1 - Dreams of Modernity

Summary

“Chapter 1 describes how, during the initial decades of the twentieth century, the Spanish chemical community experienced considerable growth and developed an ambitious plan of modernisation. Cosmopolitanism and the connection to a European network of chemical expertise became crucial targets for the academic and political authorities during the final decades of the Bourbon Restoration and the Primo de Rivera dictatorship. This dream of modernity materialised on several fronts: reforms in chemical training, new internationally orientated research schools, fellowships and exchange programmes and major projects to link academic chemistry to industry.Many chemists shared the liberal values of the JAE, but others, from more conservative positions, also used chemistry to strengthen their professional ambitions creating strong alliances with industry. Despite the social tensions of the 1910s and 1920s, chemical “modernity” basically meant the fight against “backwardness” through cosmopolitan research projects, and an ambitious renewal of the material culture of chemistry in terms of instruments, reagents and laboratories”