Real Academia de la Historia

The Real Academia de la Historia (RAH, 'Royal Academy of History') is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of civilisation, and of the culture of the Spanish people". The Academy was established by royal decree of Philip V of Spain on 18 April 1738.[1]

Royal Academy of History
Native name
Spanish: Real Academia de la Historia
LocationMadrid, Spain
Coordinates40.4135°N 3.6989°W / 40.4135; -3.6989
ArchitectJuan de Villanueva
Official name: Real Academia de la Historia
TypeNon-movable
CriteriaMonument
Designated1945
Reference no.RI-51-0001170
Location of Royal Academy of History in Spain

Building

Since 1836 the Academy has occupied an 18th-century building designed by the neoclassical architect Juan de Villanueva. The building was originally occupied by the Hieronymites, a religious order. It became available as a result of legislation in the 1830s confiscating monastic properties (the ecclesiastical confiscations of Mendizábal).[2]

Collections

As formerly the main Spanish institution for antiquaries, the Academy retains significant libraries and collections of antiquities, which cannot be seen by the public. The keeper of antiquities is the prehistorian Martín Almagro Gorbea.[3]

Items held include:

Criticism

Some Spanish historians have considered it an obsolete misogynist institution, that still considers history as a matter of kings and battles.[4][5] However, the image has changed since Carmen Iglesias, the first female director, took over from Gonzalo Anes.[note 1] By some authors RAH is considered a "thoroughly undemocratic" institution "unrepresentative of Spanish historical profession" and a hotbed of historical revisionism.[6]

Biographical work

Biographical dictionary

In 2011 the Academy published the first 20 volumes of a dictionary of national biography, the Diccionario Biográfico Español, to which some five thousand historians contributed. The publicly funded publication has been subject of controversy for failing to achieve the standards of objectivity associated with, for example, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The British Dictionary restricted itself to persons who were deceased, and the historian Henry Kamen has argued that it was a mistake for its Spanish equivalent to include living figures among entries.[7] However, while there was criticism of entries for some living people (such as the politician Esperanza Aguirre), the main allegations of bias concern articles relating to Francoist Spain. A notable example was the entry on Francisco Franco, written by Luis Suárez Fernández, in which Franco is defined as an autocratic head of state rather than a dictator.[4][8] In contrast, the dictionary reportedly defame individuals such as Juan Negrín, the last prime minister of the Second Republic.[9]

The dictionary sparked an outcry. Most objections came from voices on the left such as the party United Left and the newspaper Público.[9] For his part, Green party senator Joan Saura asked for publication of the dictionary to be stopped and the offending volumes withdrawn.[10] There was also a call for corrections from the Ministry of Education. The Academy announced in June 2011 that amendments would be made to the text on line and in future paper editions.[11] In 2012, when the Minister of Education, Culture and Sport, made a statement on the subject of the dictionary, it was still not clear whether the Academy was willing to describe Franco as a dictator.[12] Carmen Iglesias, director of the academy, vowed to modify the online version in 2015.[13] In 2018 a ceremony was held at El Pardo to launch the online edition, Diccionario Biografico Electronico.[14] Franco's status as a dictator was confirmed.[15]

Metro collaboration

In 2015 the Academy entered into an initiative in collaboration with Metro de Madrid to provide information about people who have given their names to metro stations. Stations named after people include Concha Espina and Paco de Lucia. Display panels have been placed in the stations in question.[16]

Monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests

In 2020 the Academy issued a statement “deploring” recent attacks on statues of figures from Spanish history, such as Christopher Columbus, which had taken place as part of the George Floyd protests. It reaffirmed its “commitment to the knowledge of Spain’s actions in America, beyond the falsification, the distortion and the partisan manipulation.”[17]

Numerary members

Per article 6 of its statutes, the Real Academia de la Historia is composed of a maximum of 36 "Numbered Academics" who must be Spanish citizens. There are also Academics of Honour and Academic Correspondents, who may be of any nationality.[18] The Director since 2014 has been Carmen Iglesias.[19]

The Numbered Academics are (after the number of chair):[20]

Royal approval of the first statute of the Real Academia de la Historia 17 June 1738
  1. Vicente Pérez Moreda
  2. Hugo O'Donnell y Duque de Estrada
  3. Vacant
  4. Luis Suárez Fernández
  5. Feliciano Barrios Pintado
  6. Vacant
  7. Josefina Gómez Mendoza
  8. José Remesal Rodríguez
  9. María del Pilar León-Castro Alonso
  10. Vacant
  11. Martín Almagro Gorbea
  12. Vacant
  13. Jaime Salazar y Acha
  14. Francisco Javier Puerto Sarmiento
  15. Juan Pablo Fusi Aizpurúa
  16. Antonio Cañizares Llovera
  17. Vacant
  18. José Antonio Escudero López
  19. Luis Antonio Ribot García
  20. Fernando Díaz Esteban
  21. José Ángel Sesma Muñoz
  22. Enriqueta Vila Vilar
  23. María del Carmen Iglesias Cano
  24. Fernando Marías Franco
  25. Miguel Ángel Ladero Quesada
  26. Serafín Fanjul García
  27. Miguel Ángel Ochoa Brun
  28. Luis Alberto de Cuenca y Prado
  29. José Luis Díez García
  30. Carmen Sanz Ayán
  31. Vacant
  32. Carlos Martínez Shaw
  33. María Jesús Viguera Molins
  34. Vacant
  35. Xavier Gil Puyol
  36. Luis Agustín García Moreno

Corresponding members
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See also
  •  Spain portal

Notes
  1. Anes was initially replaced by Faustino Menéndez Pidal de Navascués.

References
  1. Kagan, Richard L. (29 December 2010). Clio and the Crown: The Politics of History in Medieval and Early Modern Spain. JHU Press. p. 279. ISBN 9781421401652. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  2. Mateos Gómez, Isabel; López-Yarto Elizalde, Amelia; Prados García, José (1 January 1999). El arte de la orden jerónima (in Spanish). Encuentro. p. 43. ISBN 9788474905526.
  3. "D. Martín ALMAGRO GORBEA" (in Spanish). Real Academia de la Historia. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  4. Marcos, J. M. and Corroto, P. and Jaén, B. García "Los historiadores se alarman ante la hagiografía de Franco" in Público, 30 May 2011
  5. María Pilar Queralt del Hierro, "Mujer, historia y Academia: incompatibles para Gonzalo Anes". 2011
  6. Chris Ealham, The Emperor's New Clothes: 'Objectivity' and Revisionism in Spanish History, [in:] Journal of Contemporary History 48/1 (2012), p. 192
  7. Kamen, Henry (9 June 2011). "La ideología política y el Diccionario Biográfico". El Mundo. Unidad Editorial Información General S.L.U. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  8. Junquera, Natalia (7 July 2011). ""Francoism isn't over in Spain"". El País. Prisa. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  9. Lucas, Antonio; Argote, Álvaro (30 May 2011). "La Real Academia de la Historia 'no corregirá' la polémica biografía de Franco". El Mundo. Unidad Editorial Información General S.L.U. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  10. "ICV insta a retirar los primeros 25 tomos del Diccionario Biográfico". Público (in Spanish). Display Connectors, S.L. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  11. G. C., J. (2 June 2011). "La Academia de Historia corregirá la entrada de Franco del polémico Diccionario". ABC. Vocento. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  12. "Wert: 30 entradas del 'Diccionario Biográfico Español' serán revisadas". Público. Display Connectors, S.L. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  13. "Francisco Franco was a dictator after all, Royal History Academy concludes". El País. Madrid: Prisa. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  14. García, Fernando (3 May 2018). "La historia se conecta a la era tecnológica con el Diccionario Biográfico Electrónico". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  15. Morales, Manuel (3 May 2018). "El 'Diccionario Biográfico Español' se enmienda en la Red". El País (in Spanish). Madrid: Prisa. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  16. "Correspondencia con la Historia" (in Spanish). RAH.
  17. "Spain expresses concern over toppling". El Pais. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  18. "Estatutos" (in Spanish). Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  19. "Mª del Carmen Iglesias Cano, Condesa de Gisbert" (in Spanish). Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  20. "Académicos Numerarios" (in Spanish). Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
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