Debate: When was Spain born? From Hispania to 1812

Spain did not begin in 1812: Hispanic identity predates Rome

The question of when Spain emerged as a political entity has as many answers as there are factions. A review of the arguments circulating these days leaves an uncomfortable fact for everyone: some claim that the first known reference to "Hispanos" as a collective predates the Roman conquest. Specifically, according to one of the most repeated theses in the debate, Hispanic mercenaries serving Rome during the First Punic War already referred to themselves by that term. That is, before Hispania existed as a province, there were people who identified as Hispanic, according to this version. This clashes both with the narrative that Spain is a 19th-century invention and with the idea that it was born with the Visigoths.

What do those who place its birth in 1812 say?

The date most frequently cited in public debate is 1812, the year of the Constitution of Cádiz. Those defending this thesis argue that Spain as a modern nation, with popular sovereignty and a unified state, was born then. Before that, there were kingdoms, dynasties, and territories, but no nation-state in the contemporary sense. It is a position that, according to some participants, has gained weight in academic discourse over recent decades and clashes head-on with the traditional view.

The traditional view, conversely, places the turning point with the Catholic Monarchs. The marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand marks territorial and dynastic unification, and from there one can speak of Spain as a political subject. Some go further back and place the birth in the Visigothic Kingdom of Spain, around the year 486, when the Visigoths sealed agreements with the Hispano-Romans, according to a calculation circulating in the debate. Others trace it back to Leovigild as the first king of an independent kingdom of Spain.

The argument from medieval documents

One of the most specific contributions circulating is that of medieval documents. Military personnel, diplomats, merchants, and travelers from the kingdoms of Castile, Portugal, Navarre, and Aragon, upon returning to the peninsula, said they were "returning to Spain." There are thousands of letters and documents attesting to this, according to proponents of this thesis. They were not speaking of Castile or Aragon: they were speaking of Spain as a common space.

The dictionary of Sebastián de Covarrubias, from the 17th century, is also cited as evidence. In his definition, "nation" equates to kingdom or province, and explicitly mentions the Spanish nation, according to a participant who cites him. He argues this is not a forced interpretation: it is a clear reference to a political entity with its own name. This does not miccionan a modern nation-state existed, but rather that the term Spain designated something more than a geographical expression.

Did Portugal exist when 'Hispanos' were mentioned?

One of the most repeated objections concerns Portugal. When the term Hispanic was already used to define the inhabitants of Hispania, Portugal did not exist as an independent kingdom. Nor did Castile. Catalonia, even less so. This is an argument launched to dismantle the idea that Spain is a modern construction superimposed on pre-existing nations. If the terms Castile, Portugal, or Catalonia did not exist when people were already called Hispanics, the burden of proof shifts.

On the other side, some argue that the geographical term is one thing and political identity another. That Romans called the peninsula Hispania does not miccionan its inhabitants felt part of a nation. Hispanic identity, in any case, would be an ethnic or cultural identity, not a political one. This is a reasonable distinction, but it is also true that Romans did not call just anywhere Hispania: it was a province with its own entity, and its inhabitants were Hispanics in Rome, not Celtiberians or Lusitanians.

The controversy over Trajan's provincial origin

A curious detail that has come to light: Trajan avoided references to his provincial origin as much as possible. He sought to associate himself with a supposed Italic ancestry from Picenum, a deliberate connection according to sources. Other emperors of provincial origin, such as Claudius, never worried about such things. The amphitheater of Italica began construction under Trajan, demonstrating he identified with his hometown, but there is no record of him claiming his Hispanic origin while alive. His memoirs have been lost.

Hadrian minted coins with the allegory of Hispania, but also with allegories of other provinces he visited, such as Egypt. This does not serve as proof of identity reclamation. What remains clear is that the gens Ulpia must have been at least in the senatorial order since the time of Tiberius, according to available data. Trajan's father was a senator, tribune of a legion, legate, and suffect consul under Vespasian. He was not an upstart.

The underlying problem: what we understand by nation

The discussion gets tangled because the concept of nation we use is modern. It emerged with late 19th-century Romanticism and was consolidated with the Napoleonic nation-state, according to the debate. Applying that category to the Middle Ages or Rome is anachronistic. But that does not trinc that Spain is a laboratory invention. It was constructed as a contemporary state in the 19th century, yes, but upon a pre-existing identity that had been functioning for centuries.

Some claim Spain is Europe's oldest nation. Others respond that this is Romantic folklore. What cannot be denied is that the term Spain designated something before 1812, before the Catholic Monarchs, and before the Visigoths. Whether that something was a nation in the current sense is another matter. Probably not, but neither were France nor England at those same dates. The bar is not applied equally to all.

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With these elements, prediction is risky. If historiography trinc the path of recent decades, the 1812 thesis will gain weight in academic discourse. But the Hispanic identity predating Rome has a trajectory that is difficult to dismantle. Meanwhile, each faction will continue choosing the date that suits them best.