an Atlantic history of the origins of the nation and the state

José M. Portillo, starting from the idea of emancipation brought by Western modernity, constructs a history of the origins of the nation and the State in Spain. To do this, he studies the process of Ibero-American emancipations to conclude that Spain is another consequence of the long imperial crisis of the Spanish monarchy of the 18th and 19th centuries, in the same way as Mexico, Peru or other national spaces in the American continent. Without denying the existence of a previous centuries-old coexistence of the peoples that form Spain prior to this period.

Emancipation is seen as the process by which peoples cease to be the patrimony of a family or person to achieve their freedom and independence. As reflected in the Cadiz Constitution, which establishes that the nation is "free and independent", not forming part of the patrimony of "any family or person", foundations on which it proclaimed its sovereignty. Although, in the Spanish case, emancipation was not a simple transition between king and nation, as if sovereignty had flown from one to the other. It was complex and contradictory due to internal tensions that have reached our days. Tensions that have been tried to overcome in different constitutions and statutes, coining new concepts such as "nation of nations", "Spain and the Spains"...

A very topical book that clarifies the conflicts and discussions around the conception of the nation and the State in Spain, seeking its roots in the 18th and 19th centuries.

When and how was the Spanish nation born? What role did the Atlantic revolutions play? What is the nation of nations? And, Spain and the Spains?

José M. Portillo, starting from the idea of emancipation brought by Western modernity, constructs a history of the origins of the nation and the State in Spain. To do this, he studies the process of Ibero-American emancipations to conclude that Spain is another consequence of the long imperial crisis of the Spanish monarchy of the 18th and 19th centuries, in the same way as Mexico, Peru or other national spaces in the American continent. Without denying the existence of a previous centuries-old coexistence of the peoples that form Spain prior to this period.

Emancipation is seen as the process by which peoples cease to be the patrimony of a family or person to achieve their freedom and independence. As reflected in the Cadiz Constitution, which establishes that the nation is "free and independent", not forming part of the patrimony of "any family or person", foundations on which it proclaimed its sovereignty. Although, in the Spanish case, emancipation was not a simple transition between king and nation, as if sovereignty had flown from one to the other. It was complex and contradictory due to internal tensions that have reached our days. Tensions that have been tried to overcome in different constitutions and statutes, coining new concepts such as "nation of nations", "Spain and the Spains"...

A very topical book that clarifies the conflicts and discussions around the conception of the nation and the State in Spain, seeking its roots in the 18th and 19th centuries.