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‘Facing the Sun’: Nature and Nation in Franco's ‘New Spain’ (1936–51)

Del Arco Blanco, Miguel Ángel and Gorostiza, Santiago LU orcid (2021) In Journal of Historical Geography 71. p.73-82
Abstract
This article examines the relation between nation and nature in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and post-war years. As in other European cases of fascist and parafascist regimes, the Francoist regime mobilised nature for political and nationalistic goals. Spanish nature embodied the essences of the ‘true Spain’ and was seen as key to the regeneration of the country. The regime assumed an agrarian discourse that identified the countryside and nature with the real essences of the nation. It adopted autarkic political, social and economic directives, closing the country upon itself in order to regenerate and purge away its sins, but also confident that the nation's nature was the basis for building a new empire.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Autarky, Environmental history, Fascism, Francoism, Nation, Nature
in
Journal of Historical Geography
volume
71
pages
10 pages
publisher
Academic Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85099927976
ISSN
0305-7488
DOI
10.1016/j.jhg.2020.12.004
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier Ltd
id
df7cbfbc-330b-40a5-9394-6518a945afcb
date added to LUP
2025-06-12 13:33:03
date last changed
2025-06-17 08:15:23
@article{df7cbfbc-330b-40a5-9394-6518a945afcb,
  abstract     = {{This article examines the relation between nation and nature in Spain during the Spanish Civil War and post-war years. As in other European cases of fascist and parafascist regimes, the Francoist regime mobilised nature for political and nationalistic goals. Spanish nature embodied the essences of the ‘true Spain’ and was seen as key to the regeneration of the country. The regime assumed an agrarian discourse that identified the countryside and nature with the real essences of the nation. It adopted autarkic political, social and economic directives, closing the country upon itself in order to regenerate and purge away its sins, but also confident that the nation's nature was the basis for building a new empire.}},
  author       = {{Del Arco Blanco, Miguel Ángel and Gorostiza, Santiago}},
  issn         = {{0305-7488}},
  keywords     = {{Autarky; Environmental history; Fascism; Francoism; Nation; Nature}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  pages        = {{73--82}},
  publisher    = {{Academic Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Historical Geography}},
  title        = {{‘Facing the Sun’: Nature and Nation in Franco's ‘New Spain’ (1936–51)}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhg.2020.12.004}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jhg.2020.12.004}},
  volume       = {{71}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}