macías Picavea
Ricardo Macías Picavea
Ricardo Macías Picavea was a writer and reformer.-Life:Picavea was born in Santoña, Cantabria, Spain on June 17, 1847. He received a Bachelor of Arts in 1863 in Valladolid. He the went on to study law and philosophy at the Universities of Madrid and Valladolid, but stopped due to disagreements...
's El problema nacional ("The national problem"), as well as Krausist attacks on illiteracy and official state pedagogy, most notably as led by the Institución Libre de Enseñanza directed by Francisco Giner de los Ríos
Francisco Giner de los Ríos
Francisco Giner de los Ríos was a philosopher, educator and one of the most influential Spanish intellectuals at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century....
. Later, a constellation of authors would follow the Costa's road. Rafael Altamira (1866–1951), from Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, wrote Psicología del pueblo español ("Psychology of the Spanish people", 1902), where he conceived patriotism as a spiritual concept innate in peoples. Other Regenerationists were Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda
Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda
Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda was a Spanish humanist, philosopher and theologian. In 1533 and 1534 he wrote to Desiderius Erasmus from Rome concerning differences between Erasmus's Greek New Testament , and the Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209...
, Francisco de Quevedo
Francisco de Quevedo
Francisco Gómez de Quevedo y Santibáñez Villegas was a Spanish nobleman, politician and writer of the Baroque era. Along with his lifelong rival, Luis de Góngora, Quevedo was one of the most prominent Spanish poets of the age. His style is characterized by what was called conceptismo...
, Benito Jerónimo Feijoo, and others.
Lucas Mallada, Aragonese like Costa, strongly criticized the Idearium español proposed by Ángel Ganivet
Ángel Ganivet
Ángel Ganivet García , Spanish writer and diplomat. He was considered a precursor to the Generation of '98.-Some of his works:* Granada la bella. * Idearium español...
and addressed French Hispanophobia as a grave evil, countered somewhat by German Hispanophilia. He defended Spanish activity in the Americas and believed that its reputation had improved, despite inadequate attention to its own affairs. He rejected the pessimism of Ricardo Macías Picavea (1847–1899) in the latter's El problema nacional. Rejecting Macías Picavea's call for a dictatorship, he sympathized instead with the 18th century satirist Juan Pablo Forner and with Joaquín Costa, who sought to reform Spain's democracy. He separated national life from the mere poor example set by its leaders, and summarized the national failings as:
- lack of patriotism
- self-contempt
- absence of common interest
- lack of a concept of independence
- undervaluing tradition
Similar views can be found in the work of the Castilian-Leonese
Castile and León
Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...
writer José María Salaverría (1873–1940), author of Vieja España ("Old Spain", 1907).
The ideals and proposals of the Regenerationists were seized upon by conservative politicians such as Francisco Silvela, whose famous article "Sin pulso" ("Without a pulse") was published in El Tiempo 16 August 1898, and Antonio Maura, who saw Regenerationism as a sufficient vehicle for his political aspirations. At the same time, Regenerationsim was equally taken up by liberal politicians such as Santiago Alba, José Canalejas
José Canalejas
José Canalejas y Méndez was a Spanish politician, born in Ferrol.-Early life:Canalejas graduated in 1871 from the University of Madrid, took his Galicia doctor's degree in 1872 and became a lecturer on literature in 1873...
and Manuel Azaña
Manuel Azaña
Manuel Azaña Díaz was a Spanish politician. He was the first Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic , and later served again as Prime Minister , and then as the second and last President of the Republic . The Spanish Civil War broke out while he was President...
. Benito Pérez Galdós
Benito Pérez Galdós
Benito Pérez Galdós was a Spanish realist novelist. Considered second only to Cervantes in stature, he was the leading Spanish realist novelist....
assimilated Regenerationism to his initial Krausism in his final work Episodios nacionales and even the dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, 22nd Count of Sobremonte, Knight of Calatrava was a Spanish dictator, aristocrat, and a military official who was appointed Prime Minister by the King and who for seven years was a dictator, ending the turno system of alternating...
appropriated some of Costa's discourse, particularly his call for an "iron surgeon" to accomplish urgently needed national reforms. He brought to fruition at least one of Costa's dreams: a national hydrological
Hydrology
Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...
plan. But the figures who most prominently prolonged the current of Regenerationism until the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
in 1936 were such writers as Juan Pío Membrado Ejerique, Julio Senador Gómez, Constancio Bernaldo de Quirós, Luis Morote, Ramiro de Maeztu
Ramiro de Maeztu
Ramiro de Maeztu y Whitney was a Spanish political theorist, journalist, literary critic, occasional diplomat and member of the Generation of '98....
, Pedro Corominas, Adolfo Posada, and José Ortega y Gasset
José Ortega y Gasset
José Ortega y Gasset was a Spanish liberal philosopher and essayist working during the first half of the 20th century while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism and dictatorship. He was, along with Nietzsche, a proponent of the idea of perspectivism.-Biography:José Ortega y Gasset was...
.