Century Spain Research Articles

Anthropometric Studies of Schoolchildren During the First Decades of the 20th Century in Spain and Argentina.

The practice of anthropometry in schools at the beginning of the 20th century originated in Europe and Latin America in conjunction with the emergence of hygienism and epidemiological auxology. The aim of this work is to deepen the knowledge of these practices in Spain and Argentina and to compare the available growth data in order to identify possible differences between the populations. The anthropometric data of 1693 boys and girls aged 7-15 years (877 Spanish; 816 Argentinean) from the period between 1903 and 1913 were analyzed. The data were taken from the Reports and Memoirs of the School Colonies of the National Pedagogical Museum (Spain) and the Archives of Pedagogy and Related Sciences of the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences of the National University of La Plata (UNLP) (Argentina). The most pronounced differences in weight and height were observed between the ages of 11 and 12. The weight growth of Spanish schoolchildren was 22% (boys) and 24% (girls) lower than that of their Argentine counterparts, while linear growth was about 7% lower for both sexes. In addition, the Spanish had a lower body mass index up to the age of 12 years. Argentine boys and girls of La Plata were taller and heavier than their Spanish counterparts of Madrid during the same period (between 1903 and 1913). These results can be attributed to the higher standard of living that characterized the Argentine population at that time.

Goodbye to a Historical Exclusion? The Journey of the Female Corporate Elite over a Century in Spain (1917–2017)

Goodbye to a Historical Exclusion? The Journey of the Female Corporate Elite over a Century in Spain (1917–2017)

On the road towards the labour statute of the 21st century in Spain

Hay un amplio debate en la comunidad jurídica laboralista, y en las organizaciones empresariales y sindicales, impulsado por las autoridades responsables de las políticas laborales y de protección social, sobre la necesidad de un nuevo Estatuto del trabajo, o de las personas trabajadoras, del siglo XXI. El artículo sitúa los orígenes de este debate, que se encuentran en el primer gobierno socialista de 2018, para pasar a continuación a ubicarlo en el marco de las realidades económicas y sociales tanto internacional como comunitaria. Más adelante, se pasa revista al acuerdo entre las fuerzas políticas (PSOE y SUMAR) que sustentan al gobierno y a las aportaciones de la doctrina laboralista. Después, son objeto de atención las propuestas sobre las reformas que pueden emprenderse para regular el citado Estatuto, siempre prestando atención a la necesidad de tomar en consideración la normativa comunitaria que debe ser transpuesta al ordenamiento jurídico interno y la jurisprudencia del Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea, ambas de especial importancia. Se insiste en que debe prestarse especial atención a todas las reformas ya puestas en marcha durante los últimos cinco años, en especial desde la crisis sanitaria iniciada en marzo de 2020. Finaliza el texto con unas conclusiones de síntesis de todo lo anteriormente expuesto.

Diagnosis of apparent death and resuscitation techniques in 18th century Spain: a historical analysis

Diagnosis of apparent death and resuscitation techniques in 18th century Spain: a historical analysis

Differences urban versus non-urban trends in mortality from ischemic heart disease and diabetes in Italy and Spain, 2003-2019.

In recent years, mortality from ischemic heart disease and diabetes has decreased. There is an inequality in mortality reduction between urban and non-urban areas. This study aims to estimate the trend in mortality from ischemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus in urban and non-urban areas in Italy and Spain, throughout the first two decades of the 21st century. Deaths and population data by age and sex, according to the area de residence, were obtained from the National Institutes of Statistics. Annual age-standardized mortality rates from ischemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus were calculated from 2003 to 2019, in each of the two areas of residence in both countries. The average annual percentage change (APC) in the mortality rate in each area was estimated using linear regression models and taking age-standardized mortality rates as dependent variable. Mortality rates from both causes of death decreased between the beginning and the end of the period analysed. In Italy, the APC in was -4.0% and -3.6% in mortality rate from ischemic heart disease and -1.5% and -1.3% in mortality rate from diabetes mellitus, in urban and non-urban areas, respectively. In Spain, the APC in was -4.4% and -3.7% in mortality rate from ischemic heart disease and -3.3% and -2.0% in mortality rate from diabetes mellitus, in urban and non-urban areas, respectively. Mortality from ischemic heart disease and mortality from diabetes have shown a greater reduction in urban than in non-urban areas since the first years of the 21st century in Spain and Italy.

Infective endocarditis in 21st century Spain: a persistent therapeutic challenge in a changing scenario

Infective endocarditis in 21st century Spain: a persistent therapeutic challenge in a changing scenario

Motherhood and Childcare

The aim of this article is to explore the origins of social and health protection for mothers and children in the first half of the twentieth century in Spain, with particular attention to the continuities and ruptures that occurred in the notions, practices and entanglements between the state and the various collective agents involved in these campaigns. The Civil War (1936-1939) and the origins of Francoism provide an opportunity to analyse the transition from a liberal democratic framework to an authoritarian one. In a context of the dismantling of civil society, the Falange Women's Section played an exceptional role as a collaborating agent in the application and dissemination of Franco's welfare provisions. It imposed a model of political discipline and specialised training for visiting nurses and educators that generated dynamics of female professional promotion and left its mark on welfare practices.

Transforming mineral capital into human capital? Mining and education in early twentieth-century Spain

Abstract Using a highly detailed dataset at the municipality level, drawn from the Spanish Mining Cadastre of 1890, this paper shows how the mining sector affected education provision and human capital formation in early twentieth century Spain. The results indicate that there were two patterns in mining towns. Those mines that invested in technology, those highly productive, and those with post-extraction industries linkages were able to transform mineral capital into human capital. However, in areas where mines were characterized by unskilled labour and low living standard, the mining sector had a negative impact on education, especially in women’s human capital formation.

Trends in epidemiology, surgical management, and prognosis of infective endocarditis during the XXI century in Spain: A population-based nationwide study

BackgroundFew population-based studies have evaluated the epidemiology of infective endocarditis (IE). Changes in population demographics and guidelines on IE may have affected both the incidence and outcomes of IE. Therefore, the aim of our study is to provide contemporary population-based epidemiological data of IE in Spain. MethodsRetrospective nationwide observational study using data from the Spanish National Health System Discharge Database. We included all patients hospitalized with IE from January 2000 to December 2019. ResultsA total of 64,550 IE episodes were included. The incidence of IE rose from 5.25 cases/100,000 person-year in 2000 to 7.21 in 2019, with a 2% annual percentage change (95% CI 1.3–2.6). IE incidence was higher among those aged 85 or older (43.5 cases/100.000 person-years). Trends across the study period varied with sex and age.Patients with IE were progressively older (63.9 years in 2000–2004 to 70.0 in 2015–2019, p < 0.001) and had more frequent comorbidities and predispositions, including, previous valvular prosthesis (12.1% vs 20.9%, p < 0.001). After adjustment, a progressive reduction in mortality was noted including in 2015–2019 compared to 2010–2014 (adjusted odds ratio 0.93, 95% confident interval 0.88–0.99, p = 0.023)., which was associated with more frequent cardiac surgery in recent years (15.1% in 2010–2014 vs 19.9% in 2015–2019). ConclusionsIn Spain, the incidence of IE has increased during the XXI century, with a more pronounced increase in elderly individuals. Adjusted-mortality decreased over the years, which could be related to a higher percentage of surgery. Our results highlight the changing epidemiology of IE.

Spanish and Catalan Perceptions of Blackness: The Cases of El negro que tenía el alma blanca (1922) and Llibertat! (1901)

Abstract: This paper explores how Blackness was perceived in early twentieth century Spain and Catalonia by analyzing two literary works: the novel El negro que tenía el alma blanca (1922) by Alberto Insúa and the theatre play Llibertat! (1901) by Santiago Rusiñol. The essay employs Frantz Fanon’s post-colonial and psychoanalytical theory about the colonized subject to provide a snapshot of Spanish and Catalan perceptions of Blackness in the early twentieth century, contributing to the flourishing debate about race in Iberian Studies. The article demonstrates that the plots of the texts, despite being lauded as antiracist, reproduce hegemonic discourses of race and replicate hegemonic racial tropes. In particular, these literary works sharply illuminate the authors’ hegemonic perceptions of black people. The literary analysis indicates that at the beginning of the twentieth century hegemonic discourses of the Other permeated the Iberian Peninsula, and Spanish and Catalan societies were afflicted by them and unable to conceptualize racial difference beyond stereotypes.

Domingo Sánchez y Sánchez (1860-1947): Cajal's man on the nervous system of invertebrates.

Apis mellifera: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:9082C709-6347-4768-A0DC-27DC44400CB2Helix aspersa: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:9099927E-24DF-4F89-B352-6B7902CD4A38.

Anthologies as Tools of Literary Hospitality

Abstract This article examines the presence of Poe’s fiction in Spain, focusing on the reception of his anthologized short stories in the second half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, and taking this as a case of literary hospitality that helped to develop the fantasy genre in the country. In the early decades of publication, collections of Poe’s short stories were generally introduced into Spain as translations of anthologies of Baudelaire’s French versions. These anthologies appealed to a broad readership and sold well, being published by both large, professional houses and smaller, family-run presses. Poe came to form part of the literary canon that was being shaped in the final decades of the nineteenth century in Spain, and was thus published alongside major literary figures, which attests to the kind of literary hospitality he enjoyed in Spain’s cultural world in the decades following his introduction into the country.

Social housing in Spain: obsolescence and intervention strategies

Social housing in Spain has its origin in the first Cheap Houses Law that was promulgated in 1911, trying to provide a solution to a housing need for the working class who flocked to the cities in waves of migration from rural areas. Since then, legislative initiatives have been taking place to mitigate the housing problem. Each one of them was contributing elements that presumably contributed to the hygiene and habitability of the house without forgetting the economic conditions. At the moment, in Spain there is a large real estate park inherited from these initiatives. In many cases, these are neighborhoods that currently show notable energy and social vulnerability. Aware of the need to adapt these homes to the regulatory requirements related to energy efficiency, comfort and the physical and technical characteristics of the construction, the Research Centers are developing multiple investigations aimed at favoring the adaptability of homes and improving the quality of life of its inhabitants. This article takes a tour of the evolution that social housing has had during the 20th century in Spain and the current state of research aimed at adapting it to the new energy, habitability and sustainability requirements.

Seis autores: un soneto “No me mueve, mi Dios, para quererte”

In this essay, the researcher argues about the authorship of the religious sonnet “No me mueve, mi Dios, para quererte” (It doesn’t move me, my God, to love You), written during XVIth or XVIIth centuries in Spain. However, he concludes that it is anonymous, according to the arguments that he explains.

An analysis of the small planned towns built for the workers of the Badajoz Plan dams in Spain

ABSTRACT One of the most interesting urbanistic ensembles of the twentieth century in Spain is the towns planned and built near the large dams to provide services for their construction and operation. In the Province of Badajoz four very large dams were built by the central administration, which also promoted the construction of workers’ towns in the surrounding area. These towns are unique components of the rural Extremadura landscape. Without them, the dams could not have been built in the Spain of Franco’s dictatorship, and they are a testimony to action carried out in the territory, how work was organized and how the integrating relationship of buildings and nature was understood as a particular conception of the landscape. This article first reviews the historical context, both from the point of view of planned urbanization concerning company towns and the Badajoz Plan itself. The villages are describe based on field visits and documents found in the AGA archives in Alcala de Henares and the offices of the Guadiana Water Board in Mérida; lastly, the data are analysed, and some conclusions are arrived at.

The process of vihuela intabulation of sacred music in 16th century Spain

The process of vihuela intabulation of sacred music by Cristóbal de Morales, using examples contained in Orphénica Lyra by Miguel de Fuenllana and instructions by Juan de Bermudo.

Newcomers and ‘Roots Migrants’: Chain Migrations and the Revitalization of Rural Shrinking Areas in Spain

This article analyses the processes of rural shrinking/revitalisation in Spain from the perspective of chain mobilities. It attempts to go beyond the vision that focuses on the depopulation approach. The chain migration perspective is a dynamic means, as it considers the articulation between internal/international, historical/recent migrations and shrinking/revitalisation processes. Spatial mobility is also analysed in relation to the articulation of the local and immigrant population’s intergenerational social mobility processes. The research is based on intensive fieldwork (109 semi-structured interviews) conducted in several shrinking regions in Spain (Galicia, Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha). Our research reveals how the internal and international exodus of the second half of the twentieth century in Spain, driven by the ‘Developmentalist’ economic model and implemented by Franco’s regime, is the bases for the territorial imbalances and configuration of shrinking rural areas in this country. It also shows how de-agrarianisation and the lack of intergenerational replacement explains the arrival of immigrant populations in rural areas from the turn of the century onwards, in order to meet the needs of labour markets segmented by ethnic origin and gender. Together with newcomers, the shrinking areas are also benefiting from the arrival of returnees and root migrants (from both external and internal migration), who decide to return to their origins, drawn by emotional ties. These migration patterns (newcomers, returnees and root migrants) are different and complementary in terms of sustaining life in rural areas. The impact of migration on the revitalisation of rural areas is visible in demographic, economic and social terms.

“Martyrs for God and Spain”. National Martyrdom in Spain from the Civil War to the Historical Memory Law

The article considers the ideology of national martyrdom in 20th century Spain, especially the cult of “martyrs for God and Spain” spread during the period of Spanish Civil War (1939–1939) and the reign of caudillo Francisco Franco (1939–1975). The author reasons that, as a mechanism for legitimization and mobilization, the idea of martyrdom for the nation was one of the integral parts of Francoist regime. The origins of this idea are traced back to several sources: “old” national martyrdom of 19th century Spain, associated with its struggle for independence from France, the sacrificial culture of local groups such as the Carlist and Jesuits, the ideology of the fascist Spanish Phalanx and some theological concepts put forward by distinguished Roman Catholic bishops in Spain. Particular attention is given to the discourse of José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the founder of Spanish fascism, who cultivated a “spirit of sacrifice” and promoted the veneration of dead Falangists as martyrs. Theory and practice of martyrdom in the Civil War are examined in relation to its conceptualization as a “Crusade”, which contributed to the junction between the images of military hero and martyr. After the end of war, this militaristic ideology became routinized and more peaceful, although preserving its unifying force. The article's final section examines the issues associated with the Valley of the Fallen memorial and the recent politics of “demartyrization” as part of overcoming the legacy of dictatorial rule. The author concludes that as long as José Antonio's body remain at the center of the Valley, state policy on “historical memory” and the cult of martyrs would remain conceptually incomplete.

Economic development, female wages and missing female births in Spain, 1900–1930

AbstractFocusing on Spain between 1900 and 1930, a period characterised by significant structural transformations and rapid economic growth, this article shows that the sex ratio at birth (SRB) was abnormally high, at least until the 1920s. Apart from questioning whether female under-registration and different mortality environments alone can explain the results reported here, our analysis of regional information indicates that SRBs were higher in provinces where the economic structure was dominated by agriculture and manufacturing (relative to the service sector). In addition, exploiting the annual variation in low-skilled wages at the province level makes it possible to distinguish between the roles played by under-registration and outright neglect: while higher wages could increase the opportunity cost of registering a female birth (and therefore result in higher SRBs), they could also reduce the pressure to neglect female babies (and therefore result in lower SRBs). We find evidence of both effects (income and opportunity cost) of wages on SRBs between 1914 and 1920 in Spain, a period in which WWI arguably subjected the Spanish economy to an exogenous demand shock. These two effects, however, imply very different discriminatory practices. In fact, on average, the income effect was larger than the effect arising from the opportunity cost, which supports the idea that female neglect around birth was more prevalent than previously assumed during the early twentieth century in Spain. As expected, the relationship between wages and the SRB vanished during the 1920s, along with the unbalanced SRB. These results stress that gender discrimination around birth does not necessarily disappear with economic growth unless this process is accompanied by expanded labour opportunities for women.

Serializing Victorian Fiction Abroad. The Earliest Translation of Jane Eyre in the Iberian Peninsula

Soon after Jane Eyre (1847) left Charlotte Brontë’s desk, the novel began an international journey that reached several countries worldwide. In Spain, the first translation of Jane Eyre was serialized in the capital’s daily newspaper El Globo from 9 September 1882 until 7 February 1883. It is a retranslation into Spanish of the 1854 French rendering of Brontë’s novel by Madame Lesbazeilles-Souvestre, which had altered the English text to conform to stereotypical female attitudes in France. This paper will examine the role of folletines in the dissemination of foreign literature in nineteenth century Spain and the particular idiosyncrasies of the Jane Eyre published in El Globo.