Los dos desconocidos: España y el mundo balcánico desde la crisis oriental hasta la primera guerra mundial (1877-1918)

Abstract

Los dos desconocidos: España y el mundo balcánico desde la Crisis Oriental hasta la Primera Guerra Mundial (1877-1918)

The attention and the relationships, both economic and political, of Spain towards the Balkans, are a subject nearly unknown in the international relation- ships history’s domain. Even if the first contacts go back to the Nineteenth Century, it were the two Balkanic wars (1912-1913) which aroused a real interest by the Spanish state and public opinion towards Balkanic Europe (particularly Rumania and Bulgaria). Spain was a keen and interested watcher of the growing Balkanic political and diplomatic conflict, where all the great Powers became envolved. And the interest continued during the war, notwithstanding Spain’s neutrality. After the war the limited Spanish resources and the shift of interest toward Morocco put an end to any ambition.  The essay is mainly based on unpublished sources of the Madrid Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Archives.