The evolution of the image of the Hispano-Moroccan wars and its diffusion in public opinion (1859-1927)

Authors

  • Alfonso Iglesias Amorín Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v8i16.520

Keywords:

Moroccan wars, Spanish Protectorate in Morocco, Colonialism, Visual representations, Photography

Abstract

Spanish society was informed about the military conflicts faced by the Spanish army in Morocco during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in many different ways. Graphic descriptions played an important role in that they were determinant to condition how these conflicts were perceived in the metropolis. Paintings, drawings, engravings, caricatures or photographs were gaining or losing importance from one campaign to the other depending on multiple factors. The aim of the article is to analyze them, seeking to draw a global perspective and a thorough insight that may allow us to identify some general trends while at the same time looking for the key elements that most influenced Spanish society and its opinion about its own Army, the Moorish (Moro) enemy, the wars being fought or the Protectorate established in 1912 in Moroccan territory. The Hispano-Moroccan War of 1859-1860, the Margallo War of 1893, the Barranco del Lobo War in 1909 and the long Rif War which lasted since that year until 1927 (including events as significant as the Battle of Annual (1921), the Retreat from Chaouen (1924) or the Al Hoceima Landing in 1925) constitute the conflicts analyzed in this paper through its visual representations, emphasizing their stages and characteristics. To do so, the general bibliography on Moroccan campaigns and a more specific one about graphic representations and photographs have been consulted, as well as the illustrated press published during the studied period, albums, books, collections of postcards and other sources, which offer us an overview as complete and varied as possible.

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Author Biography

Alfonso Iglesias Amorín, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

Alfonso Iglesias Amorin (Santiago de Compostela, 1983), es Doctor en Historia por la Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, con la tesis La memoria de las guerras de Marruecos en España (1859-1936), premio extraordinario de doctorado (2017). Sus principales líneas de investigación son los conflictos bélicos, el colonialismo, la memoria y los nacionalismos. Es autor de varios libros y artículos en revistas científicas. Realizó estancias de investigación en el Centre for War Studies del Trinity College Dublin y en la Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, donde pasó dos años con un contrato posdoctoral. Actualmente es investigador en la Universidade de Santiago de Compostela con un contrato posdoctoral de la Xunta de Galicia.

 

Published

2019-07-11 — Updated on 2020-03-22

How to Cite

Iglesias Amorín, A. (2020). The evolution of the image of the Hispano-Moroccan wars and its diffusion in public opinion (1859-1927). Revista Universitaria De Historia Militar, 8(16), 104–131. https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v8i16.520