La Polonia del mediodía: un tópico polaco en la historia española

Abstract

During the Spanish democratic period of1868-1874 it became popular in the press, parliamentary rhetoric, and literature to identify Spain as «the Poland of the South». This rhetorical expression reflected the pessimism provoked in all parties by the political instability, the intervention of foreign powers in Spanish internal affairs, and the menace posed to the territorial integrity of the nation. The idea that Spain was condemned to a destiny similar to Poland's reaches its climax after the proclamation of the Republic in 1873, when the governments of Madrid were fighting on three fronts: the Cuban war, the Carlist war, and the Cantonalist insurrection. An analysis of the Episodios nacionales of Pérez Galdós makes it possible to trace the evolution of this topic and its influence over the national image of Spain, and the mark it left four decades later with the beginning of the separatists movements, especially Basque nationalism.