Spain since the Reconquista

Abstract

Spanish military history since the Reconquista has traditionally been understood as occurring within two broad chronological periods. During the first phase, starting with the dual reign of Ferdinand and Isabella (1479–1516), and continuing to the Thirty Years’ War, Spain was a superpower, dominant within Europe as well as in its own overseas empire. From the late 17th century to the Spanish-American War of 1898, Spain was in relative decline, overshadowed by rising British and French economic and military power, and struggling to maintain a European and global role. After 1898, Spain was no longer even a minor power, confined as it was to a handful of colonies, and it was a nonfactor in both world wars. While, in general, this is an accurate description, this history was punctuated by significant attempts at military revival, including in the mid-19th century and during World War II (in connection with the Axis powers). While the historiography of Spanish military history in the English-speaking world has focused on the earlier centuries of Spanish strength, as well as on the Spanish Civil War, Spanish-language works have covered a broader scope, thus accounting for what appears to be a relative imbalance between the major fields of study. There has also been a relative deficit within the historiography of works on tactical, and especially operational, warfare. In the 20th century the discipline suffered from the impact of a civil war, self-imposed exile by many historians after that conflict, and ideological and professional restrictions under the Franco regime, all of which left military history almost the exclusive domain of the professional military. With the liberalization of universities from the 1970s onward, many new scholars focused more on broader political and sociological topics related to military affairs, rather than research on traditional military subjects. In many cases, it has been foreign historians who have introduced the most innovative research into Spanish historiography. Perhaps the best example is the thesis of the “military revolution,” the early modern transformation of military operations, articulated most clearly and successful in Parker 2004 (cited under Habsburg Spain), a work on the history of Spain’s military engagement in the Netherlands, in the context of its broader imperial project. Especially since the 2000s, a broader range of historians have engaged more actively in operational and strategic histories, as well as participating in vibrant historiographical debates, such as those on the Spanish Civil War and the role of the former dictator Francisco Franco during that conflict and beyond.