• The intellectuals "The Spaniards have never had patriotism"

Behind his small appearance and British gentleman's manners lies an iconoclast that expresses itself with total freedom in the invention of Spain ( Spain ). The last work of British historian Henry Kamen (1936) is an amendment to the totality of many of the myths and legends that are part of the Spanish imaginary, such as the resistance of Numancia to the Romans, Don Pelayo, the Spanish Empire or even the Spain's very existence as a historical nation . It also points to Catalan independence as a factory of falsehoods.

This is a book that will irritate the nationalists of all fur ... The idea behind this essay is that historical phenomena must be explained, not fought against them or adhered, because even the defects that can be found in the Historiography, its myths and deformations, are part of the struggle to define the characteristics of that country. The myths must be understood. Do you need lies? You don't have to always insist on the truth. There are many truths and it depends on how you present those aspects. Every country needs to build a history of successes and heroics. Sometimes it is a conscious lie, but with a little discipline it can become part of the tradition. You dismantle the figure of Pelayo, so vindicated today by Vox ... Well it didn't exist. Historians know so little about him, there are no direct documentary references, so it can be said that he is mythical. There is no way to document their exploits. Another myth is Covadonga. No Christian or Muslim chronicles of later decades even mention the battle. Most likely, the legend is born a century later by the chroniclers of the king of Leon Alfonso III. As many of the writings on Numancia and the resistance against the Romans are fiction. And the apostle James? The same. It is totally mythical. Its legend, which reinforced the religious element of the war against Muslims, is initially based on the battle of Clavijo. According to historians who have examined the evidence with critical eyes never occurred. The first chronicles of this battle date from the twelfth century, three centuries later. From the beginning, the figure of Santiago is an exaggeration. Can we maintain that every nation is a collective invention? To affirm an identity you must first invent it. Sometimes the lies are due to the lack of information and the need to give the people something they can hold in their hands. The myths and legends serve to compensate for the defects of the knowledge of the past and are configured according to the need of the country and the moment. They help to unite. A myth is not always bad, it helps to realize. Build what is now called "the story" ... Exactly. In the case of Russia, the authorities had the need to invent a past to arrive at the story of what they wanted Russia to be. That construction in the case of Spain was somewhat different, because in Russia there was an imperialist imposition of the Russians on other peoples. On the other hand, Spain was not like that. Basque and Catalan nationalism tends to regret the predominance of a vision of the Castilian matrix in the construction of the idea of ​​Spain, do you share that perception? It can give that feeling, because the historians of the 16th century were the first in deliberately confusing the identities of Castile and Spain, but it is not entirely true. Within Castilla there are so many complications and nuances. Should we break Andalusia from Castilla? If we exclude Andalusia, Aragon, Basque Country, etc., there is almost no Castilla left. This is very interesting, because it shows that the story of Spain was built accepting each territory the myth of others. If there is a founding myth of the idea of ​​Spain that is the Reconquest ... The word "reconquest" appears in the chronicles very late, in 1796, and arises with the will to cultivate the image of a warrior people, as well as for a religious reason with the idea of ​​crusade. But the truth is that we cannot talk about an eight century war. If we study the medieval period of Castile we do not find these conflicts, there is no series of glorious conquests for at least three centuries. It is the Catholic Monarchs who want to connect the conquest of Granada in 1492 with a historical account. The most controversial aspect of this book is its resistance to considering Spain as a nation. He maintains that it is contradictory to affirm that it is the oldest nation in Europe when for centuries there was a lack of linguistic unity, culture, tradition ... I prefer to speak of country. Spain has been and is a very diverse country that has managed to maintain its idiomatic and cultural plurality, but suffers from a lack of cohesion because in each era, each leader has tried to impose his vision. Experts generally reject the word nation because it is very complex and means nothing. What is the character of a nation? In a language? No. In the feeling of love for each other? Neither. In the belief of sharing the same history and traditions? Not in the case of Spain. It is difficult to define a nation scientifically. When, after the nineteenth century, they begin to articulate their discourse around the concept of nation, historians begin to reject the idea because they know that there is a political ambition behind it, a demagogy. You have been living in Catalonia for 30 years, do you see a solution to the conflict? Most Catalans of origin are nationalists. That is to say, that they appreciate the country, its language, its traditions, that they marry among Catalans ... It is necessary to distinguish this from the independence movement, which does not reflect the majority vision, and that seeks in ideas of the 19th century to build a rupturist discourse. Catalonia has never been independent, has been part of other entities such as the Crown of Aragon or Spain, and it will not be in the future because most Catalans do not want it that way. His main myth is that of 1714, which was actually a civil war and not a popular uprising against Spain. Separatism has no ideology, its program is to try to keep the high-class Catalan bourgeoisie always hold power. What do you think of the recent controversy between Elvira Roca and Pérez Reverte by the Black Legend of Spain? It is a fictitious debate, because it is not True that legend. It is not worth wasting time on something that never existed, it does not match historical data. There is no hatred of foreigners to Spain. The list of examples is very numerous. Instead they accuse me of antispañol.

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