España y los españoles

Abstract

The author here argues in favour of the historical reality that we call Spain. To recognize the Cadiz Constitution of 1812 as the origin of present Spain, he maintains, does not imply that our country had no national identity before the 19th century. And to this effect he expounds the famous controversy between Americo Castro and Claudio Sanchez-Albornoz. Before the Arab invasion there were no “espanoles”, since this word of provencal origin dates back to the 11th century, as Castro points out. However, it is also true that during the Roman as well the Gothic domination, the peninsular inhabitants were known as “hispani”, as Sanchez-Albornoz sarcastically alleges. In addition, this article includes a number of quotations from Latin, Gothic and Spanish writers of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, references which bear witness to a feeling of belonging to an old country called “Hispania” or “Espana”.