Preaching Spanish Nationalism across the Hispanic Atlantic, 1759-1823

Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS What is Spain? A collection of regions with distinctive, primordial roots and traditions? A backward state that only transitioned toward modernity in the late twentieth century? A memory of lost glory, couched in imperial grandeur? When I began my research, I traveled to Madrid armed with a number of preconceived notions concerning nineteenth-century Spain. I assumed that Spain had failed to nationalize, to turn their peasants into Spaniards. I assumed that the vestiges of the Old Regime, empire and religion, mattered little to liberals. I assumed that I could craft a research project grounded in documents housed in the capital city’s archives . Having read the most important works on nationalism in graduate classes, I assumed that I would focus, top-down, on politics. As Eric Hobsbawm reminds us, although history from below is crucial, nation building must be analyzed above all from the perspective of the government . I never imagined I would spend the majority of my time reading sermons and pastoral instruction, exploring the religious sensibilities and nationalist aspirations of Spaniards on both sides of the Atlantic as they navigated the currents of modern social and political thought. With a great deal of support and guidance from José Álvarez Junco, I began to sort through documents in the Colección Documental del Fraile, housed in Madrid’s military archive, and shaped the beginnings of this book. Through a Fulbright grant, I spent nine months in the dusty, old room on the first floor, underneath a larger-than-life portrait of Franco on horseback (kept largely out of sight on the second floor). My initial presentation on the topic of religion and identity, given at the Universidad Autónoma in Madrid, as well as subsequent talks at Complutense and at the Universidad de Valencia, demonstrated to me that the issues I had looked into remain the subject of vital debates, with great contemporary ix x / Acknowledgments significance, not at all limited to the halls of academia. Returning to study at the University of California, Irvine, I broadened my analysis to include the viceroyalty of New Spain, and Puebla in particular, as a case study to balance out my examination of peninsular Spain. With funding from U.C., Irvine, and Creighton University, I made multiple trips to Mexico and traveled to Valencia in order to understand the region and the nation from different angles. Building on an increasingly important literature on revolutions and independence in the Americas, this book is the product of the renewed interest in Atlantic world history and has been influenced by the methods of scholars who truly have globalized historical methodologies. First and foremost, I would like to thank Kara and Sabina Eastman for their patience and understanding throughout such a long process. Without their help, this would not have been possible. I also would like to express sincere appreciation to everyone I worked with at Irvine, especially Carolyn Boyd, who is an outstanding mentor. Her feedback on all aspects of my work helped me to write a much stronger and more coherent monograph . She has inspired me with her own work on national identity and through her contributions to the field of modern Spanish history. Jaime Rodríguez helped me to connect my research on Spain with my work on nineteenth-century Mexico, and his tireless commitment to scholarship continues to bridge the historiographical divide between historians of Spain and Latin America. I greatly appreciate Tim Tackett’s help with an early version of chapter 2, part of which was published in Spain in the journal Historia y Política. Kavita Philip also provided me with insightful advice as I wrote my introduction and developed my argument. I owe a great debt to LSU Press, and in particular to Alisa Plant, who patiently guided the project through its final stages and revisions. I must thank all of the archivists who facilitated this research, especially those who work at the Servicio Histórico Militar, the Archivo Diocesano de Valencia, the Colección LaFragua at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, and the Biblioteca Valenciana. Finally, I could not have completed this project without the invaluable comments (and documents) provided by colleagues, notably Carmen Aguilar Guzmán, Gregorio Alonso, Brian Connaughton, Ivana Frasquet, Chris Gerteis, David Gies, Amy Lyons, Gabe Paquette, Allyson Poska, Natalia Sobrevilla Perea, Nigel Townson, and Clint Young. Preaching Spanish Nationalism across the Hispanic Atlantic 1759–1823 This...