After the defeat to the United States in 1898, Spain entered the twentieth century as a modest European power. This traumatic national event — which influenced a whole generation of poets and novelists known as the 1898 generation — destabilized the entire Spanish political system. The repercussions were also tangible in foreign affairs, as Spain was now primarily linked, if not subordinated, to Britain and France, who constantly argued over Mediterranean and colonial issues and pushed Spanish ambitions and security interests aside.¹