Spain’s Tumultuous Turn of the Century: Imperialism, Modernism, and the Generation of ’98

The Dawn of Turmoil: Late 19th Century Europe and Spain

The late 19th century marked a period of unprecedented splendor in Europe. The Industrial Revolution entered a new phase, with accelerated technical progress fueling an era of imperialism among the most advanced nations. Spain, however, was shaken by these imperialistic tensions. The Disaster of 1898 saw Spain lose the remnants of its former empire, causing widespread suffering, particularly among the poor who were obligated to military service.

International relations were strained, and the spark that ignited the Great War of 1914 consumed Europe, shattering long-held hopes and leaving a destructive and traumatic impact on the minds of men.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Spain was a largely rural country with low wages. Its foreign trade reflected the insufficient development of its industry. Landowners and the oligarchy, with their economic and political power, clung to the old regime, while socialism and anarchism gained traction. The Regeneracionista movement, driven by the middle class, called for economic and political modernization. However, it eventually fell into an ideology of rural society and nationalism. Corruption and the discrediting of the monarchy further fueled the search for a political alternative.

Modernism and the Generation of ’98

As 20th-century Realism waned, writers like Galdós and Clarín explored innovative ways to express their new concerns. A new generation of writers, known as modernists, emerged. Modernism, positively embraced as a cult of beauty and a search for the ideal, rejected literary mediocrity. It originated in Latin America with writers like Rubén Darío and José Martí.

Spanish Modernism can be divided into two phases: Militant Modernism, marked by the arrival of Rubén Darío in Spain in 1892, and its heyday in the early years of the century. As Modernism consolidated, authors like Manuel Machado, Azorín, and Eduardo Marquina embraced the new trend, while others like Juan Ramón Jiménez, Valle Inclán, and Antonio Machado sought different paths.

From 1913, the concept of the Generation of ’98, used by Azorín, referred to the new writers of this period. It distinguished between writers who sought refuge in aestheticism and those who, like Unamuno, Baroja, and Azorín, adopted a critical attitude towards reality. These writers shared a rebellious attitude against bourgeois values and embraced ideologies like anarchism and socialism. They opposed the mediocrity of Spanish society during the Restoration. Over time, it became clear that these features were not unique to Spanish writers but were part of a broader European literary phenomenon.