Romantic Nationalism and the Transnational Heroes of British Political Culture, 1789-1905

With GGR support, I plan to investigate nineteenth-century Iberian and Latin American periodicals at the Biblioteca Nacional de España (BNE). Noting the cross-cultural legibility of social authority, I argue that nineteenth-century British fascination with national causes provided avenues for the anticolonial transformation of revolutionary ideals. While the historiography emphasizes national contrasts, Anglophone literary networks portrayed select non-British national heroes as emulating British reformist ideals. Yet, despite structural differences limiting political expression, BNE sources illuminate alternate inspirations and subversive anti-imperial connections. I hope to contribute to understanding of how new nations shaped liberties, authorities, and solidarities through the global nineteenth century.