Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ñanza under the guidance of G
INER
DE
LOS
R
ÍOS
. Like them, too, Altamira participated
in a wide variety of activities relating to
national affairs, ranging from journalist to
labor arbitrator. He continued this commit-
ment to a broader role in society even after
becoming a professor at the University of
Oviedo and later at the University of
Madrid. Altamira's range of concern was
international as well as national. As an
advocate of educational development and
an increasingly recognized historian, he fre-
quently traveled abroad, becoming particu-
larly well known in the United States,
where he lectured at Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity, Rice University, and other institu-
tions. Although he favored the official
policy of neutrality during World War I, he
was sympathetic to the Allied cause and
aided in the foundation of the League of
Nations. Altamira, whose recognized exper-
tise included law, was invited to take part
in shaping plans for the International Court
of Justice and later served as a judge on
that tribunal.
As early as 1891 Altamira brought out
his influential book on the teaching of his-
tory,
La enseñanza de la historia,
which guided
Spanish teachers for decades. He subse-
quently established the
Revista crítica de his-
toria y literatura,
a history and literature
journal to which most of the leading schol-
ars of the day were regular contributors.
Altamira's own writings were published in
some 60 volumes, including collections of
articles and essays. Undoubtedly the best
known of his works is the
Historia de España
y de la civilización española
(History of Spain
and the Spanish civilization), which he
originally wrote between 1900 and 1911
and subsequently appeared in a number of
revised editions. Working on a grand scale,
Altamira here traced not only the political
history of Spain but the evolution of Iberian
institutions, law, and social structures over
the centuries. He also took care to place his
country's experience within the larger
European and world frameworks. Although
dedicated to objectivity and free from
nationalist preoccupations, Altamira's his-
tory clearly exhibits an underlying moral
sense that promotes compromise and coop-
eration as an alternative to war. Less dis-
tinctively Spanish in his perspective than
some other historians of his time, Altamira
clearly had a sense of the pan-European or
even global environment that would con-
tinue to emerge in the latter half of the
20th century.
Alvarado, Pedro de
(1485-1541)
Spanish explorer
Of a large noble family known for its aggres-
siveness, Alvarado was committed from an
early age to a life of military activity and
exploring. In 1510 he arrived in H
ISPANIOLA
and a year later took part in the conquest of
C
UBA
, where he was joined by half a dozen
brothers and cousins and established him-
self as a plantation owner. Not content with
a sedentary life he took part in the G
RIJALVA
expedition in 1518, and this probe into the
coastal regions of Central America gave him
a familiarity with the area. Although he
was a candidate to lead the subsequent
major advance into M
EXICO
and was passed
over in favor of H
ERNÁN
C
ORTÉS
, Alvarado
accepted the position of his second in com-
mand and served him loyally. During the
next three years Alvarado was in the fore-
front of every battle as the small army of
Cortés fought its way to the heart of the
Aztec Empire and entered Tenochtitlán, the
capital of its emperor, Moctezuma. Left in
charge of Spain's interests in Tenochtitlán
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