19th Century Galicia: History and Literary Revival
Historical Context of 19th Century Galicia
The beginning of the 19th century in Galicia was characterized by Spanish-French domination. Napoleon, with his rise and intention to create a great empire, led to the conquest of Spain. The Revolutionary War then began and lasted for six years. This event marked the social and political evolution of Spain until the expulsion of the French in 1814. Fernando VII then took power and soon implemented and enforced the authorities of the old regime. The manifestation of Galician identity evolved through the different political periods.
Fernando VII died in 1833. The Pragmatic Sanction, which he had approved, gave way to his daughter Elizabeth’s rule. She needed support to confront the liberal supporters of her uncle, Carlos Isidro, during the Carlist Wars. This facilitated the incorporation of progressive changes in the governance and management of land. There was then an alternation in government between the Liberals, led by Espartero, and the Conservatives, led by Narváez. Democratic parties were also being formed.
In the liberal climate of thought, a Galician movement named “Provincialism” emerged. It intended to defend the integrity of Galicia as a single province, compared to the four provincial projects proposed after the division of 1833. Following the Conxo Banquet in 1846, the second generation of Galician intellectuals emerged, focusing on social and cultural aspects.
In 1868, the Glorious Revolution ended the reign of Elizabeth II and left power in the hands of a revolutionary council. An interim government was then formed, with Prim, a progressive, and Serrano, a unionist, at its head. The constitution of 1869 established a more democratic Spain and regarded the monarchy as a form of organization and government.
In the same year, the First Spanish Republic was proclaimed, but it lasted less than two years. General Pavia dissolved the Parliament, and after the military takeover of Martinez Campos in December 1874, Alfonso XII, son of Isabel II, was proclaimed King of Spain, marking the restoration of the monarchy. There was an agreement to ensure the alternation of government. The century ended with the loss of the last colonies: Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines in 1898, and with a dominant sense of defeat and decline.
O Rexurdimento and the Renaissance
Galician literature experienced a golden age from the 12th to the 15th centuries. The following three centuries are called the Séculos Escuros, or Dark Centuries. The first signs of a literary revival were born during the War of Independence. Loose sheets were written to encourage Galician peasants against the French invaders. These anonymous compositions have little literary value but are of historical and sociological importance.
In 1810, Feats of Galicia was published. These sheets, signed by Xosé Fernandez Neira, collected the successes of Galician peasants in the war. In 1813, a liberal cleric anonymously printed a romance by Manuel Pardo de Andrade, a poem against the Inquisition. These oldest writings are considered the prehistory of the Rexurdimento, the recovery of Galician for literary use.
In Catalonia, Bonaventura Carles Aribau published his “Ode to the Motherland” in 1831. Aribau, a wealthy Catalan banker living in Madrid, gave a party at his palace attended by important figures and a young Catalan man who worked at the bank, also named Aribau.
In 1859, the Floral Games were restored, rewarding poets who wrote the best lines. In 1862, the Album of Charity was released, containing the winning entries from 1861 and an anthology of poets. In 1863, Rosalia de Castro’s Cantares Gallegos appeared. It was the first book written in Galician, and with it, Galician literature was consolidated and gained prestige.