Redefining public education: Contestation, the press, and education in Regency Spain, 1885-1902

Literacy has been cited as an important factor in nation building in late n ineteenth-century Europe, particularly where politically active citizenries are concerned. But what about the millions of non-literate Europeans? How were they incorporated in the nation,building process? This article suggest s answers to these questions by focusing on the spread of literacy in late nineteenth century Spain. It discusses a broader notion of public education , spurred in large part by Spanish print culture, as part of a complex inte raction that resulted in a larger, more politically active citizenry in tur n of the century Spain with obvious parallels for other European nations. T his article also suggests that there are myriad ways to educate a populace outside the restrictions of a formal state education system. Spanish newspa pers were at the vanguard of this informal education system, but were not t he only means of political transmission of ideas. Simultaneously, reading c lubs and other extra,state educational and political bodies developed that also used newspapers, along with other materials, to politicize Spaniards. The result, as I show here, was a symbiotic relationship between the press, the state, and Spanish citizens that altered the direction of educational reform while it broadened the numbers of politically active Spaniards.