A History of Spain Part 34

THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY, 1898-1917

[Sidenote: Revival of economic prosperity.]

Spaniards are in the habit of discussing their recent national development with reference to the year 1898, which is recognized as a turning-point in Spanish life, a change held by them to have been decidedly for the better. Nevertheless, the way had begun to be prepared with the accession of Alfonso XII to the throne; the splendid monument to that king in the Retiro at Madrid can be explained only on the ground that he symbolizes the re-establishment of good order in the peninsula, with a government based on what the Spanish people will stand, rather than on the full meed of an unworkable ideal. The country was tired of domestic strife, and asked only to be left in peace, with an opportunity to give attention to its material resources. This wish the government granted, and all Spain profited. Roads, railways, and irrigation ditches were built, and mining and the wine trade developed, while more recent times have witnessed a notable industrial growth in some of the northern cities. These matters were left very largely in the hands of foreigners, with Spaniards either wasting their blood and treasure in the colonies, or merely failing to partic.i.p.ate in the economic enterprises of the peninsula. After 1898, however, Spaniards began to join with Englishmen, Germans, and Frenchmen in investing their capital in Spain. Many evils remained to be overcome, but the country recuperated to such an extent that its present wealth would compare favorably with that of the past at almost any stage of Spanish history, although the rate of economic progress has probably not equalled that of other countries.

[Sidenote: Conservative rule in a pseudo-Liberal state.]

On the surface the old politico-social ideas of Liberalism seemed for a while to have died, and the country came to be ruled by parties which supported the conservative const.i.tution of 1876, although there was a widespread opposition in opinions it not in power. At the present time there is a Liberal and a Conservative party, but the difference between the two is recognized, even by many Spaniards, as being very slight. In 1911 there was a strike on the government-owned railways, whereupon the authorities suspended the const.i.tutional guarantees, on the ground that the nation was in danger. One result was that bodies of men could not congregate,--and the strikers were helpless. In 1912 a general railway strike was threatened. The premier, Ca.n.a.lejas, called out the military reserves, and put them on the trains not only as guards but also as train operatives,--for, since all Spaniards who have served their term in the active army are in the reserves, the strikers were employed as military trainmen to put down their own strike,--a thing which they could not refuse to do, as they were under martial law. An early _Cortes_ was promised, at which the questions of increase in wages and decrease in the hours of labor would be taken up. The _Cortes_ was called,--and the matter of the strike was dropped. The interesting thing is that all of this took place while a Liberal government was in power!

It is also said that the Liberals and Conservatives agreed, a few years ago, to alternate in office, thus showing their contempt for the spirit of representative inst.i.tutions, but the Liberals did not retire from their control of the government in 1913, wherefore not a little ill-concealed resentment was displayed by the organs of the Conservative party. In fact, parties are divided on lines of the allegiance of individuals to the chieftain (_cacique_) of their group. National policies and projects of reform on the part of those in power get little beyond the stage of rhetoric, while government is too largely given over to the interplay of personal ambitions. To many the young king, Alfonso XIII, has seemed the most liberal-minded of the higher officers of the Spanish state, and in both word and deed he has appeared, until recently at least, to merit the characterization. Attaining to his majority at the age of sixteen, in 1902, he married the granddaughter of the English Queen Victoria in 1906,--an augury in itself of liberal views. A savage attempt was made, without success, to murder the young couple on their wedding day; on that occasion and two others when later a.s.sa.s.sinations were tried, Alfonso displayed such courage and coolness as to win for himself an immense popularity; "the valiant king" (_El rey valiente_) he is often called.

[Sidenote: Underlying resentment against the government and growth of elements in opposition.]

The political views of the Spanish people have been undergoing a change in recent years. Whereas the ma.s.s of the people were totally unready for the democratic const.i.tution of 1812, or even for that of 1837, they are today becoming more and more radical in feeling. Everywhere there is discontent with the present management of state affairs, and it is customary to charge even the untoward incidents of daily life to the fault of "the bad government" (_el mal gobierno_), --for example, when a train is late, or over-crowded, both of which eventualities are of frequent occurrence. Many factors have combined to bring about this state of mind: much is traceable to social causes, to which allusion will be made presently; the very material progress of the country, resulting in a betterment of the condition of the poor, though their lot is still far from being an enviable one, has awakened desires among the ma.s.ses of which their ancestors never dreamed; and the relative prosperity of many of the _indianos_ (nabobs of the Indies), as returned Spanish emigrants are called, has led to a widespread belief that men can do better anywhere than under the "_mal gobierno_" of Spain. The average Spaniard of the working cla.s.ses takes little interest in his right of suffrage (although this is more particularly true of the country districts than it is of the cities), for he is convinced that it makes no difference; he is helpless and hopeless in the face of a government which seems quite apart from him. Many believe, however, that there is a panacea for existing conditions, and groups have sprung up representing a variety of social, economic, and political ideas, such as single tax (_georgismo_,--from Henry George), socialism, and republicanism. The desire for a republic has grown steadily since its first public expression in 1854, and has now swept across the northern provinces of Spain, from Galicia to Catalonia, cutting through the formerly Carlist, or absolutist, country, although manifesting itself more in the cities than elsewhere. If no serious outbreak for the establishment of a republic has taken place, it is in large degree a tribute to the king. Alfonso has frequently declared himself ready to accept the wishes of the Spanish people in this matter, saying only a few years ago that if Spain should so decide he "would be the first to draw his sword in defence of the republic." Too much weight should not be given to these political gropings of the Spanish people, for the forces of conservatism,--such as the n.o.bles and the wealthy, the clergy, and the devoutly faithful (notably in the rural districts),--are still very powerful. Even the king has recently been charged with a tendency to become reactionary. In 1917 serious internal disturbances occurred, and it is said that Alfonso did not rise to the situation in the same liberal spirit as formerly. Whether this is the mere unfounded expression of party feeling, or whether the king has in truth experienced a change of heart, it is as yet too early to say. Whatever may be the exact composition of the elements against them, there is no doubt that the majority of the people feel a deep resentment against the prevailing government. In one respect this has led to consequences of a serious character. The old regional spirit of the Catalans has rea.s.serted itself, and a distinct Catalan national feeling, sustained by a revival of Catalan as a literary tongue, has manifested itself. One event stands out from the rest in recent times, with regard to which all elements in Spanish life have had occasion to express their political views. That is the celebrated Ferrer case.

[Sidenote: The Ferrer case and the "Maura, si!" and "Maura, no!"]

In June, 1909, when a Conservative government was in power, with Antonio Maura at its head, credits were voted for a campaign in Morocco against some tribesmen who had attacked a railway leading to mines in the control of Spanish capitalists. There was an immediate outbreak of hostile public opinion in Spain, which in Catalonia resulted in serious riots. The strange thing about the Catalonian manifestations, which were most p.r.o.nounced in Barcelona, was that they developed into what seemed to be an organized a.s.sault, not on the government or on capitalists, but on the Catholic Church. Churches, monasteries, convents, and shrines were attacked--and nothing else. The government soon had the situation in hand, and a number of arrests were made, followed in some cases by sentences of death or imprisonment. Public attention focused itself on the case of one Ferrer. Francisco Ferrer was born in 1859, the son of a poor Catalan farmer. As a youth he was an anarchist, p.r.o.nouncing bitterly against the ideal of patriotism and against the church. Having partic.i.p.ated in a Catalonian rebellion of 1885, he fled to Paris, where he entered into relations with a Parisian spinster, who soon died and left him a fortune. Later, he returned to Barcelona, and increased his possessions as the result of successful stock speculation. He founded a number of schools, which represented his ideas,--still uncompromisingly against the church. Ferrer was also a high official of the Freemasons and other secret societies. It is not to be wondered at, either, in view of his rebellious att.i.tude toward society, that his regard for the marriage bond and for s.e.xual morality was clearly not in accord with prevailing views. At the time of the Catalonian outbreak of 1909 he was charged with being one of the ring-leaders. A military court-martial was held, at which he was confronted with scores of witnesses, and it would seem that the prosecution established its case. Ferrer was convicted, and on October 13, 1909, was shot.[68] The case of Ferrer has been taken up internationally by various secret societies, but it has had a special significance in Spain. There, opinion has divided, not about Ferrer or the merits of his case, but with regard to the Conservative chieftain, Maura, whose government was responsible for his death. Maura is taken as the personification of the existing regime. "Maura, si!" and "Maura, no!" ("Maura, yes!" and "Maura, no!") have come to be popular watchwords, indicating whether one approves of things as they are, or whether one stands for a new and liberalized, truly democratic Spain.

[Sidenote: Foreign policy of Spain since 1898 and att.i.tude toward the Great War.]

Spain's foreign policy since 1898 has very nearly reduced itself to three factors. First of these is the policing of a small strip of the Moroccan coast, where Ceuta and other posts are still held by Spain.

This has involved the country in wars of a minor character with the traditional enemy in Moslem Northwest Africa. Of greater interest is the conscious policy of cultivating the friends.h.i.+p of the American countries which were once colonies of Spain, based largely on a wish to develop a market for Spanish goods, but not devoid of a sentiment which makes Spain desire to a.s.sociate herself with the growing lands to which she gave the first impulse to civilization. Finally, Spain's relations with the two groups of European powers which entered upon the Great War in 1914 have occupied the attention of the country continuously in recent years, and have been an issue which has divided Spaniards. Many of the conservative elements of Spain have long been, not so much pro-German, as anti-French, and they have been supported by those parts of the ma.s.ses which follow the lead of the church or else take no great interest in politics. The causes of this Francophobe feeling are numerous. The _Dos de Mayo_, Spain's national holiday, stands for an uprising against the French, followed by the glorious War of Independence, although, to be sure, this has of late exercised but little influence; many French writers have written disparagingly or in a patronizing manner of Spain, causing a natural feeling of resentment; Spanish American countries have a.s.serted that France is their intellectual mother, not Spain, and this may have had an effect, though comparatively little, on the minds of some; mere propinquity with France, which is the only great power bordering upon the peninsula, has brought about a certain hostility which neighboring peoples so often feel with regard to each other; the affronts which Spain claims to have received at French hands in Morocco have had great weight; and the already hostile att.i.tude of the clergy against republican France was enhanced when that country broke with the Catholic Church a few years ago. As regards England, Spain has never forgotten Gibraltar. With Germany, on the other hand, there has been little occasion for friction, and German commercial compet.i.tion with England for Spanish markets has been welcomed as beneficial to the country. The radical and liberal elements, which include the intellectuals, and, generally speaking, the Liberal party have favored the _Entente_ as against the Central Powers, and their position has been very greatly strengthened by the evident support of the king. In part, pro-_Entente_ feeling has been a matter of political principle, because of the liberal types of government in France and England, the only two countries of the _Entente_ allies (prior to American entry in the Great War) to whom Spaniards have paid attention. In large measure, however, the Spanish point of view has been the result of a certain practical, materialistic trait which is ingrained in Spanish character. Thus Spaniards have pointed out that it would be fatal for Spain to side with Germany, since her wide separation from the latter, coupled with British naval supremacy, would make it unlikely that German arms could be of any a.s.sistance to Spain.

Commercial and other reasons have also been adduced to show that Spain could _gain_ nothing by an alliance with Germany. These views have developed in the course of the Great War until Spain has become rather more inclined to the allies than to the Germans. It is not improbable, however, that an allied disaster might be seized upon by the pro-German military element to swing Spain the other way, for the army is still a factor to be reckoned with in Spanish politics. On the other hand, many leading Spaniards have argued that there would be no advantage for Spain if she should enter the war, whereas there has thus far been a distinct benefit for certain elements in the population, in the shape of abnormal war profits, through remaining neutral. Lately, however, great misery has been occasioned as a result of Spain's inability to procure needed supplies from the allies and the danger from the German submarines.

[Sidenote: Spain's intellectual renaissance.]

In no element of the national life has the well-being of Spain since 1898 been more clearly demonstrated than in the realm of things intellectual. On the educational and scientific side (with one exception, presently to be noted), the achievement has not been great enough to attract attention, but in those branches of human knowledge which are akin to the emotions Spain has embarked upon a new _siglo de oro_ which has already placed her in the forefront of the nations in the wealth and beauty of her contemporary literature and art. Many writers or artists of note did their work before 1898, while others stand athwart that year, but the most remarkable development has come in the more recent period--a growing force which is far from having run its course. Thus, before 1898, there were such poets as Becquer, Campoamor, Nunez de Arce, Rosalia de Castro, and Salvador Rueda; novelists like Alarcon, Pereda, Valera, "Clarin," Picon, Palacio Valdes, Pardo Bazan, and Perez Galdos; dramatists including Ayala, Tamayo, Echegaray, Perez Galdos, Guimera, and Dicenta; critics and philologists like Mila Fonta.n.a.ls, Valera, "Clarin," and Menendez y Pelayo; essayists such as Alfredo Calderon, Morote, Picavea, Ganivet, and Unamuno; painters like Pradilla, Ferran, and Munoz Degrain; and composers of music including Arrieta, Gastambide, Chueca, Chapi, Breton, and Fernandez Caballero.

Some of the more notable of these belong also in the post-1898 group, and to them should be added, among others, the following: poets--Ruben Dario (who is included in this list, though he is a Nicaraguan, because of his influence on Spanish poetry), Villaespesa, Marquina, Ramon D.

Peres, the two Machados, Mesa, Diez Canedo, Munoz San Roman, and Maragall; novelists--Blasco Ibanez, Pio Baroja, "Azorin," Silverio Lanza, Valle Inclan, Ricardo Leon, Alberto Insua, Perez de Ayala, Martinez Sierra, Miro, and Felipe Trigo; dramatists--Benavente, Martinez Sierra, the brothers alvarez Quintero, Carlos Arniches, Linares Rivas, Marquina, Rusinol, and Iglesias; critics and philologists--Menendez Pidal, Bonilla, Rodriguez Marin, Said Armesto, Americo Castro, Cejador, Alomar, Tenreiro, and Gonzalez Blanco; essayists--Ortega Ga.s.set, Maeztu, "Azorin," Gomez de Baquero, Manuel Bueno, Maragall, and Zulueta; painters--Zuloaga, Sorolla, the brothers Zubiaurre, Benedito, Chicharro, Villegas, Nieto, Beruete, Moreno Carb.o.n.e.ro, Bilbao, Sotomayor, Anglada, de la Gandara, Juan Lafita, and Rusinol; sculptors--Blay, Benlliure, Marinas, Clara, and Julio Antonio; architects--Gaudi, Puig, Velazquez, and Palacios; composers--Albeniz, Pedrell, Turina, Granados, Falla, Vives, Serrano, and Quinito Valverde; and educators--Giner de los Rios and Cossio. Spain has also produced historians and historical scholars of note in recent years (though several of them belong in the pre-1898 group), among whom should be reckoned Canovas del Castillo, Danvila y Collado, Hinojosa, Rafael Altamira, Colmeiro, Fidel Fita, Fernandez Duro, Menendez y Pelayo, Torres Lanzas, and Fernandez Guerra. Special mention should be made of the novelists Perez Galdos (author of the famous _Episodios nacionales_, or National episodes,--a series of historical novels from the Liberal point of view, covering the history of Spain from the time of G.o.doy to the present,--and esteemed by many as one of the most remarkable literary geniuses of modern times) and Blasco Ibanez (who has used the novel as a vehicle for an attack on the old order of Spanish life); of the dramatists Jacinto Benavente (a man whom many regard as deserving to rank with the greatest names of all time in Spanish literature), Perez Galdos (who is almost equally notable in the drama as in the novel), the brothers alvarez Quintero (who have so clearly depicted modern Andalusian life), and Martinez Sierra (whose comedies reach to the very roots of truth and beauty); of Menendez y Pelayo, most famous as a critic, said to have been the dominant figure of recent years in Spanish literature; of the painters Zuloaga (successor of El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya, whose works embrace both the mysticism and the austerity of the Spanish national spirit) and Sorolla (a symbolist, who has done with the brush what Blasco Ibanez did with the pen, and whose paintings, mainly of Valencian scenes, are full of realism and naturalism, brilliant in expression and color); and of Giner de los Rios, opponent of the church, but a man of tremendous influence on the thought of modern Spain. It is to be noted that the leading names in the realm of art are all in the post-1898 period; indeed, this form of intellectual manifestation was not in a flouris.h.i.+ng state before that time. And in the midst of all these names one must not forget that of Santiago Ramon y Cajal, whose discoveries in histology have made him famous throughout the world. Many characterize him as the greatest Spaniard of the present day.

[Sidenote: Things which Spaniards are _not_.]

Spain clearly has entered upon a new era of her history. No man can predict, with safety, toward what goal she is tending, although there is some ground for a feeling of optimism. With the leading facts of Spanish history already before the reader, it is perhaps well at this point to give a summary account of contemporary Spanish traits and social problems, thus providing a further basis for estimates with regard to the possibilities of the future. It is best to begin with a statement of some of the things which Spaniards are not,--with a view to controverting certain widely circulated notions. Spaniards are _not_ unusually cruel or vindictive. The notion that they _are_ has arisen in various ways. Spaniards are emotional, and under the stress of excitement are capable of acts of great violence, but on the other hand they very rarely plan a crime in cold blood. The bull-fight has been charged to an innate cruelty of Spaniards, but whatever one may think of the game, the _aficionado_, or bull-fight "fan," is appealed to by the skill of the bull-fighter and the courage of the bull, rather than by the flow of blood. As regards treatment of animals, the evidence is somewhat against the Spaniard. The superficial tourist is apt to think that the majority of Spaniards in third cla.s.s of the railway coaches are double-dyed brigands, for they wear wretched clothing and carry huge knives,--but the former is the result of economic necessity, and the latter is to cut bread with--and not each others' throats. The historians, however, are very largely to blame, especially those who maligned the dominant and hated Spaniards of the sixteenth century.

Spaniards themselves, with their fierce party spirit and rhetorical gifts, products of their emotional make-up, have provided the arguments which have been used against them,--notably in the case of Las Casas'

condemnation of the Spanish treatment of the Indians. In the second place, they are _not_ lazy; rather, they make excellent laborers, and work long hours without complaint. The idea that they are indolent arises in part from the fact that the t.i.tled cla.s.ses still retain some of the traditional aversion to manual labor; in part from a certain lack of ambition, such that many Spaniards, notably those of the south, do not work, after they have gained enough to live on for perhaps only a little while; partly because of a lack of responsibility which many of them display, with the result that they do not do well when not under supervision; and partly, again, because histories have so described Spaniards of the past, and this time with some truth. Many of the factors which once made manual labor unpopular are not any longer operative, such as the prevalence of slaves, serfs, and Moslems in industry or agriculture, wherefore the earlier stigma attaching to those occupations has been removed. In the third place, Spaniards are not proud and arrogant to the extent of being haughty, although they do have a sense of personal pride which is rather to be commended than condemned. In the fourth place, to call a man a "Spaniard" is not a sufficient definition, for there are wide differences in blood and language as well as in feelings in the various regions of Spain; the serious-minded, progressive, European-blooded Catalan is certainly farther apart from the easy-going, pleasure-loving, improvident, part Moslem-blooded Andalusian than is the Englishman from the American, or perhaps the southern Frenchman from the North Italian. In addition to Castilian, or Spanish, there are the distinct languages of the Catalans and Basques, with a great many variants, or dialects, from the Castilian and Catalan. Nevertheless, it is true that all are "Spaniards."

Castilian is generally understood, and, until the recent reappearance of Catalan, was the only literary language; the people are patriotic to the country, even though the fire of local attachments is still uncommonly strong in them; the bull-fight and the national lottery are popular in all parts of Spain; Spaniards read the same books, have the same government, and, in fine, have been brought together, though widely divergent in traits, by the circ.u.mstances of history.

[Sidenote: Intellectual and emotional traits of Spaniards.]

The keynote to an understanding of Spanish character lies in an appreciation of the fact that Spaniards generally combine an intense individualism and marked practicality with an emotional temperament.

Enough has already been intimated with regard to the two first-named traits. As for that of emotionalism it becomes more operative the farther south one goes. Some Spaniards say that the English, who are taken as representative of the northern peoples, are in the forefront of the nations as concerns matters of the _head_, but that the Spaniards lead in _heart_, and they are well content to have it that way. Yet it is far from true that Spaniards are lacking in _head_; rather, they are brilliantly intellectual, and even the man in the street often seems to have a faculty for seeing and expressing things clearly, with little or no study; their logical-mindedness is displayed in the rhetorical skill with which they set forth their opinions. It is true, however, that there is a certain lack of intellectual stamina in Spaniards; they will not use the brains with which nature has abundantly endowed them. Thus, big business and scientific discoveries (except in the practical realm of their applications) have been left to the foreigners. On the emotional, or _heart_, side one encounters numerous evidences. Spaniards are devotedly fond of children,--almost too much so, for they seem unable to refuse them anything. Thus, a child gets milk by crying, toys galore, and stays up at night until he wants to go to bed; the effects on national discipline are possibly not of the best, but the error, if such it is, springs from the heart. Spaniards, past and present, have been great in emotional expression, in the fields of literature and art.

It is a novelty for Americans to find that the educated young men of Spain talk quite as easily about literature and art as they do about women,--and they move from one subject to the other without any marked change in the tenor of the conversation. Spanish crimes are usually the result of an emotional impulse. Similarly, the emotions play rather too prominent a part in the Spaniard's a.s.sociations with women! Courtesy is almost universal among Spaniards, who will go to considerable personal inconvenience in order to a.s.sist a stranger; to be sure, one is not safe in reckoning on the promises to render favors later,--for by that time the impulse may have pa.s.sed. The Spanish fondness for the bull-fight and the lottery also springs from the emotional stir which goes with them.

[Sidenote: Spanish women.]

The above applies princ.i.p.ally to the men. The women should be considered apart, and this is much more necessary in dealing with Spain than it would be in treating of the United States, where women come nearer to having an equal liberty with men. Opinions differ as to the personal appearance of Spanish women, and first impressions of the foreigner are apt to be against them. This is largely because the people of the wealthy or moderately well-to-do cla.s.ses do not appear in the street nearly so frequently as in the United States or in northern Europe. The women of the working cla.s.ses toil harder, on the average, than do ours,--for more of them have to help earn the family living as well as bring up and take care of the children,--and they are not able to dress well, with the natural result that they are rarely prepossessing. This in part accounts also for the belief of foreigners that Spanish beauty fades,--which is not the case with those who are able to live in fairly easy circ.u.mstances any more than it is in other countries. Among Spaniards it is often said that the Valencian women are the handsomest, closely followed by the Andalusians, who rank as the most witty. It is to be noted that the Moslem element in Spanish blood is very strong in these sections. Another popular misconception as to Spanish _senoritas_ (young ladies) is that they are so dainty that they would almost melt in one's hand. In fact they are unusually self-contained in manner, and if they have any p.r.o.nounced defect it is one which does not go with daintiness,--that of a loud, often metallic voice. On the other hand there is most decidedly an all-pervading, unconscious grace in Spanish women. Women other than those of the working cla.s.ses find very little to do. Servants are extraordinarily cheap,--one can get a nurse-girl in Seville for about ten cents a day; so there is little occasion to do housework. Spanish women are not a.s.siduous readers, do not even sew or knit to any marked degree, and comparatively few of them sing or play the piano. They are fond of a walk or ride in the afternoon, accompanied by the children and the nurse-girls, and enjoy social gatherings at night. In fine, their life is pa.s.sed largely in pleasant conversation, with very little variety; indeed, they require little that is novel, for they are simple in their tastes, and are easily entertained. The Spanish husband is not nearly so domesticated as the American species. Instead of remaining at home at night he quite regularly goes out,--and even may occupy a different place at the theatre from the group of seats where his wife and daughter are found. This is the expected thing, and Spanish women do not appear to wish it otherwise. They seem to consider that the men have done them a great favor by marrying them, and take the att.i.tude of desiring to repay them for the rest of their lives. The husband is devoted to his wife and the children, but he would commit suicide before he would carry a baby in the street. Despite the fact that the brains of most Spanish women may be said to lie fallow, they are often brilliant talkers, sharing with the men the intellectual potentialities of the race. They rarely travel, and know very little beyond the bounds of their home town or city and the nearest watering-place. They are usually very religious, but not in an aggressive way; in a country where there is virtually no compet.i.tion with the Catholic Church there is no stimulus to make their religion anything but a purely personal matter for the individual. This helps to account for the almost complete lack of religious discussion in the Spanish circles one meets with. Young ladies rarely go into the street unless accompanied by their mother or some older person. Whenever they do appear they are stared at by the men, but the practice seems to be regarded as proper and in a measure complimentary. They are hedged around with safeguards which prevent their seeing the young man of their choice alone, except perhaps as separated by the narrow grating of a window, until the day of their marriage. According to all reports these measures fulfill their intended purpose, for the material bars are supplemented by the inherited instincts of the women themselves. Aside from prost.i.tutes Spanish women have a nation-wide reputation for good moral conduct. Once married the size of the family depends, as many put it, "As G.o.d wills!" A family of from five to seven children is not considered large, and there are many families which are very much larger.

[Sidenote: The aristocracy and the _latifundia_.]

a.s.suming that it would be desirable, can Spain advance any farther along the highway of democracy? If she would do so, she must contend with the aristocracy, which in fact rules the country. The modern Spanish aristocracy is composed of the n.o.bility, their relatives, rich merchants, the clergy, and the military. The richer members of the aristocracy, especially those of central and southern Spain, control the greater part of the best Spanish lands, which they cultivate just enough to ensure wealth to themselves. Thousands of acres are given over to the raising of bulls for the bull-fights, and even the late Duke of Veragua, a descendant of Columbus, was engaged in this industry. One often wonders why Spanish towns are so far away from the railway station, especially in level tracts where it would be normal to expect a growth toward the railroad. The usual answer is that the land belongs to a personage of the realm, who would not think of selling it, and does not care to develop it himself. The agrarian problem is particularly acute in Andalusia, where the evil of _latifundia_, springing out of the later reconquests from the Moslems, is more in evidence than elsewhere.

[Sidenote: Life of men of the better cla.s.ses.]

The life of the men of the better cla.s.ses is singularly free from care.

They arise late, and go to their favorite cafe or club to read the newspaper. In the afternoon they frequent their club, pa.s.sing the time in discussion or in general conversation. Late in the afternoon they go for a drive along the _paseo_, or driveway, the same place every day, where the princ.i.p.al object is to see, or be seen by, the others who are doing the same thing. In the evening they return to the club. Perhaps at 9:30 or 10 o'clock they go to a play, for the theatre begins late, following this by a visit to their favorite cafe and a late departure for home. The program varies little from day to day. In the summer they go to a watering-place, but it usually amounts only to a change of cafes. These men rarely drink to excess, and they are the most charming people in the world to talk to, but they never study and, if possible to avoid it, never do any work. Unknowingly perhaps, for they are bred to this type of life by centuries of training, they are a drain on the land, the most serious element in the vested interests which stand in the way of effective reform. Those of this cla.s.s who have to work are provided with sinecures at state expense. The social, economic, and political betterment of Spain cannot proceed very far while the aristocracy is in control. On the other hand the experience of the past has not demonstrated that democracy could maintain order, and this the present regime does. Furthermore, the aristocracy is by no means an exclusive caste, but is open to the entry of all.

[Sidenote: Social problems of contemporary Spain.]

In addition to the wealth and political influence of the aristocracy other factors in Spanish life abound to aid and abet in their maintenance of control. One of these is emigration. Spaniards do not expect to rise from poverty to great wealth, as men do in America, for so few of them rarely can, under the existing system, that there is not the stimulus of other men's successes to spur them on. The more ambitious of the poor and moderately well-to-do, therefore, make their way to the Americas, especially to Argentina, and, prior to the recent era of civil war, to Mexico. The poorest and the least ambitious, who are less likely than the others to give trouble, remain behind. A second aid is the lottery. The lottery, which has its agencies in every hamlet and city of Spain, is government owned and operated, paying some of the highest prizes offered in the world at the present time. Few human pa.s.sions are so strong as that of gambling, and Spain has surrendered to the lottery. The poor people welcome this insidious system, believing it to be almost the only avenue of advance to the envied ease of the wealthy, and invest their spare savings in a ticket. Hope and even expectation of getting a lucky number have come to be a national disease. A third abettor of the aristocracy is the bull-fight. It is not the cruelty, but rather the corrupting influence of this sport which should occupy those who protest against it. The game is so emotional, so wildly exciting, that it grips the people to the exclusion of almost every other interest; in Seville, one can almost be certain, if he hears men quarreling at the top of their voices, that they are disputing the merits of this bull-fighter or that, for that is the absorbing factor in life, every hour in the day, in every day of the year. Men who have caught the fever of the bull-fight rarely have interest in national reform; they do not want it, as it might sweep away the sport which is the major part of their life. A fourth factor would seem to be the extensive character of charitable enterprises. Thousands depend upon the unused food of the army, and line up each day to receive it. Enormous sums are also provided by the church or by charitable organizations to enable the poor to get meals free or at slight cost. The object, no doubt, is benevolent, but the result is that many men will not work.

Especially is this true in the mild climate of southern Spain, where not a few contrive to exist without homes to sleep in and on the dispensations of charity. A fifth factor is the extreme poverty of the ma.s.ses. Wages are unthinkably low. Men who can barely keep body and soul together are not the ones who agitate reform. A sixth aid in the maintenance of things as they are is the lack of a good public school system. Schools are inadequate and teachers poorly paid. Few Spaniards get beyond the primary grade, and many do not even go that far. The need of education is undoubtedly the _sine qua non_ of any effective Spanish advancement. To change the form of government, without an accompanying or a preliminary instruction of the ma.s.ses, would be, as a French writer puts it, "to change the label of a bottle, without transforming the contents." It is also necessary if any appreciable reform is to be made in the social and economic system of the country. None realizes this better than the men who, like Altamira, Azcarate, Costa, Giner de los Rios, Posada, and Unamuno, stand for the new Spain, as distinct from the old,--for a country which shall break with the past to the extent which may be required in order to place itself in the current of modern world progress. Their ideal is not impossible of achievement, despite the forces which are against them, for the Spanish people, at bottom, are admirable material, still virile and altogether sane.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

[Sidenote: Writers on the history of Spain whose works are in Spanish, French, and German.]

The princ.i.p.al aim of this volume is to be of service to the general reader in English-speaking America. On this account the entries which appear below have been restricted rigidly to works in English. It was a temptation to include some of the more notable foreign works, such for example as those by Altamira, Bonilla, Canovas del Castillo, Colmeiro, Danvila, Desdevises du Dezert, Diercks, Dozy (the _Recherches_), Fernandez de Navarrete, Fernandez Duro, Fernan-Nunez, Ferrer del Rio, Fita, Foulche-Delbosc, Haebler, Hinojosa, Lafuente, Lembke, Mariejol, Marvaud, Menendez Pidal, Menendez y Pelayo, Mignet, Morel-Fatio, Oliveira Martins, Ranke, Romey, Rosseeuw St. Hilaire, Rousseau, Salcedo, and Tapia, but the reader will be able to go to their works and to many others by using the aids which are provided here.

[Sidenote: Bases for selection and exclusion of works in English.]

[Sidenote: Relation of the works cited to the field of Spanish history.]

A complete bibliography of the works in English on the history of Spain would reach enormous proportions. It has therefore been deemed advisable to narrow the field by excluding the following cla.s.ses of material: catalogues of books and ma.n.u.scripts; volumes of source material; periodicals about Spain not devoted primarily to history; articles in periodicals; works on other subjects (such for example as the writings of Mommsen and other historians of the Roman Empire) which, however, contain much material on the history of Spain; works (such as those of Motley or Helps) on the activities of Spain outside the peninsula, whether in Europe or the Americas; and books which may be regarded as out of date. Works published many years ago are not omitted, however, if they are translations of important foreign works, the writings of notable historians, or volumes which are unique in their field. No attempt has been made to give an exhaustive list of all the items coming within the cla.s.ses eligible for entry. Thus there might be additions to the lives of notable persons, to the histories of art and literature, or to the already long list of recent descriptive works. The plan has been rather to be representative, giving some of the works which will serve to introduce the reader to the subject. No claim is made that the works cited cover the subject of Spanish history adequately; indeed, if the most broadly inclusive basis for entry of works in English had been chosen they would not do so. They are particularly disappointing to the American reader, in that they represent the point of view of England or continental Europe rather than that of the Spanish gift to America.

Furthermore, many periods are but scantily covered from any standpoint, while others, such as those of the Catholic Kings and the House of Austria, have an over-supply of writings upon them. It is to be noted, however, that books of a given period have a number of preliminary chapters on the years immediately preceding it. Thus, Coppee has some two hundred pages on the Visigothic era, Plunket nearly a hundred pages on the reign of Henry IV, and most of the histories of the nineteenth century begin with the accession of Charles IV. Concluding chapters, too, will often reach over into the next succeeding period,--as in the case of Scott, who devotes sixty-nine pages to the Moriscos under the kings of the House of Austria. Moreover, many of the volumes in the section devoted to works of travel and description, especially those dealing with particular localities, give much of their s.p.a.ce to the record of the past, thus supplementing the writings which are more properly historical in character.

[Sidenote: Methods of entry.]

In the works selected for entry an indication is given of the dates of the first and the latest editions. In the case of translations the date of the original publication in the foreign tongue is also stated. The place of publication is not given for the latest edition if it is the same as that of the first. No attempt has been made to record minor variations in t.i.tle in different editions, such for example as "Philip the Second" for "Philip II," but striking changes have been noted. The presence of bibliographical apparatus in the works cited is indicated by the abbreviation "Bib," thus enabling the reader to know what are the volumes which may take him to materials not mentioned here. Not only are the books with formal bibliographies or lists of works so characterized, but also those which have fairly ample bibliographical data in the preface. The practice has not been followed, however, where the information as to sources is confined to footnotes, although many writers, Lea for example, have valuable references scattered through their volumes.

I. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL AIDS

Aside from the partial bibliographies in the books listed below and the single periodical mentioned in this section there is no work in English on the bibliography of Spanish history. The bibliographical sections of the _Cambridge medieval history_ and the _Cambridge modern history_ (items 10 and 29 below) will be found particularly helpful. Three works in foreign tongues are worth noting. The bibliography in Altamira's _Historia de Espana_ is perhaps the best general list in Spanish. The two-volume _Catalogue de l'histoire d'Espagne et de Portugal_ (Paris.

1883-85) of the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris, based on the works at the disposition of readers in the great national library at the French capital, is valuable for the older books. The sections on Spain in the German annual bibliography of historical writings, the _Jahresberichte der Geschichtswissenschaft_ (published at Berlin since 1880) cover publications since 1878. The only item in English follows:

1. _Hispanic American historical review._ Baltimore. 1918. Quarterly.

This periodical begins publication in February, 1918. Will contain material on Spain and Portugal, including bibliographical notices, though primarily devoted to Hispanic America.

II. GENERAL HISTORIES OF SPAIN

In addition to the items of this paragraph, attention is directed to the works on special subjects, in section IX, many of which range over several or all of the various periods of Spanish history.