The concept of History in Spain (1750-1850)

During the pcriod 1750-1850, the concept of history nearly always refers to the truthful narration of past evcnts. But, besides this principal meaning, we can also observe the slow but steady growth of an allusion to the past itself, a notion which determines the present and prepares to address the future. This new sense of the word "history" was a result of the important political events which occurrcd in Spain at the turn of the century, and it was employed by the diffcrcnt political movemcnts, according to their ideologies and interests. In this article, the diverse uses of term history are analysed, with particular cmphasis upon the different adjectives applied to the term "history": litcrary, narrative, philosophical, adite, natural, civil, national history, etc. This perspective enables thc author to approach a wide range of uses of : expression in argument, via the various ficlds of knowledge and activity implicit in those adjectives.