Spain's Eighteenth-Century Periodical Press : Antonio Valladares de Sotomayor and the Semanario Erudito

This is the first monographic study of the Semanario Erudito, one of the most important learned periodicals of late eighteenth-century Spain.Its editor, Antonio Valladares de Sotomayor (1737-1820), sought to recover the history of Spain and, through his periodical, instruct his readers.The book begins by discussing Valladares’s life and works; he was a prolific and popular dramatist, as well as a professional editor of books and other periodicals.Documents from Spain’s Archivo Histórico Nacional inform the next two chapters, which examine the periodical’s history; these chapters treat the censorship process, as well as the printers, sellers andreaders of the Semanario.The book’s second half looks at what Valladares published - reformist tracts by arbitristas and proyectistas, reflections on the monarchy and the role of privados, writings by eighteenth-century figures such as Macanaz, Burriel, Mayans and Sarmiento - and suggests why he might have selected particular texts for his reader