Spanish Africanism and the communicative work of the Institute of African Studies

Abstract

When in the middle of the 19th century, and following in the footsteps of a chosen series of risky explorers, Europe began the "race for Africa", culminating in its first phase with the division of the continent in the historic Berlin Conference of 1885, a varied although not a very large group of enthusiastic Spanish “Africanists” considered that, for historical and geopolitical reasons, Spain should be present.

Similar to what was happening in many European countries, Spanish Africanism, which had centuries-old roots, tried to be stimulated in the second half of the 19th century not only through lively journalistic polemics but also through various geographical and colonialist societies. Although the Spanish Abolitionist Society existed from 1865 to 1888, which published a widely distributed bi-weekly called “El Abolicionista”, we have to wait until 1876 for the Royal Spanish Geographical Society to be established in Madrid, almost half a century after its equivalents in Paris (1821), Berlin (1928) and London (1830), capitals of nations with a great colonial vocation. A year later, the Spanish Association for the Exploration of Africa was created. This institution, a subsidiary of the Association for the Exploration of the Congo, founded in Brussels the previous year by King Leopold II, will come into being with the hope of being less elusive and more pragmatic than the Geographical Society, with which it nonetheless shared a large number of affiliates. The impetuous capacity of Joaquín Costa made possible in 1883 the creation of the Spanish Society of Africanists and Colonialists. This initiative took place after the celebration of the historic First Spanish Congress of Colonial and Mercantile Geography held at the Central University and would later be confirmed at the famous meeting at the Alhambra Theater in Madrid in March 1884. In both events, the still very broad problem was reviewed Spanish colonial and solutions to it were sought. It should be remembered that, contemporaneously with the aforementioned Berlin Conference, the Commercial Geography Society in Barcelona and the Hispano-Mauritanian Union in Granada were also established. The latter was made up of Arabists and university students from both sides of the strait, publishers since 1880 "La Estrella de Occidente" and, late in the 20th century, also of the prestigious magazine "Al Andalus", among whom Ángel Ganivet stood out. This series of geographical circles that tried to mobilize the interest of public opinion towards the neighboring African continent must be completed with the reference to the Spanish Africanist League created in Madrid in 1913 after our country accepted Moroccan responsibilities.