Spain's Eighteenth-Century Periodical Press

Madeline Sutherland-Meier is Associate Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin. Her area of expertise is Spanish Literature, especially the periodical press and the Romancero (Spanish Ballad).

• Part IValladares and the Semanario EruditoThe Life and Works of Antonio Valladares de SotomayorEarly Years, Early WorksWriting for the TheatreA Temporary Stay in OsunaThe Economics of Writing and the Move to EditingHard Times in the 1790sThe Peninsular War and a Return to the Theatre1818: An Investigation by the Inquisition and an Appeal to the KingFinal Years and Final ProjectsThe Semanario EruditoThe Early History of the Semanario EruditoThe ProspectoValladares and Antonio de Sancha: Publishers with a Common PurposeThe Publication and Distribution of the Semanario EruditoThe Decree of 1791 and After1816: The Nuevo Semanario EruditoThe Law, the Censors, the Consejo de Castilla and the Semanario EruditoLaws Regulating the Periodical Press in the Eighteenth CenturyThe CensorsThe Censors’ Recommendations and the Consejo’s DecisionsApril 1788: A Contretemps with the AuthoritiesConclusions: The Role of the Censors, a Confluence of InterestsPart IIRecovering the History of SpainIntroduction: Examining Valladares’s ArchiveAssembling the ArchiveWhat Did the Archive Contain?Recovering the History of the Seventeenth CenturyIntroductionEye-Witness Reporting: Quevedo, Almansa y Mendoza, Pellicer de TovarThe Spanish Monarchy: Palafox’s ‘Juicio interior’ and the Anonymous Memorias históricas de la monarquía de EspañaRoyal Correspondence: Letters of the Conde Duque de Olivares, Queen Mariana, Don Juan de Austria and the Duque de AlbaWritings of the Arbitristas and the ProyectistasThe Arbitristas: Diagnosing and Curing Spain’s IllsThe Eighteenth-Century Heirs of the Arbitrista Tradition: The ProyectistasEighteenth-Century Writers: Martín Sarmiento, Andrés Burriel, Gregorio Mayans y SiscarWritings by Padre Martín SarmientoLetters of Andrés BurrielGregorio Mayans y Siscar: Correspondence and Other WritingsConclusion and Reflections

Antonio Valladares de Sotomayor spent his life, talent and resources fighting for Spains Enlightenment. He worked to keep a broad public informed and to answer two fundamental questions: what are the causes of Spain's underdevelopment, and how can Spain elevate itself to the level of its European (enlightened) neighbours? This book tracks Valladaress efforts through his major publication, the Semanario Erudito (1787“91), and reveals the contours of the many controversies and problems faced by liberal thinkers in the late eighteenth century. Valladaress achievement was significant “ so too is Sutherland-Meiers in this excellent and compelling study.