Competing Visions of Spain: Joaquin Costa and Miguel de Unamuno's Searches for National Identity

This paper examines the competing visions of Spain offered by Joaquín Costa and Miguel de Unamuno in the last decades of the nineteenth century and in the first years of the twentieth century, as they sought to define the essence of Spainishness. In attempts to describe the national character, they invoked common historical memories and symbols, which were open to numerous interpretations. These multi-faceted and often contradictory depictions of Spain and its inhabitants presented diverse view of the country, attesting to the complexities of national identities. Focusing primarily on the writings of Costa and Unamuno, this paper examines their various portrayals of Spain, which changed somewhat in the wake of 1898, and which influenced later intellectuals such as José Ortega y Gasset.