Between internationalism and nationalism : the Esperanto movement in the Iberian Peninsula in the early twentieth century

Abstract

This thesis is, first of all, an account of the Esperanto movement in the Iberian Peninsula. A largely unexplored phenomenon in general, the development of the constructed language in Southern Europe has not been addressed in depth before. Therefore, this work is one of its kind and complements the literature on better known Esperanto movements in France, Great Britain, and Eastern Europe. Zooming in the Iberian Peninsula, however, does not merely add a new region to the available Esperanto literature, it also uncovers new trends within Esperantism, distancing the phenomenon from the field of linguistics and exposing its relation to other historical events. Between 1887 and 1928 a significant connection between the language and nationalist movements emerged in the region. This cooperation between social movements led to increasing tensions among Esperantists with different nationalist and political agendas. Such confrontations questioned whether Esperanto could prevail over nationalist sentiments or not, especially because of the long-established apolitical character of the movement. The novelty of this thesis is thus twofold. One the one hand, it geographically expands the research on Esperanto by focusing on a peripheral European area. On the other hand, it examines the extent to which Esperantism can be associated with terms such as cosmopolitanism, internationalism, and anationalism, as it has traditionally been. To achieve it, this thesis approaches the issue by studying the Esperanto movements of three specific nations: Portugal, Spain, and Catalonia. The analysis of their national Esperanto journals sheds light on the events that shaped Esperantism in the Peninsula. However, as censorship regulated any printed material, a key focus are the numerous individuals who made up the groups involved. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to include the Iberian Peninsula in the history of Esperanto whilst exploring its nationalist ramifications. Doing so will help unveil unknown facets of the language that will then contribute to our better understanding of Esperanto beyond linguistics.