Ambiguities at Work: Spanish Republican Exiles and the Organisation Todt in Occupied Bordeaux

During the Occupation of France, the German Organisation Todt used thousands of Spanish Republican exiles for the construction of military facilities along the Channel and Atlantic coast. So far there has been little research into the dynamics shaping the lives of Spanish OT workers at the local level. This article seeks to contribute to this history with a case study of Bordeaux. As well as highlighting the difficulties in defining the Spanish Republicans' experiences according to the dichotomy of resistance and collaboration, this article suggests that the dynamics shaping work practices in and around Bordeaux provided exiles with certain, if limited, opportunities over other OT centres. The ambiguities of working for the German authorities in this port city explain the significance of a story that continues to circulate in contemporary Bordeaux regarding the deaths of a number of OT workers.     

The landscape of Metztitlan,Mexico: Power and control in a sixteenth century Spanish administrative painting

ABSTRACT

The concept of landscape has been studied mostly as the view of a space with particular interest in its aesthetics, originating at the turn of the sixteenth century. However, I argue that in fourteenth century northern Europe, the concept was focused on polity rather than aesthetics. This article examines this lesser-known tradition by analysing the painting of Metztitlan, a sixteenth century town in Mexico, and arguing, first, that unlike all the other representations in the Relaciones Geográficas to which it belongs, it is the only landscape, and second, that this painting is associated with an administrative procedure common in Spain to gain control over imperial lands. I review European practices regarding the representation of towns under the Spanish Crown. Then, I present the results of the fieldwork carried out to locate several heights which probably served as vantage points to paint the landscape. Based on this research, I analyse the intentions of the painter to argue that it should be considered within the same tradition as the paintings made in Spain by Flemish painter Anton van de Wyngaerde, as part of the Spanish Empire's Germanic tradition of describing places with the intention of exerting control over them.     

Republicans and Socialists and the Origins of Italian Political Parties

A central debate in political science centres on the origins of political parties and specifically on the question as to whether they emerged as a result of the rise of parliamentary institutions. Regarding the Italian party system, the commonly held view is that Italian parties emerged as a consequence of national unification and the establishment of parliament. This article contributes to the debate on the origins of Italian parties by presenting empirical evidence on the timing of their initial formation, analysing data regarding the social base, membership, organisational articulation and policy-making accomplishments of the two major political movements active before and after the establishment of the national parliament. The article argues that, at least in the Italian case, parties did not originate in the legislature; rather, similar to countries such as Germany and Spain, Italian parties developed as a result of a major national crisis.     

日文档案中的清末革命者和流亡者

20世纪踟年代,日本外务省藏“日本外交书”第一门“政治”第六类“诸外国内政”第四目“各国内政关系杂纂”的“支那之部”中“有关革命党及亡命”档案,在少数日、中近代史学的论中已有引用。从90年代至今,中国学应用此件档案较多为陈锡祺先生主编的《孙中山年谱长编》、毛注青先生编的《黄兴年谱长编》、俞辛焯先生编的《黄兴在日活动秘录》(俞先生另一书《孙中山