The centralisation of literacy through one core language (in this case, Castilian Spanish) and the education of the masses in favour of an ideology or nationalistic belief in one sense contributes to the construction of a Spanish nationalism through an imagined community (Anderson 2006: 6). I will explore this theme, as well as illustrating the nationalism created by the repression of regional language and culture by using examples such as Cataluña and ‘El País Vasco’, as these two regions represent important, current Spanish issues. These autonomous regions, contain regional languages with the potential to become vulnerable (Edelmayer 2012: 2) and represent the most nationalistic areas of Spain.
Spanish nationalism has been subject to much debate ever since the abolition of the Franco dictatorship in the 1970s, due to the manner in which, during the Franco period, one culture was the only representation of Spain (Balfour and Quiroga 2007: 1). This form of intolerant nationalism tainted the validity of the Spanish national identity as people were forced to unite under one language, culture and shared history.
When the ‘culture’ of a country is such a tumultuous topic, one thing holding a national identity together is, in my opinion, its language and education. The spread of literacy in one language is essential to the promotion and spread of a nationalistic ideology simply because the propaganda reaches more of the population (Gellner 1983: 28) and in Spain this is evident from the centralised education system and the compulsory nature of education. The current manner in which education is organised- generally by a national system with a hierarchy of schools and grades- is seen as the norm, and ‘exo-education’ as the best way to control a population to follow one set of ideals and beliefs (Gellner 1983: 34). In Spain, the education system is designed by a central governmental unit, which supervises and controls the organisation of school levels, educational principles and a certain quota of subjects studied (Pont 2014: 14). The various educational institutions are then managed by separate autonomous governments. This apparatus is fundamental to the construction of Spanish nationalism in more than one sense. Firstly, it could be stated that the Spanish government, if they so wished, could utilise these channels of power to bring up all Spanish youth in a certain way, with appreciation of certain values, and with a specific point of view when it comes to history and culture. The teaching of Spanish history, for example, will mould the Spanish youth to feel a certain way towards their past and their present, and shared moments of suffering and glory from throughout history can be used to unite the people in shared solidarity with their forefathers and with each other. A good example is, in my opinion, the pride a Spaniard may feel at the infinite fame and admiration of Miguel de Cervantes, author of ‘Don Quijote’. No one alive today knew the author personally, nor are they likely to be a relative of his. This is not their success, it was the success of one person, and so their collective pride must have been taught to them by an outside source: the education system. An ‘imagined community’ (REF: ANDERSON) is created, as people who may never meet are united by their common pride. Cultural examples like this are key to the underlying nationalism established by education in any country.
A second way in which the organisation of education contributes to nationalism is how Spanish education, though managed by a central governmental organisation, delegates regional management to its autonomous communities (Pont 2014: 14). These regions have limited freedom, but can impose their own projects to promote their separate cultural identities, which builds nationalism in places like the Basque country and Cataluña.
Catalan nationalism has reached new peaks of late, with the volume of calls for independence far exceeding previous expectations. However, this desire for Cataluña to become an independent state is no new idea; as early as 1479, Cataluña was an imperial power in its corner of the world (Johnston 1991: 31). In fact, throughout history Cataluña has proven its worth as one of the most prosperous areas in Spain, and as an important, separate region with its own culture and language, despite many attempts to encourage the domination of Castilian Spanish. The attempted reduction of the Catalan language by various administrations and monarchies to a written language (in order to spread the use of French and Castilian) has proven fruitless; for example, Catalan remains key in Cataluña despite Castilian being established as the ‘sole official language of the Spanish monarchy’ (Edelmayer 2012: 2) in the early eighteenth century. Furthermore, the Catalan language was suppressed by the new regime following the French Revolution, when certain regions of Cataluña were property of France (Edelmayer 2012: 2). However, the most open stifling of the Catalan language appears during and after the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39. Under General Franco’s regime, publications and books printed in Catalan were banned, and any advertisements either in Catalan or even referring to the region were also prohibited (Johnston 1991: 29). Anti-Catalan propaganda was blatant, such as posters emblazoned with the phrase ‘If you are Spanish, speak Spanish’ (Fowler n.d: 107). When it came to education, Franco was determined to not only eradicate all references to Catalan history and culture but also alter the education system. For example, ‘Schools were “purified” by mass dismissals of Catalan teachers’ in favour of Franco supporters, and the language was forbidden in class and in textbooks (Johnston 1991: 30). The management of schools and universities was also centralised to Madrid, and Franco went so far as to rename The Institute of Catalan Studies, preferring the ‘Spanish Institute of Mediterranean Studies’. Far from discouraging the Catalan people, however, this intense repression simply led to more Catalan solidarity, such as the attempted invasion of the Catalan Valley of Aran by over 2,000 guerrilla rebels. The people of Cataluña were now united under a common cause, and nationalistic feeling bubbled under the surface throughout the regime, in the form of clandestine political parties- ‘Front Nacional de Catalunya’, ‘Christian Democrats’ and ‘The Socialist Movement of Cataluña’, to name a few (Johnston 1991: 40).
To the people of Cataluña, the fact that they have their own language, history and culture reinforces their right to independence. They are proud of who they are as a group, separate from Spain, yet they acknowledge their intrinsic links to the main country. One really interesting aspect of the Catalan issue is their attitude towards newcomers into the region; one of acceptance and tolerance of other cultures and languages. As any nation would, Cataluña asks for respect of its own practices and language, but does not demand that foreigners become ‘culturally or linguistically Catalan’ (Llobera 2005: 2). It is a shame that the Catalan people were not themselves shown this courtesy throughout history. Today, the Catalan movement for independence is very much alive, and moving forward in a peaceful way; one could take as examples the referendum for independence in the year 2014 (Gyldenkerne 2014) and the human chain created throughout the region on Catalan National Day (September 11th) in 2013. When it comes to education, there is a clear sense that the regional Catalan governments and school supervisors are desperate to cultivate the language as fruitfully as possible. Many schools are taught exclusively in the regional language, with fairly few offering “a 50-50 Spanish-Catalan teaching system”. This system is actually receiving some backlash from parents concerned that their children don’t speak Castilian well enough, and who would like more of a balance (Ortiz 2014).
In a similar fashion to Cataluña, the Basque Country (or ‘El País Vasco’) suffered repression of their regional language under forced centralisation during the authoritarian-corporatist dictatorship of General Franco (Watson 1990: 103). The official government policy at this time concerning Euskera forbade its growth, and a stigma grew around its use until many of those who knew Euskera were afraid to speak it (Heiberg 2007: 100). However, from 1960 onwards schools were opened in which Euskera was the sole language used when teaching, and by 1979 around 50,000 pupils attended these institutions (Heiberg 2007: 101). During this era, under this intense repression, certain members of Basque nationalist organisations became more and more radical, and eventually ETA was born in the year 1958. This revival of Basque nationalism was a serious menace to the dictatorship, as well as to any pro-Castilian groups within the Basque region (Watson 1990: 100-104).
During the transition to democracy in Spain, a document called the Statute of Guernica was drawn up in 1978 which included the recognition of Euskera as an official language of the region (Watson 1990: 106). This, and the allowance of Basque citizenship to those within the region, shows that the central Spanish government was prepared to allow decentralisation, demonstrating a clear break with the philosophies of Franco, and was a big step forward for the Basque nationalist movement, as their language was officially recognised and steps could now be taken to re-cultivate it.
Although Cataluña and the Basque Country are alike in the repression of their respective languages during this period, the outcome and current situations are not as close in likeness. Whilst the Catalan language has become fairly well integrated into modern Spanish culture, due to its similarities to Castilian Spanish, the Basque language is vastly different to any romance language and is therefore isolated. This seclusion was furthered throughout history by the general belief of the Basque people that they were a ‘pure’ and separate ‘race’ (Heiberg 2007: 51) and that their language and culture, which evolved separately to that of Spain, meant that ‘a Basque could never be Spanish and a Spaniard could never be Basque’ (Heiberg 2007: 52). This distinctly different language is in my opinion partially beneficial to the Basque nationalism movement, established by Sabino Arana. This is because the Basque speakers are united as one and kept apart from the rest of the country, as the language is so hard for an outsider to learn. However, the figures for the use of Euskera are fairly low, with the latest statistic reading at 37% of the population of the Basque country speaking it fluently, whereas in Cataluña 80.4% can speak Catalan (http://www.npld.eu/about-us/basque/). These statistics demonstrate how the Basque language has suffered; and the reason for its hardship is, in my opinion, its isolation and level of difficulty for an outsider. The figures also offer clear reasons why it is now an ‘urgent task’ to boost levels of Euskera throughout the region (Heiberg 2007: 115).
To conclude, the centralised nature of the Spanish education system and the spread of literacy in a common language throughout Spain has contributed to the Spanish nationalist ideal. It has done this by creating a clear sense of national identity and Spanish pride through the manifestation of previously mentioned ‘imagined communities’ (Anderson 2006: 6). Furthermore, the fact that children are educated in Castilian and in a certain way contributes to the feeling of Spanish nationalism that they are, almost without exception, raised to believe in. Nationalism in regions like Cataluña and the Basque Country originates from they fact that they have their own languages and cultures, as they have suffered repression of these throughout history. However, the regions differ in their approach; Cataluña most famously uses peaceful protests and public referendums to further their agenda, whereas within the Basque region certain nationalist movements have descended into radicalisation. It is paramount to each region to keep their respective languages alive, through the education of young people and institutions taught exclusively in Euskera or Catalan. Although a sense of underlying Spanish nationalism is present throughout Spain, it cannot compare in magnitude to the movements in these two regions.