La Anarquía Reinante: Unamuno and the themes of Spanish politics, 1914–1923

Abstract There can be no doubt that Unamuno is far better known in Hispanic circles as a writer of novels, essays, drama and poetry, than for his activities as a commentator on, and participant in, the political realities of Spain. This state of affairs, which could be called lamentable, pays scant attention to the fact that Unamuno wrote thousands of articles on political themes for the Spanish, Spanish-American and European press, gave hundreds of public speeches on these topics, was condemned, in Valencia in 1920, to sixteen years imprisonment for lese-majeste and spent six years in imposed and later self-imposed exile during the Dictatorship of General Primo de Rivera. It also ignores Unamuno's activities in local politics in Salamanca, his candidacy for the Presidency of the II Republic in 1931 and his efforts as a member in the first elected parliament of the II Republic.