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The Spanish
Shadows of Embarrassment

Yehuda Cohen
Yehuda Cohen is a Jerusalem advocate whose post-doctoral work at the Political Science Department of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem focused on nationalism and the European Union. He is the author of two previous works – Who’s Afraid of a Jewish State? Constitutional and Ideological Aspects (2001), and Why Religion? (2003), a study of the role of religion and nationality

In the Series: Heritage, Society and National Identity in the European Union

The series comprises six books: The Germans, French, British, and Spanish are currently detailed on the website; the Italians, and Dutch will be presented on the website in due course.

This series sets out the historical national and religious characteristics of the Germans, French, Italians, Spanish, Dutch and British as they impact on the integration of the respective groups within the European Union.
… The fundamental question addressed in this volume on Spanish self-ascription was what drove Spain’s characteristic patterns of periods of glory and periods of decline and vacillations in the Spanish mindset between a spirit of openness and rigid orthodoxy of thought? The Iberian Peninsula served as a springboard for Muslim expansion into Christian Europe; the reaction in Christendom was aggressive religious fanaticism. There was also a contrasting spirit – a trend toward tolerance in the Spanish experience – the “Golden Age” of Muslim rule in Spain, which was able to develop thanks to the country’s distance from centers of Islam. The book surveys the evolution of the Spanish Empire in the aftermath of the Reconquista, and portrays the dire economic consequences it wrought when extremism and aggressive religious fanaticism that eschewed enlightenment became a dominant force in Spain.
… The Spanish Civil War was the factor that eventually gave rise to Spanish unity and the emergence of a Spanish national identity, previously unattainable. This change of attitudes and values benefited the economy as well as society. Religious tolerance, only reintroduced after Franco’s rule, has had a similar beneficial effect. The Spanish experience in successfully integrating Spain’s disparate parts in the wake of its civil war can serve as a model for an overarching European identity.

Series Preface Acknowledgments Introduction The Series: Heritage, Society and National Identity in the European Union An Overview of German Self-Ascription An Overview of French Self-Ascription An Overview of Italian Self-Ascription Windows: Catholicism and the Spanish Civil War Spanish History: The Quandary, the Disaster and the Solution Chapter One: A General Survey of Spanish History: Up to 1998 Early Settlement of Spain Spain – a Roman Province The Visigoth Kingdom The Muslim Conquest The Christian Reconquista The Limits of Leadership with regard to Epic Events The Rise and the Fall of the Spanish Empire Spain in the 19th Century The Legacy of the Spanish Civil War Chapter Two: The Visigothic Spirit: The Seeds of Intolerance The shape of Visigoth Spain The Jews under the Visigoths Chapter Three: The Moorish Mindset: A Golden Age Revisited The Muslim Invasion The Golden Age The Collapse of the Caliphate The Role of Religious Authority Chapter Four: The Reconquista as a Social Phenomenon Christian Spain as a Faith-Driven Polity Center and Periphery The Role of the Myth of St. James Comparing Leon-Castile and Aragon Horizontal and Vertical Land Policy The Chronology of the Reconquista Exploitation of Muslims and Jews during the Early Reconquista Economic Conditions in Moorish and Christian Spain during the 11th and 12th Century 1250-1475: "Assimilation" of Moorish Spain Chapter Five: Religion and Religious Motifs Reconsidered The Force of Medieval Messianic Motifs Jews as a Benchmark of Religiosity Under a Muslim Regime Under a Christian Regime The Rage of 1391 Relationships between Nobility and Crown in Spain Hegemony over the Low Countries Coexistence of Three Faiths in the 14th Century Chapter Six: Inquisition and Expulsion of the Jews: Causes and Cost New Christians: An Intolerable Ambiguity Isabella's Mindset: Religious Fervor as a Driving Force The Expulsion: Leadership, Policy and Prevailing Public Opinion The "Trap" of Catholic Doctrine The Function of the Inquisition The Expulsion Ramifications of the Expulsion on Spain Scope of the Expulsion of Jews Chapter Seven: From Reconquista to the Expulsion of the Muslims The Fate of Spanish Muslims Chronology of the Expulsion Order Expulsion of Muslims The Price of Expelling the Moors Chapter Eight: The Unlikely Empire: The Quest and the Consequences Empire as Colonial Machinery Motifs that Drove Empire Building The Role of "Historical Experience" The Role of Mythic Missionary Narratives The 1494 Demarcation Agreement The Role of a "Conquering Society" Tradition The Spanish Empire – Inherent Weaknesses Weaknesses in the Social Structure Economic Factors The Ramifications of Precious Metals Settlers and the Motherland: A Parting of Ways The Social Structure of Spanish Colonies: Roots to Rupture Patterns of Settlement The Role of Religion Intermarriage Worldview and Values Loss of the Colonies Chapter Nine: 18th Century Spain: Prelude to Collapse Prelude: Church and State under the 18th Century Monarchs Chapter Ten: 19th Century Spain: A Spanish Polity in Chaos Ominous Signs of Impending Chaos The New Constitution and Constitutional Monarchy The Restoration Juntas as a Spanish Motif Chaos and Polarization as a Motif Loss of the Empire Political Elites Fail to Found a Civil Society Main Political Factions Governance under a Royal Charter The Carlist Movement Left-Wing Governance The Failure of Spain's Political Culture The Role of the Military A Progressive-Moderate Monopoly Under the Constitution of 1845 1856: "The System" Implodes The Glorious Revolution of 1868 The First Republic: Stillborn and Dysfunctional The Bourbon Restoration and the "Peaceful Rotation" System The Secret of the 1876 Constitution Constitutional Monarchy and Political Machination Chapter Eleven: Grappling with the Catastrophe of 1998 The Catastrophe of 1898 A Summary of Politics in the 19th Century The Tenacity of the Spanish Mind The Generation of 1898: What Brought About Spain's Decline? Building on the Generation of 1898 The Castilian Mystique Religion in the Spanish Context – a Negative or Positive Force? Who Controls Education? A Pivotal Issue Chapter Twelve: 1898 – 1930: From "Catastrophe" to Polarization Regionalism in the Wake of the Catastrophe of 1898 The Rise of Organized Labor and Labor Syndicates Social Change between 1830-1920 Chapter Thirteen: From the Dictatorship to the Second Republic The Primo de Rivera Dictatorship 1923 Primo de Rivera and the Spanish Psyche Spain from 1931 until 2000 Obstacles on the Way to Reform Ascendancy of the Right Ascendancy of the Left Chapter Fourteen: The Spanish Civil War and Its Legacy The Spanish Civil War Role of the Military in the First and Second Republics Role of the European Powers The Cost of the War The Civil War Legacy and Spanish Self-Ascription The Spanish Civil War: Implications for Other Conflicts Other Aspects of the Spanish Civil War Role of the Individual and the Collective Franco's dictatorship Transition to democracy Why Spain Didn't Slip Back into Confrontational Politics Spanish Social Cohesion: 1936 and 1976 Basque Nationalism and the New Spanish Democracy The Ascendancy of a Socialist Government The Ascendancy of a Conservative Government Spaniards on the Eve of Spain's Entrance into the EC Chapter Fifteen: Leitmotifs in Spanish Self-Ascription Phases in Spanish History Leitmotifs in Spanish History Openness, Tolerance, Coexistence Rigid Orthodoxy, Intolerance, Expulsion A Warrior Culture Religion and a "Crusading Mentality" The Power of Myth Allegiance to Altar and Throne Historiography and the "First Cause" Chapter Sixteen: Spanish Self-Ascription and the European Union National Identity and Europeanization Nationality, Ethnicity and Full Unification The Power of Religion: Spain as a Test Case Spain, France and Germany: The War Experience Compared Bibliography
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