«PORTUGUÉS SOY DE NACIÓN»: HETEROIMAGES OF THE PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH PROTO-NATIONALISM IN EL PASTELERO DE MADRIGAL, BY JOSÉ DE CAÑIZARES (1706)

Abstract

The existence of Portugal has always been a difficulty for the Spanish nationalism, while the Lusitanian country was not really compatible with the idea of a border unit based on the peninsular geography. During Romanticism, many authors approached to this problem from a historical episode, the Madrigal incident. But the first literary work about that was El pastelero de Madrigal (1706) by José de Cañizares, long before the consolidation of nationalism, but which would indirectly influence texts such as Traidor, inconfeso y mártir by Zorrilla. This article analyses the idea of Portugal that we can find in the play of Cañizares, which allows us to limit that the image offered of that kingdom is very positive, but that the point of view is articulated at all times from a proto-nationalism of a Bourbonist nature, that condemns all hostility that comes from the neighboring territory.