Knowra Generation of '98 Generation of '98 The Generation of '98 was a group of Spanish writers and intellectuals who reexamined Spain’s identity, history, and culture after its defeat in the Spanish–American War in 1898.
Miguel de Unamuno : A Spanish philosopher and writer whose essays and fiction examined faith, mortality, and Spanish identity. His essays made the struggle over Spain’s character a central intellectual concern.
Spanish–American War : An 1898 conflict between Spain and the United States that ended Spanish rule in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Spain’s defeat supplied the immediate crisis that sharpened the group’s questions about national decline.
Spanish Restoration : The period of Spain’s Bourbon monarchy from 1874 to 1931, marked by parliamentary rule and managed political alternation. The generation’s critique developed within the institutions and social order of the Restoration.
En torno al casticismo : A series of essays by Miguel de Unamuno, published in 1895, examining Spanish tradition and national identity. Unamuno’s account of the intrahistoria offered a lasting framework for reconsidering Spain beyond official events.
Generation of 1914 : A group of Spanish intellectuals and writers associated with rationalism, Europeanism, and cultural reform in the early twentieth century. Its more systematic European outlook contrasts with the Generation of '98’s emphasis on national introspection.
Pío Baroja : A Spanish novelist known for skeptical, energetic narratives and sharp criticism of social convention. His fiction captured the group’s distrust of Spanish institutions and inherited ideals.
Treaty of Paris (1898) : The treaty that ended the Spanish–American War and transferred Spain’s remaining major overseas colonies to the United States. Its terms made the loss of Spain’s empire concrete for writers confronting 1898.
Caciquismo : A system of local political bossism that used patronage and coercion to control elections in Spain. It exemplified the political corruption that reformers and writers associated with national stagnation.
The Tree of Knowledge : A 1911 novel by Pío Baroja about a young medical student confronting disillusionment and intellectual crisis. Its pessimistic portrait of Spanish society shows the generation’s critique through fiction.
Noucentisme : A Catalan-led cultural movement of the early twentieth century advocating classicism, civic order, and European orientation. Its institutional and classicist program differed from the generation’s more personal, inward literary inquiry.
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