Sinopsis de THE DISINHERITED

Few would doubt that Spain has for several centuries made a thrilling and important contribution to Europe's culture. We all carry in our heads a complex and seductive sense of what Spain stands for and what it looks like: its music, painting, buildings, history. But what we do not understand is how almost all of this was the achievement not of one group, but of the Spanish in exile. "The Disinherited" is an extremely important as well as enjoyable work of cultural recovery. Spain's strange path has created a 'virtual' culture, one imagined by men often thousands of miles from home - its impact on the world has been incalculable.

1 reseñas sobre el libro THE DISINHERITED

The main thesis of the book unfolds by both acknowledging and sometimes discarding common misconceptions held by many and, more often than not , by Spaniards themselves about Spain's history of conflict and struggle. For example, the idea that intellectual elites in exile represented the true nature of the nation more than those who remained. On the other side, those who stayed put had the very rooted tendency to affirm the country needed nothing from outside. Spaniards abroad took two attitudes, either they remained as exiles for life, in a transitory state until they could finally return, or they embraced the outside world and became better for it, even what the outside world started to embrace as Spain's most interesting aspects. I mentioned before the author likes to challenge some long held ideas. One of these ideas is in regards to the damage these expulsions caused. Spain's own culture has been to a great degree defined by the countrymen (mostly men) that had to live abroad. Their exile was neither an unmitigated disaster nor it advanced Spain's standing in any way. Many Spaniards ended up becoming figures of reference in all things Spanish by virtue of their exposure to other cultures. Another often repeated ideas is that the expulsion of the Jews had a great negative economic impact in Spain. It is assumed the impact was due to the sudden loss of important funding from the only people who were allowed to manage money a.k.a the "rich" Jews. That wasn't the case or not completely. Most Jews were not rich and most of the ones that had substantial interests converted, some even became exemplar Christians. The real impact was the loss of a professional class. The convert Jews like Luis Vives and Franciso de Rojas went on to create masterpieces of Spanish literature while uncomfortably calling Spain their homeland. Rid of Muslims and Jews, the Inquisition, found a new purpose in Reformation. The Inquisition was not more cruel or efficient than other religious persecutions that took place in England or France. It did however last too long. Long enough to become an easy propaganda tool for those who thought of Spain as backwater of intolerance. It was also a State sponsored institution albeit one very poorly funded. For many intellectuals, the Inquisition became the cause of everything and anything that was wrong. The author plausibly argues that Spaniards themselves were to blame. The author points out that the notion of an inherently Catholic Spain is also an oversimplification. In the XVI century, Spaniards were illiterate and saw the Church as a way of life more than as a belief system. Heresy never had the roots to grow as wildly as in other places. And yet, a few "heretics" sought their religious leanings outside the strict confines of Catholicism. It is notable the figure of Miguel Servet among others. After the Succession war, with the arrival of the new Bourbon dynasty, there seemed to be an opportunity for an opening to new ideas. Spain became a lot more dependent on France. But absolutism took a hold as a reaction to the French Revolution and instead of an opening, Spain endured the nineteenth century in isolation and violence. It was fascinating to juxtapose figures like Alessandro Malaspina, the Italian explorer that saw his amazing survey of the Spanish domains, or the painter Goya against the backdrop of a backwards society. With the loss of the last remnants of the Empire (Cuba and the Phillippines) in 1898, Spanish intellectuals started questioning the very meaning of Spain and its place in the world. The author has a very interesting take on the elite thinkers of this period. In short, he thinks they took themselves a bit too seriously as guardians of the nation's soul. This is a time were Cervantes and "Don Quijote" become the national Bible. It is a time of reflection but also of division. Castile becomes a focal point for much pondering and writing. A series of tragic military adventures in Africa start to turn the public opinion against the monarchy. After the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and the exile of king Alfonso XIII, Spain tries its hands at a Republic. The government proves ineffective to fully represent the people's true opinion's and a Civil War ensues when a military rebellion takes place in Southern Spain. The Civil war was also a time of death and exile. Kamen lists very relevant personality that either left or stayed or left and returned. It is a staggering list. But his point is made more clear here than anywhere else. Finding their voice ever more reduced in the countries they now called home, they held the hope of being summoned back as the wise men of Spain. When this happened years later, Spain had changed and received them warmly but without any interest in their work. After all, they were holding a candle for a world that had vanished. Those who fared better where the scientists and writers and artists that made the world their new home.


TAMBIÉN SE BUSCÓ EN HISTORIA, POLÍTICA Y CIENCIAS SOCIALES