An Ambivalent Empire: Spain and Informal Imperialism in the Long 19th Century
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
July 16-17, 2024, Viña del Mar, Chile. Hybrid Format.
Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Centro de Estudios Americanos

Workshop

The collapse of the Catholic Monarchy in America gave rise to a process of reconfiguration of the Spanish strategic culture. The Spanish empire went from being a multicontinental power to a state relegated to its peninsular space and the insular domains of the Caribbean, the Atlantic and the Pacific. Once the reconquering expectations of the last absolutist governments (1823-1833) had been discredited, the political elites of Elizabethan Spain were strained by two contradictory tendencies. On the one hand, the Monarchy found itself in a financial and diplomatic dependence on France and the United Kingdom. On the other hand, the preservation of important overseas territories incited the governments of Madrid to project scenarios for the geopolitical regeneration of Spain as a global power. The workshop will explore how Spanish administrations, diplomats and thinkers confronted this contradiction, which places the Spanish Monarchy as both subject and object of informal imperialism.

Proposals and questions should be addressed to
rodrigo.escribano@uai.cl
b.c.sebe@bham.ac.uk
am.vicentfanconi@gmail.com

Deadline for individual paper proposals: April 30th

Individual paper proposals should consist of an abstract (200-250 words), a short biography (80-100 words) and complete contact information in a single PDF or Word file. The working languages of the conference are English and Spanish.