Keywords
Bullfights, Napoleonic Spain, Political Dissension, Fiesta Napoleonica
Abstract
Bullfighting entrenched itself in the cultural life of the Spanish nation early in the seventeenth century and has since become a highly publicized, distinctly Spanish pastime. Calling it "el espectaculo mas nacional," the count of Navas wrote that "if Rome lived happily on bread and war, then Madrid lives happily on bread and bulls." While the majority of the scholars who have written on Spanish bullfighting have done so in hopes of elucidating its pseudoscientific, often nebulous connection to the Spanish soul, the festival has had considerable impact on the nation as an institution and a symbol. Often lacking in traditional historiography of the corrida is not an exploration of its symbolic depths, but rather a discussion of how various groups have manipulated its appeal for political purposes since its rise as a popular form of mass recreation.
Recommended Citation
Clayton, Blake C.
(2006)
"Making Sport of a Nation The Politicization of Bullfighting in Napoleonic Spain,"
The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing: Vol. 35:
Iss.
1, Article 9.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thetean/vol35/iss1/9
Included in
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, History Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Religion Commons