The Hispano-Moroccan Wars (1859–1927) and the (De)nationalization of the Spanish People

Abstract

The Spanish army participated in several armed conflicts in Moroccan territory during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These conflicts tested the capacity of the Spanish nation to inspire and induce its citizens to defend it. How the wars were fought, how they were transmitted to the population, and how the population reacted to them evolved with the times. Although nationalist fervour and ‘nation consumption’ intensified, so did the sacrifice the nation required of its people. In this gap between patriotic zeal and actual willingness, it is possible to observe the degree of nationalization among Spaniards. Analysis ‘from below’, based on the perceptions of the lower classes versus those of the upper classes, or of individuals versus the community, expands and refines the traditional scope to make nuances visible. This departure from traditional historiography, based on analysis ‘from above’, moves beyond the patriotic enthusiasm for the Hispano-Moroccan War of 1859 to the indifference surrounding the War of Melilla of 1893, resistance to recruitment as the Barranco del Lobo disaster struck in 1909, and the fear and desire for revenge after the 1921 debacle of Annual. By inverting the vantage point, resistance emerges where homogeneous support was assumed, inviting exploration to discover if the unpopularity of the twentieth-century conflicts favoured Spanish de-nationalization and the awakening of other national consciences. This attempt to discern real attitudes concerning the wars that altered the course of Spanish history involves looking at how ways of knowing have evolved regarding what happened across the Straits of Gibraltar.