A History of Spain Part 32

[Sidenote: Mercantile machinery of the era.]

Mercantile machinery found its highest official expression in the _Junta de Comercio y Moneda_. This was reorganized in 1705, at which time it was provided that the Councils of Castile, the Indies and Finance (_Hacienda_) should be represented respectively by three, five, and two members, the _Casa de Contratacion_ by one, and the French nation by two, besides one of the royal secretaries. The importance of the American and French trades was clearly manifested in this arrangement.

This body served as a court with jurisdiction in all matters concerning trade. In 1730 it was succeeded by the _Junta de Moneda_ (_Junta_, or Council, of Coinage), to which was added jurisdiction in matters concerning mines (1747), foreigners (1748), and the "five greater guilds of Madrid" (1767 and 1783). Regional _juntas_ were also created. The _consulados_, though of private origin, occupied an intermediate position between the other private and the official bodies, owing to the intervention of the state and to the reorganization of the _consulados_ in the middle and later eighteenth century. In addition to their functions as a mercantile court they acquired a vast number of duties of a public character, such as the care of ports and the creation of schools of navigation. Certain _consulados_ had special functions,--for example, the _consulado_ of Cadiz attended to supplying the province with grain and flour, and had charge of the establishment of tariffs and lotteries. The _consulados_ were repaid for these services by a grant of a portion of the customs duties, a right worth 6,000,000 _reales_ ($375,000) a year in Cadiz and one third of that amount in Alicante.

They compromised their wealth by making loans to the crown, which brought about their ruin. At the end of the eighteenth century there were fourteen _consulados_ in Spain, each differing from the others but all following rather closely the new ordinances (1737) for the _consulado_ of Bilbao as a type. In the smaller cities and towns local officials were wont to appoint two men as _diputados de comercio_ (commercial deputies) to act for that neighborhood in the capacity of a _consulado_. There were various other mercantile groups of a more clearly private character, and their a.s.sociations were encouraged by the government. The so-called "five greater guilds of Madrid," including dealers in jewelry, silks, gold and silver ware, cloths, linens, spices (and groceries?), and drugs, was the most important of these organizations. Its business was so enormous that it extended beyond Madrid to other cities, and put up factories for the manufacture of the goods it sold. In 1777 there were 375 merchants in this corporation, with a capital of some 210,000,000 _reales_ ($13,125,000). Other a.s.sociations were formed for special objects, such as to buy goods in great quant.i.ties and therefore more cheaply, or to carry merchandise in their own s.h.i.+ps. Many companies were organized specifically for trading with the Americas. In the fluctuations of commerce one fact stood out consistently: the balance of trade was heavily against Spain. In 1789 exports were valued at 289,973,980 _reales_ (about $18,000,000) as against imports of 717,397,388 (nearly $45,000,000). Internal commerce amounted to an estimated 2,498,429,552 _reales_ (about $156,000,000).

The wars of the reign of Charles IV almost destroyed Spanish commerce.

Cadiz in particular was a heavy loser.

[Sidenote: Important place of foreigners in Spanish commerce.]

The intervention of foreigners in the commerce of Spain, which had given so much concern in the previous era, was an even greater problem under the Bourbons. Many factors contributed to make this the case: the industrial decline of the seventeenth century, which favored the importation of foreign goods; the eighteenth century efforts for an economic revival, which led to the seeking out of foreign models and foreign teachers or workmen; the encouragement given to Frenchmen as a result of the Bourbon entry into Spain; and defeats in war, which necessitated Spain's submission to the exactions of her opponents (many of whom insisted upon commercial privileges) or the legalization of trade usurpations which they had indulged in without right. In the Americas the English were the most prominent element, but in Spain the French were. The leading French merchants established themselves in Cadiz, the gateway of the Americas, whence they proceeded to absorb a great part of Spain's profits from the new world. In 1772 there were seventy-nine French wholesale houses in Cadiz, making an estimated annual profit of 4,600,000 _reales_ (nearly $300,000). In 1791 there were 2701 Frenchmen in that city out of a total foreign population of 8734. Numerically, the Italians were more in evidence, for there were 5018 of them, mostly Genoese. There were some Englishmen, too, whose aggregate capital made up for their small number. In general the legislation of the era was favorable to foreigners. Their knowledge and labor were so greatly desired that they were even granted special privileges or exemptions to take up their residence in Spain, and the religious bar was ameliorated or utterly withdrawn. Popular opinion was against them, however, and the laws were not wholly free from this influence. Men complained, as formerly, that the foreigners were making immense profits and stifling Spanish compet.i.tion, while the hatreds engendered by the wars with England and France and by the scant respect and haughty manners which some foreigners displayed for the laws and customs of Spain tended to increase the feeling of opposition.

Foreigners were often ill-treated, although the acts were rarely official. Even the government did not recognize consuls as having any special rights or immunities differentiating them from others of their nation. A further accusation against foreigners was that they engaged in contraband trade. This was true, although as a rule it was done in complicity with corrupt Spanish officials. Foreigners justified themselves on the ground that unless they were willing to make gifts to Spaniards in authority they were obliged to suffer a thousand petty annoyances. "Money and gifts," said the French amba.s.sador, Vaulgrenant, "have always been the most efficacious means of removing the difficulties which can be raised, on the slightest pretext, against foreign merchants. That has been the recourse to which the English have always applied themselves, with good results." The fact remains, however, that the French, English, and others had entered the commercial field in Spain and Spanish America to stay.

CHAPTER x.x.xVIII

INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITIES, 1700-1808

[Sidenote: General characteristics of intellectual life in Spain and the Americas.]

In intellectual expression, as well as in other phases of Spain's national life, the eighteenth century was a period of recovery from the degradation which marked the close of the preceding era. Spain placed herself abreast of the times, but not as formerly in a leading position; among the many who distinguished themselves by their achievements there were few who attained to a European reputation, and perhaps only one, the painter Goya, may be reckoned with the immortals. On the other hand Spain entered more definitely into the general current of western European thought than at any previous time in her history; intellectual activities in France reacted almost at once in Spain, and the influences springing out of Italy and England were potent. The Americas began to take over the intellectual side of their Spanish heritage much more completely than before, and while not nearly approximating the mother country in the amount or excellence of their contributions furnished ill.u.s.trious names in almost every branch worthy to stand beside those of their contemporaries in Spain. Education there became more general, more secular, and more highly regarded than ever before. Two obstacles, however, were a serious check upon the development of a broad culture in the colonies: the problems of race, reducing the number of those able to partic.i.p.ate, and lessening the desirability of a propaganda for the ideal involved; and the suspicions of the Spanish-controlled government, lest ideas convert themselves into thoughts of revolution.

[Sidenote: Progress in education.]

Cultivated Spaniards of the eighteenth century had a clear understanding of the national problem of education, realizing (just as they did with regard to matters having an economic bearing) the profound ignorance of the ma.s.ses and the decadent state of the inst.i.tutions upon which they had to rely to combat it. The ma.s.s of the people were not only illiterate but also full of almost ineradicable superst.i.tions and the conservatism of the undeveloped mind. In 1766 Queen Amalia, the wife of Charles III, wrote to Tanucci (one of Charles' leading ministers while he was king of Naples), "In everything (in Spain) there is something of barbarism, together with great pride." As for the women, she said, "One does not know what to talk about with them; their ignorance is beyond belief." This pessimistic view finds ample corroboration in the writings of the Benedictine Feyjoo, or Feijoo (1676-1764), and Jovellanos, both of whom devoted themselves to the struggle against the defects in Spanish mentality and its expression, leaving published works which touched upon virtually every phase of the intellectual life, or its lack, in the Iberian Peninsula. The endeavors of these men and numerous others to regenerate the country were not wholly in obedience to the national necessity or to patriotism, but responded also to the general current of humanitarianism and philanthropy characteristic of the eighteenth century. The close relations.h.i.+p of Spain with France during most of the era and the conditions of peace imposed by Protestant countries as a result of their military successes had favored the penetration of these ideas into Spain, where they were taken up by the well-to-do elements of the n.o.bility, the clergy, and the wealthy middle cla.s.s. The great n.o.bles furnished few of the ill.u.s.trious names of the period, although there were some exceptions (for example, the Count of Fernan-Nunez and the Count of Aranda), but they gave both financial and moral support to the efforts for intellectual reform. Some of those who held high office, notably G.o.doy, aided authors in the publication of their works or the continuation of their studies, giving them official employment, or subsidies, or bringing out their volumes through the royal printing establishment. Despite the characterization of them by Queen Amalia, the women shared in the intellectual activities of the age. Thus there was a revival of interest in education, but with a difference from the spirit which had dominated the works of Vives and others of the Hapsburg era; now the ideal was that of secular education without the intervention of the clergy. Encyclopedism and monarchism worked together to this end, while the expulsion of the Jesuits helped greatly to make its attainment possible, although the new att.i.tude did not go so far as to oppose religion; indeed, that remained the basis of primary education. All this manifested itself with especial force beginning with the reign of Charles III, but precedents were not lacking in earlier years. It made itself felt chiefly in the sphere of professional training, in instruction in the humanities, and in university education, but it did not fail to produce effects of undoubted value on the primary schools.

[Sidenote: Efforts for the betterment of primary and secondary education.]

Primary education, which had always received scant attention, was the subject of some legislation under Charles III, both to expand and to better it. To make certain of the capacity of the teachers examinations were required of them in reading, writing, and arithmetic. In 1768 orders were given for the establishment of primary schools for girls in the princ.i.p.al towns of Spain, and some of the confiscated Jesuit funds were applied to this object. An important law of 1780 went into the whole matter of primary education in the city of Madrid. In the early years of the reign of Charles IV the _corregidores_ and _alcaldes_ of all towns were ordered to inspect schools, and were requested to inquire what towns, including those of the lords, the church, and the military orders, lacked them or were failing to provide sufficiently for those which they had. In 1795 the _Cortes_ of Navarre voted in favor of compulsory education. Furthermore, private individuals followed the example of the public authorities, and founded schools. Nevertheless, the census of 1787 showed only about a fourth of the children between the ages of seven and sixteen attending school. Conditions were still very bad for the teachers, whose salaries were so small that they could not live on them, while vexatious regulations were also a handicap to the free development of the schools. The teachers were imbued with the pedagogical ideas of Rousseau, while G.o.doy attempted to bring about the introduction of the methods of Pestalozzi. Both G.o.doy and Jovellanos had extensive plans for the spread of primary education, but political exigencies interrupted the projects of the former, while the latter's brief period of rule gave hardly time enough for the execution of his ideas. The interest of the government, of individuals, and of the _Amigos del Pais_ societies in popular technical education has already been discussed. The inst.i.tutions for the study of the humanities, roughly corresponding with the modern secondary schools (at least in that they were a grade below the universities), were also reformed by the government, following the expulsion of the Jesuits. In the same year (1767) it was provided that the places of the former Jesuit teachers in the Jesuit-taught schools of n.o.bles and in the nineteen Jesuit colleges should be filled by compet.i.tive examinations. In 1768 similar inst.i.tutions were ordered to be founded in such _villas_ and cities as had no university. Meanwhile, the munic.i.p.al, conventual, and private schools continued to exist, as in earlier times; Ferdinand VI and Charles III enacted legislation with a view to limiting their numbers and alleviating the bad condition of some of them.

[Sidenote: Royal attempts at reform in university education.]

The twenty-four Spanish universities of this period were leading a life of languor and scant utility down to the reign of Charles III, struggling against the handicaps of a diminution in rents and students and the compet.i.tion of the Jesuits, More serious still was the decline of university instruction. Studies were reduced to little more than the memorizing of books, without any attempt at scientific investigation; such little effort was made to keep abreast of the times that the great University of Alcala had in a library of seventeen thousand volumes only some five hundred setting forth the current doctrines of other countries; and many professors.h.i.+ps had become sinecures for indigent n.o.bles. The reformers were eager to overcome these evils, and took the course which seemed most natural in their day, that of bringing the universities under royal control so that the benevolent state might introduce the desired changes. In 1769 Charles III appointed a director for each university, to whom the life of the particular inst.i.tution was to be subject; later in the same year he gave orders for a new and better plan of studies; in 1770 a censor was added to each university by royal appointment, with the duty of watching over the program of studies and a.s.suring himself of the correctness of the religious and political views (favoring absolutism) of prospective graduates, and at the same time the universities were asked to suggest further reforms. Most of them delayed their replies as long as possible, for the greater number of the university officers were opposed to change, but the king proceeded to make reforms, nevertheless. Between 1771 and 1787 the greater universities were subjected to such revisions of their former methods as the following: the presentation of new courses and the amplification of old ones; the provision of a better opportunity to win professors.h.i.+ps by merit; the introduction of new texts; changes in the methods of obtaining degrees; and the virtual appointment of the rector, or president, by the _Consejo_. G.o.doy and Jovellanos in the next reign carried on the reforming spirit of the ministers of Charles III. In all of these reforms attempts were made to better the methods of teaching as well as the programs of study. Thus, in 1774 professors were invited to reduce their lectures to writing and make a gift of them to their university, and prizes were offered for the publication of new texts or the translation of foreign volumes. Nevertheless, the majority of the reforms produced but a slender result, for the men charged with putting them into effect were already trained in the old ideas, finding it impossible to enter into the spirit of the new.

[Sidenote: Special inst.i.tutions of learning and scientific production.]

Possibly because they realized that the universities could not be depended upon to solve the problem of higher education and scientific output, the reformers created a long series of inst.i.tutions of a special character to attain these ends. Thus, schools of medicine, surgery, the physical sciences, mathematics, jurisprudence, military art, astronomy, engineering of various types, botany, mineralogy, natural history, machinery, and others were founded, while a number of royal academies, or learned societies, were established, among which may be mentioned those of the Spanish tongue (1713), history (1738), and the fine arts (1752). Many foreign teachers and scientists were brought to Spain, but since any permanent advantage had to come from the efforts of Spaniards a number of students from the peninsula were sent abroad. Similarly, the government paid the expenses of numerous expeditions, which were largely or often wholly for objects of a scientific character. As examples of this phase of the state's activity may be mentioned the visit of Juan and Ulloa to South America in 1735 with several French academicians, to measure various degrees of the meridian at the equator in order to determine the shape of the earth; that of the astronomers Doz and Medina to Baja California in 1769 in company with the Frenchman Chappe d'Autereche, to observe the transit of Venus; and the numerous Spanish voyages to the northwest coast of North America in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, of which the best known, perhaps, is that of Malaspina, who set out in 1791 to prove the existence or non-existence of the alleged Strait of Anian through the continent of North America.

This was an age, too, of official acc.u.mulation of libraries; the royal library, forerunner of the present-day Biblioteca Nacional, was thrown open to the public in 1714. Archives, also, were reorganized and their contents put in order. Such was the case with those of Simancas and the crown of Aragon, while many doc.u.ments relating to the Americas were taken from the former in 1785 to make a beginning of the great Archivo General de Indias at Seville. Ma.n.u.scripts were utilized, as well as merely arranged, resulting both in doc.u.mented volumes and in printed collections of papers,--such, for example, as the _Espana sagrada_, or Sacred Spain (1747-1773), a collection of diplomas, chronicles, charters, and other old ma.n.u.scripts in ecclesiastical archives, with a view to making accessible the more important materials for the history of the church; this great work, begun by Father Florez, eventually reached fifty-one volumes. This period also marked the beginning of scientific periodical literature in Spain, occasionally as the result of private initiative, but often as a government enterprise, or at least at state expense wholly or in part. The outbreak of the French Revolution caused the royal authorities to suspend most of these periodicals, but there was a return to a more liberal policy under G.o.doy.

[Sidenote: Slight effect of educational reforms.]

All of these efforts to rouse the nation from its intellectual lethargy encountered such obstacles as have already been mentioned in dealing with other phases of Spanish life in this period. Princ.i.p.al among them was the ignorance of the people. Great as were the endeavors of the reformers, they were unable to make the ma.s.ses respond as quickly as could have been wished, while even on the bourgeois and upper cla.s.ses the effect of the reforms was slight. Many interests directly opposed the new ideas, finding danger in them for the inst.i.tutions which they represented. This was particularly true of the clergy as regards innovations in the intellectual life of the country. The state itself, prime mover in so many of the reforms, drew back when anything was suggested which seemed to impinge upon the royal prerogative. In the reign of Charles IV a distinct note of reaction began to make itself felt, coming to its full fruition at a later time under the autocratic Ferdinand VII.

[Sidenote: Spanish contributions to experimental science.]

One of the princ.i.p.al characteristics of the intellectual movement of the eighteenth century was the reawakened interest in the experimental sciences, representing a return to the Spanish traditions of the sixteenth century. If Spain furnished fewer great names and achievements at this time than formerly, nevertheless she made a notable recovery from the low position she held at the close of the seventeenth century, and in some respects, especially in natural science, produced men able to rank with their contemporaries in other lands. In keeping with the practical bent of Spanish character Spaniards were more famous for their applications of scientific discoveries than for their contributions to pure science. Just as in the previous era, the Americas furnished a prominent field for scientific investigations. In the realm of botany, perhaps more than in anything else, Spaniards distinguished themselves.

A list of the greatest names of the period would include Mutis, Mocino, Sesse, Ruiz, Pavon, and Molina, whose works dealt with the _flora_ of Bogota, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Chile, especially in their practical applications in medicine and otherwise. To their names should be added those of Cavanilles and Sarmiento, whose writings had to do with the _flora_ of Valencia and Galicia. Under Philip V a botanical garden was projected, and it was founded at Madrid in the reign of Ferdinand VI. Other cities soon followed this example. Zoology and mineralogy were less prominently studied, and in the latter field Spain began to make more use of foreign specialists than in the Golden Age. A considerable impulse to the natural sciences was given by the founding, by Charles III, of the important museum at Madrid, in which existing collections were brought together and to which various specimens from the Americas were added. Another factor was the sending out of scientific expeditions, mostly in or to the Americas, in which respect, according to the testimony of Humboldt, Spain expended more than any other European government. Meritorious work in physics and chemistry was also done by Spaniards,--for example, the discoveries of Ruiz de Luzuriaga and Salva in the realm of magnetic fluids and electricity, the discovery of tungsten by the Elhuyar brothers, and the demonstration by Antonio de Ulloa of the existence of platinum,--even though foreigners were to carry these findings still further. Medicine advanced out of the stagnation which had characterized it in the later seventeenth century, although it continued to be in a backward state in the Americas.

[Sidenote: Mathematics and geography.]

The scientific movement of the eighteenth century reached the field of mathematics and kindred branches, producing much valuable work, though usually in the field of their practical applications. In the case of mathematics the decline had even reached the point of the negation of that science as a field for study. The Jesuits reintroduced it in their colleges, but it remained for the ministers of Charles III to restore it to its earlier strong footing by creating professors.h.i.+ps of mathematics in the universities and in the schools of higher learning devoted to special fields. Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, better known for their expedition to South America and their authors.h.i.+p of the _Noticias secretas_, or Secret notices (not published until 1826), about conditions there, were among those who distinguished themselves in this subject. Geographical productivity was not so great as in the preceding era, since colonial conquests were less far-reaching than before, but for the single reign of Charles III there was almost as much in the way of geographical accounts and maps as at any time in the past. The names of Perez, Heceta, Bodega, Ayala, Arteaga, Lopez de Haro, Elisa, and Fidalgo are only a few of the many who commanded expeditions in the new world designed in part for the acquisition of geographical information, though with political motives involved as well. In 1797 the Deposito Hidrografico was founded in Madrid to serve as a centre for the preparation and storing of maps. This inst.i.tution published many notable maps of the various parts of Spain's colonies.

[Sidenote: Philosophy.]

[Sidenote: Jurisprudence.]

[Sidenote: Economics and politics.]

Philosophical studies were influenced by the current ideas of the age.

At the outset educational inst.i.tutions maintained what they termed the traditional doctrine, which was in fact no more than the dry bones of the past, serving only as a hindrance to the entry of anything new, even in the field which the philosophers pretended to represent. Men ambitious of knowledge resorted to the theories which then enjoyed high repute in countries considered as leaders in the world of thought, and even churchmen, who were usually among the more conservative elements, were influenced by such of the philosophic systems as seemed least dangerous to orthodox beliefs,--such as a certain sensationalism and experimentation in philosophy,--and they were even affected by an infiltration of encyclopedic ideas. This roused orthodox thinkers to an active reaction which produced many writings of a polemic character, although there may hardly be said to have been a veritable philosophic renaissance. It is interesting to note, however, that even those who combated the new ideas showed by their works that their own views were modified by them. Only one name stands out from the rest as worthy to be ranked with the great thinkers of other lands, that of the logician Andres Piquer. In jurisprudence this was a particularly flouris.h.i.+ng period, for juridical studies were more in keeping with the thought and propaganda in Europe at that time. The writings of Spaniards were directed to propagating or resisting the new juridical ideas, to the jurisdictional struggle between state and church, to the questions arising concerning the government of Spain and the reforms needed, and to the preparation of manuals for the teaching of law which the introduction of fresh materials required. The same activity was displayed in the fields of economics and politics, as has already been pointed out. The greatest names in these branches were those of ministers of state like Campillo, Ward, Ensenada, Campomanes, Floridablanca, and Jovellanos, who distinguished themselves by their writings as well as by their acts in office. In the field of economics Spanish thinkers, while strongly influenced by the current physiocratic ideas, were not so completely given over to them as the economists of other countries; they inclined toward giving an equal consideration to industrial development, thus foreshadowing the ideas which were soon to become supreme.

[Sidenote: Advanced state of historical studies.]

Many factors contributed to make this a brilliant period in Spanish historical literature. Indeed, in this field of studies more than in any other Spaniards attained to renown, even though they fell short of the glorious achievements of the historians of the preceding era. The disputes arising from the various aspects of eighteenth century thought led men to look up precedents and to cite their authorities, while the frequency with which certain writers set forth false doc.u.ments necessarily sharpened the instinct for criticism. A school of critics sprang up which attacked errors and false statements wherever they found them, although the intensity of religious life and the power of the church caused most of the historians to abstain from overthrowing such legends of a sacred character as had become firmly rooted in the popular mind. Gregorio Mayans and the Jesuit Masdeu were among the leading exponents of this school. Books or articles on historical method were frequent, and most authors of histories were wont to express their views in the preface to their volumes. These writers, in addition to their exposition of the rules for criticism and style, displayed a broad concept as to the content of history, holding that it should be expressive of the civilizations of peoples. Thus, Masdeu ent.i.tled his history _Historia critica de Espana y de la cultura espanola_ (Critical history of Spain and of Spanish culture). While these ideas had been set forth by the great writers of the sixteenth century they were now predominantly held, both in Spain and in Europe generally. This was a great age for the collection and publication of doc.u.ments. The already mentioned _Espana sagrada_ was a noteworthy example. The new Academy of History began to perform noteworthy service in this regard. Numerous copies were made and abundant notes taken by writers like Burriel (real author of the _Noticia de la California_, or Account about California, ascribed to Venegas, though a prolific writer also on subjects having nothing to do with the Americas) and Munoz (first archivist of the Archivo General de las Indias and author of an _Historia del nuevo mundo_, or History of the new world) whose materials still remain in great part unpublished. Reprints of old editions were brought out and foreign works translated, while vast gatherings of bibliographical data (in the shape of catalogues, dictionaries of various types of subject-matter, and regional or subject bibliographies) were made. Many works of original investigation were written, like those of Masdeu and Munoz already cited, or the _Vida de Carlos III_ (Life of Charles III) of Fernan-Nunez. A special group of legal and economic historians whose writings were very important in their bearings on the times might be made up. Martinez Marina was the princ.i.p.al historian of this cla.s.s, although Burriel, a.s.so, Capmany, Jovellanos, Llorente, Cornejo, and Campomanes are worthy of mention. Literary history attracted the erudite. Among the works of this group were studies concerning the origin and history of the Castilian tongue, including the first dictionary of the language, published by the Academy (1726-1739), with a statement of the authorities for the sources of each word. Many of the writings of the historians already named, besides those of numerous others, had some reference to the Americas, but the colonies themselves were the source of a prolific historical literature. Kino, Arlegui, Mota Padilla, Espinosa, Villa-Senor, Ortega, Burriel, Alegre, Baegert, Beaumont, Palou, Clavigero, Arricivita, Revilla Gigedo, and Cavo (all dealing with New Spain, or provinces of that viceroyalty) are only a few of the writers (most of them colonials) who left volumes which serve today as a rich source of materials and as an enduring monument to the names of their authors.

[Sidenote: Neo-cla.s.sic influences upon polite literature.]

The regeneration of Spain made itself felt to a certain extent in the realm of polite literature, as well as in other forms of Spanish intellectual life. Cultivated men of letters were desirous of rescuing Spanish literature from the vices which had fastened upon it at the close of the seventeenth century, and they turned to the so-called neo-cla.s.sic influences then dominant in western Europe, but represented more particularly by France. Ronsard, Montaigne, Corneille, and others had already begun to affect Spanish writers of the seventeenth century, and in the period of the Spanish Bourbons the works of Corneille, Racine, Marmontel, and Voltaire were offered to Spaniards in translation. The writings of other foreigners were in like manner made accessible, such as those of Alfieri, Young, and Milton. So devoted were the Spanish neo-cla.s.sicists to their trans-Pyrenean models that they were unable to see any value in the great Spanish works of the _siglo de oro_, especially those of the dramatists. They went so far as to propose the expulsion of the national drama from the Spanish stage (except such works as could be arranged according to neo-cla.s.sic tastes) and the subst.i.tution of plays from the French and Italian. Among their tenets were that of the three unities (of time, place, and action) and one which required that the action should be reduced to the amount of time it took to represent it. The greatest of the neo-cla.s.sicists was Ignacio de Luzan, whose _Poetica_, or Poetics (1737), was the highest and most creditable example of the doctrine of his school. Naturally, if only from motives of patriotism, a group of nationalistic authors sprang up in opposition to the neo-cla.s.sicists and in defence of the Spanish literature of the preceding era, but the French influence was so strong that even this group was much affected by the precepts of the new school. The public remained faithful to the national writers of the _siglo de oro_, whose plays formed the princ.i.p.al element in theatrical representations. Abroad, Spanish writers of the golden age still enjoyed a repute which their countrymen were seeking to deny them. English and German writers continued to translate or avail themselves of the works of Cervantes and the picaresque novels, while the _Gil Blas_ of the Frenchman Lesage was a clear-cut, if brilliant, imitation of Spanish models. The expulsion of the Jesuits, who took up their residence in Italy, helped to convert Italy from the Hispanophobe att.i.tude which in company with France she had maintained with regard to Spanish literature, for the more learned Jesuits were able to demonstrate the false basis of this feeling, both by their own works, and by their exposition of the merits of the Spanish writers of the past. The German Humboldt and the Frenchman Beaumarchais, both of them men of wide reputation, also took up cudgels in defence of Spain.

[Sidenote: Achievements of the era in polite literature.]

Despite the vigorous conflict of the two schools of literature, Spain was unable to produce writers who could rank with those of the _siglo de oro_. Epic poetry practically did not exist; oratorical literature, whether secular or religious, was of slight account; and only one notable novel appeared in the century, the _Fray Gerundio_ (Brother Gerund) of the Jesuit Isla. This work, which aimed to ridicule the sacred oratory of the times, was nevertheless defective in that it introduced much material foreign to the narrative, but it was in excellent Spanish and teeming with witty pa.s.sages. Both in this work, and in his translation of Lesage's _Gil Blas_, Isla won a place along with Feyjoo as one of the best writers of the day in the handling of Spanish prose. There were several notable lyric poets, such as Melendez Valdes, Nicolas Fernandez de Moratin (usually termed Moratin rather than Fernandez), the latter's son Leandro, and Quintana. Except for the younger Moratin all belonged to the patriotic Spanish school. Quintana, with his philanthropic and liberal note, his solemn, brilliant, and pompous style, and the rigidity and coldness of his cla.s.sical rhetoric, was perhaps the most typical representative of the age. The most marked achievements in the field of _belles lettres_ were in the drama. At the beginning of the century Spanish theatres had been closed as the result of a moral wave which left only the great cities, like Madrid, Barcelona, Cadiz, and Valencia, with an opportunity to attend dramatical representations. The entry of French influences and the polemics to which they gave rise led to a revival of the drama, until it became the favorite form of literature with both the public and the writers. Only four dramatists may be said to have displayed unquestioned merits: Garcia de la Huerta, who employed a mixture of the old Spanish methods with the newer French; the younger Moratin, the most distinguished representative of the French school; Ramon de la Cruz, who depicted the life of the Spanish people, and for the first time placed the customs of the Madrid proletariat on the Spanish stage; and Gonzalez del Castillo, a worthy rival of the last-named in the same field. This was an era of great actors, both men and women.

[Sidenote: Conflict between the baroque and neo-cla.s.sic styles in architecture and sculpture.]

The fine arts experienced the same influences and were the subject of the same conflicts as occurred in the field of polite literature. At the outset the baroque style in an even more exaggerated form than in the preceding era was the princ.i.p.al basis of architecture. This was vanquished by the cla.s.sical reaction, born in Italy, and coming to Spain by way of France. The new art, called neo-cla.s.sic, or pseudo-cla.s.sic, endeavored to return to Roman and what were considered Greek elements, interpreting them with an artificial and academic correctness which was entirely lacking in sentiment and warmth. The Academy of Fine Arts (_Bellas Artes de San Fernando_), established in the reign of Ferdinand VI, became the stronghold of the neo-cla.s.sic school, and was able to make its views prevail, since it was the arbiter as to the style of public buildings and the dispenser of licenses to engage in the profession of architecture. The museum of the Prado, Madrid, the work of Juan Villanueva, may be taken as an example of the neo-cla.s.sic edifices. In sculpture the traditional use of painted wood remained a dominant factor throughout most of the century, although there were evidences presaging its abandonment. While some small figures representing popular types were made, the majority of the works of statuary were for the church, which was by far the most important customer of the sculptors. Some of the most notable results were those obtained in the groups for use in the _pasos_, or floats, carried in the processions of Holy Week. Especially meritorious were those of Salcillo, greatest of the baroque sculptors. The profuse ornamentation of baroque art helped to cause a continuance of the use of stone in sculpture, since it was difficult, with wood, to procure the effects of foliage.

The baroque was soon swept away, however, in favor of the neo-cla.s.sic style, of which alvarez was the most distinguished exponent. The same influences, in both architecture and sculpture, operated in the Americas as in Spain. Both arts prospered more than they had in the past.

[Sidenote: Mediocrity of Spanish painting in this era.]

[Sidenote: Greatness of Goya.]

At the close of the seventeenth century Spanish painting had fallen away, until nothing of consequence was being done. A revival commenced with the accession of Philip V, but the results were not great. The entire era was filled with the dispute between French and Italian influences. In the reign of Charles III the German painter Mengs, who represented a kind of eclecticism which endeavored to combine the virtues of the masters in the various Italian schools of the great era, became the idol of Spanish artists and the arbiter of the Academy. No Spaniard, unless possibly Bayeu and Menendez, is even worthy of mention,--with one glorious exception. Into an age of painting which had sunk to mediocrity, when artists were endeavoring to treat their themes only according to prescribed rules and manners, came Francisco Jose Goya (1746-1828), the greatest painter of his time and one of the greatest of all history, deserving of a place with Velazquez, El Greco, and Murillo, perhaps ranking ahead of the two last-named in the list of superb exponents of the pictorial art whom Spain has given to the world. The keynote of his work was the free expression of his own personality, unhampered by convention. A thorough-going realism, both in subject-matter and in manner of treatment, was a distinctive feature of his painting, which sought to represent character, movement, and life.

Even his religious pictures set forth matters as his own eyes saw them, resulting in the anachronism of scenes from sacred history in which the figures and the atmosphere were Spanish of Goya's day. He was a most prolific painter, leaving a vast number of portraits, ranging from those of members or groups of the royal family from Charles III to Ferdinand VII (notably the family of Charles IV) to persons of lesser note, some religious paintings (which are not so convincing as his other works), an exceptionally large number of scenes depicting popular customs (an invaluable collection, in which respect Goya was at his best), the stirringly patriotic pictures of the _Dos de Mayo_ in 1808 and the executions of the following day, and the two remarkable _majas_ (the one dressed and the other nude, each being the same person in the same att.i.tude). Hundreds of his cartoons are still in existence, many of them exhibiting such freedom from convention and such unrestraint as to have shocked his contemporaries and many others ever since. Withal he was a most brilliant, clear, and harmonious colorist, able to get audacious effects which were extraordinary in his day, a forerunner of the modern schools. It is worthy of note that the Americas stepped forth in this period to supply several notable artists comparable with those of the age in Spain, Goya excepted.

[Sidenote: The industrial arts.]

As for the various lesser arts of an industrial character, such as the making of furniture, articles of gold and silver, rich fabrics, and vases, the same succession of baroque and neo-cla.s.sic styles is to be noted. Thus the furniture of the earlier years affected twisted and grotesque forms, while it was later shaped upon stiltedly correct lines.

The azulejos industry remained in existence, making use of blue, yellow, green, and occasionally rose. Gold work was of scant importance, but the making of tapestries was rather notable; they were combined with the paintings of leading artists, many of which were supplied by Goya.

[Sidenote: Spanish music.]

In the realm of music the realistic and popular indigenous type had to contend against the Italian school. The latter found favor at court and among the erudite, but the national product held its own with the people, appearing especially in the plays of dramatists of the Spanish school, such as Ramon de la Cruz. Some of the native songs were mythological or idyllic in character, but usually they were satirical or funny, interwoven with popular melodies and even with the musical cries with which street vendors called out their wares, admirably adapted to the realistic plays in which they were sung. It was to the national Spanish music that the great foreign masters looked, and this, therefore, was able to contribute notably to the progress of the art; Mozart and Rossini were among the composers affected by Spanish influences. Despite the construction at this time of magnificent organs, religious music in Spain remained in a state of corruption and decay.

The guitar continued to be the favorite musical instrument.