"More political than cultural in its emphasis, this enormously detailed, scholarly yet thoroughly readable book about modern Spain under Franco should fascinate any reader curious to know what changes have been wrought in that country in the past 30 years. Professor Herr (UCLA and Berkeley) has researched painstakingly and drawn a clear, authentic and meaningful portrait of Spain today as it is rapidly being transformed from an agrarian society to one now predominantly industrial."--Publishers Weekly "Professor Herr is also seeking the origins of modern Spain; his history is Aristotelian in that the end dominates the process. He seeks these origins in the later eighteenth century when the traditional order was perceived to be a bar to progress. A group of civil servants influenced by the European Enlightenment sought to bring Spain into Europe believing that industrial progress, education and agrarian reform would do the trick; but all their reforms were opposed by Catholic traditionalists. Hence the division into the 'two Spains.' Yet it is not the old crude version of two Spains, so often served up to explain everything from the failure of university reform to the Civil War, that Professor Herr plumps for. He sees the course of Spanish history explained by the rise and modification of the Moderado oligarchy. . . . he does throw out a lifeline in a sea of complexities and gives us the best short account of Franco Spain."--Spectator "This is a work of substantial interest and value which must be recommended as a well-balanced, readable, and scholarly introduction to a subject which has never ceased to be controversial and is still in the process of reinterpretation. . . .commands a high place among the general histories of Spain."--Journal of Modern History

"More political than cultural in its emphasis, this enormously detailed, scholarly yet thoroughly readable book about modern Spain under Franco should fascinate any reader curious to know what changes have been wrought in that country in the past 30 years. Professor Herr (UCLA and Berkeley) has researched painstakingly and drawn a clear, authentic and meaningful portrait of Spain today as it is rapidly being transformed from an agrarian society to one now predominantly industrial."--Publishers Weekly "Professor Herr is also seeking the origins of modern Spain; his history is Aristotelian in that the end dominates the process. He seeks these origins in the later eighteenth century when the traditional order was perceived to be a bar to progress. A group of civil servants influenced by the European Enlightenment sought to bring Spain into Europe believing that industrial progress, education and agrarian reform would do the trick; but all their reforms were opposed by Catholic traditionalists. Hence the division into the 'two Spains.' Yet it is not the old crude version of two Spains, so often served up to explain everything from the failure of university reform to the Civil War, that Professor Herr plumps for. He sees the course of Spanish history explained by the rise and modification of the Moderado oligarchy. . . . he does throw out a lifeline in a sea of complexities and gives us the best short account of Franco Spain."--Spectator "This is a work of substantial interest and value which must be recommended as a well-balanced, readable, and scholarly introduction to a subject which has never ceased to be controversial and is still in the process of reinterpretation. . . .commands a high place among the general histories of Spain."--Journal of Modern History

From the late fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries, the Hispanic Monarchy was one of the largest and most diverse political communities known in history. At its apogee, it stretched from the Castilian plateau to the high peaks of the Andes; from the cosmopolitan cities of Seville, Naples, or Mexico City to Santa Fe and San Francisco; from Brussels to Buenos Aires and from Milan to Manila. During those centuries, Spain left its imprint across vast continents and distant oceans contributing in no minor way to the emergence of our globalised era. This was true not only in an economic sense-the Hispano-American silver peso transported across the Atlantic and the Pacific by the Spanish fleets was arguably the first global currency, thus facilitating the creation of a world economic system-but intellectually and artistically as well. The most extraordinary cultural exchanges took place in practically every corner of the Hispanic world, no matter how distant from the metropolis. At various times a descendant of the Aztec nobility was translating a Baroque play into Nahuatl to the delight of an Amerindian and mixed audience in the market of Tlatelolco; an Andalusian Dominican priest was writing the first Western grammar of the Chinese language in Fuzhou, a Chinese city that enjoyed a trade monopoly with the Spanish Philippines; a Franciscan friar was composing a piece of polyphonic music with lyrics in Quechua to be played in a church decorated with Moorish-style ceilings in a Peruvian valley; or a multi-ethnic team of Amerindian and Spanish naturalists was describing in Latin, Spanish and local vernacular languages thousands of medicinal plants, animals and minerals previously unknown to the West. And, most probably, at the same time that one of those exchanges were happening, the members of the School of Salamanca were laying the foundations of modern international law or formulating some of the first modern theories of price, value and money, Cervantes was writing Don Quixote, Velázquez was painting Las Meninas, or Goya was exposing both the dark and bright sides of the European Enlightenment. Actually, whenever we contemplate the galleries devoted to Velázquez, El Greco, Zurbarán, Murillo or Goya in the Prado Museum in Madrid; when we visit the National Palace in Mexico City, a mission in California, a Jesuit church in Rome or the Intramuros quarter in Manila; or when we hear Spanish being spoken in a myriad of accents in the streets of San Francisco, New Orleans or Manhattan we are experiencing some of the past and present fruits of an always vibrant and still expanding cultural community. As the reader can infer by now, this book is about how Spain and the larger Hispanic world have contributed to world history and in particular to the history of civilisation, not only at the zenith of the Hispanic Monarchy but throughout a much longer span of time.

The History of Modern Spain is a comprehensive examination of Spain's history from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day. Bringing together an impressive group of leading figures and emerging scholars in the field from the UK, Canada, the United States, Spain and other European countries, the book innovatively combines a strong and clear political narrative with chapters exploring a wide range of thematic topics, such as gender, family and sexuality, nations and nationalism, empire, environment, religion, migrations and Spain in world history. The volume includes a series of biographical sketches of influential Spaniards from intellectual, cultural, economic and political spheres which provides an interesting, alternative way into understanding the last 220 years of Spanish history. The History of Modern Spain also has a glossary, a chronology and a further reading list. This is essential reading for all students of the modern history of Spain.

Modern Spain: 1808 to the Present is a comprehensive overview of Spanish history from the Napoleonic era to the present day. Places a large emphasis on Spain's place within broader European and global history The chronological political narrative is enriched by separate chapters on long term economic, social and cultural developments This presentation of modern Spanish history incorporates the latest thinking on key issues of modernity, social movements, nationalism, democratization and democracy

A comprehensive work which offers a new and provocative approach to Spanish from political and historical perspectives.

The history of twentieth-century Spanish nationalism is a complex one, placing a set of famously distinctive regional identities against a backdrop of religious conflict, separatist tensions, and the autocratic rule of Francisco Franco. And despite the undeniably political character of that story, cultural history can also provide essential insights into the subject. Metaphors of Spain brings together leading historians to examine Spanish nationalism through its diverse and complementary cultural artifacts, from “formal” representations such as the flag to music, bullfighting, and other more diffuse examples. Together they describe not a Spanish national “essence,” but a nationalism that is constantly evolving and accommodates multiple interpretations.

This book offers a comprehensive account of modern Spanish culture, tracing its dramatic and often unexpected development from its beginnings after the Revolution of 1868 to the present day. Specially-commissioned essays by leading experts provide analyses of the historical and political background of modern Spain, the culture of the major autonomous regions (notably Castile, Catalonia, and the Basque Country), and the country's literature: narrative, poetry, theatre and the essay. Spain's recent development is divided into three main phases: from 1868 to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War; the period of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco; and the post-Franco arrival of democracy. The concept of 'Spanish culture' is investigated, and there are studies of Spanish painting and sculpture, architecture, cinema, dance, music, and the modern media. A chronology and guides to further reading are provided, making the volume an invaluable introduction to the politics, literature and culture of modern Spain.