Spain: A Unique History - Softcover

Payne, Stanley G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0299250245 ISBN 13: 9780299250249

Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press, 2011

Synopsis

From bloodthirsty conquest to exotic romance, stereotypes of Spain abound. This new volume by distinguished historian Stanley G. Payne draws on his half-century of experience to offer a balanced, broadly chronological survey of Spanish history from the Visigoths to the present. Who were the first “Spaniards”? Is Spain a fully Western country? Was Spanish liberalism a failure? Examining Spain’s unique role in the larger history of Western Europe, Payne reinterprets key aspects of the country’s history.
    Topics include Muslim culture in the peninsula, the Spanish monarchy, the empire, and the relationship between Spain and Portugal. Turning to the twentieth century, Payne discusses the Second Republic and the Spanish Civil War. The book’s final chapters focus on the Franco regime, the nature of Spanish fascism, and the special role of the military. Analyzing the figure of Franco himself, Payne seeks to explain why some Spaniards still regard him with respect, while many others view the late dictator with profound loathing.
    Framed by reflections on the author’s own formation as a Hispanist and his evaluation of the controversy about “historical memory” in contemporary Spain, this volume offers deeply informed insights into both the history and the historiography of a unique country.

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About this title

About the Author

Stanley G. Payne is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His many books include The Franco Regime: 1936–1975; Fascism: Comparison and Definition; and Spain’s First Democracy: The Second Republic, 1931–1936.

Reviews

After a number of books on various aspects of Spain (The Collapse of the Spanish Republic; Franco and Hitler; The Spanish Civil War, The Soviet Union, and Communism), Payne now wants to tell the whole story of the country that so fascinates him. The Visigoth conquest kicks things off, followed by centuries of Islamic rule, reconquest and crusade, political and cultural advancement, a Civil War, and the Franco era. Payne's goal, as a historian and "Hispanist," is to create an "objective evaluation" of these events, avoiding extremist opinions and stereotypes perpetuated by the likes of Ernest Hemingway. Unfortunately, this also strips much of the flavor from what should be an exciting, as well as informative, effort. The straightforward perspective provides a less-than intriguing entry for the non-historian, resulting in a bland, concise explanation. Also lacking is enough background on significant participants. To be fair, there are nuggets of historical trivia to be gleaned here, like the fact that the region's name, Hispania, is derived from a Phoenician word meaning "land of rabbits"; helpful notes will explain other unfamiliar terms or events. Considering Spain's captivating story and culture, professional and armchair historians alike may be disappointed.
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Payne has been a leading historian of twentieth-century Spain for the past 50 years. In this compact survey, he covers its history from the Islamic invasion of 711 to the post-Franco era, with an emphasis on weighing the persuasiveness of schools of interpretation about eras and events. For example, popular books such as Maria Rosa Menocal’s The Ornament of the World (2002) hold forth the Muslim period as a tolerant multicultural idyll, which to Payne smacks of political correctness that ignores the Muslim practices of enslavement and recurrent warfare against Christian enclaves of northern Iberia. The historical debate concerning the ensuing Reconquista, completed by 1492, also induces Payne’s ruminations about how the experience of ejecting a Muslim rule so long imposed has uniquely shaped Spanish history. Among the consequences Payne touches on are Spain’s sense of separateness from the rest of Europe, its depth of Catholic faith, and its lagging process of modernity, all national characteristics persisting through the Franco dictatorship that have evaporated in the transition to democracy. --Gilbert Taylor

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0299250245
• ISBN 13: 9780299250249
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304