Spanish nationalism

Spanish nationalism is the nationalism that asserts that the Spaniards are a nation, and promotes the cultural unity of the Spanish. In a general sense, it comprises political and social movements inspired by a love for Spanish culture, language, history, and a sense of pride in Spain and its people. Spanish nationalists often reject other nationalist movements within Spain, specifically Catalan and Basque nationalism.

Spanish nationalism has been tied to the conceptions of a Castilian-based culture. The Castilian language became the Spanish language. Other forms of Spanish nationalism have included pan-Iberianism and pan-Hispanism. The origins of Spanish nationalism are claimed to have begun with the Reconquista — beginning with the final conquest of Granada in 1492. This resulted in a surge of patriotic sentiment among Catholic Spaniards. The development of Spanish nationalism has been tied to the state-building process of the Castilian-ruled Spanish monarchy.

In many Western European nation-states (Portugal, France and England), the shaping of an authoritarian monarchy, like those of the late Middle Ages, prompted a parallel secular development of the state and nation in Spain under the Spanish Monarchy's successive territorial conformations. Like many nations before it, Spanish national identity and territorial dynamic gave rise to different outcomes. As a result of how the institutions responded to the changing economic and social dynamic, the idea of nationalism did not fully flourish into its contemporary frame until the Old Regime had succumbed. At the time, the clearest identification factor that existed throughout this ethnic-religious period in Spain was the form of "Old Christian" status. By the end of this period at the 18th century, the linguistic identification factor had gradually revolved around the Castilian with new institutions such as the Spanish Royal Academy.

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