Prensa y colonialismo: Pedro Antonio de Alarcón en Marruecos = Press and Colonialism: Pedro Antonio de Alarcón in Morocco

Pedro Antonio de Alarcón’s Diary of a Witness to the War in Africa (1860) is a prime case of media writing subjected to authority. More specifically, the journalistic account is a means through which its author managed to influence Spanish public opinion by portraying an idealized image of Gen. Leopoldo O’Donnell at the height of his success. At the time of the military campaign conducted against Berber tribes of the Rif mountainous region of Morocco (1859-1860), O’Donnell played a key role in Spain occupying three positions: he was the founder and undisputed leader of the Unión Liberal party; as Prime Minister of the Spanish Government he therefore held control of Parliament and, as Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish Army stationed in North Africa, he was responsible for the prosecution of war and military operations. The polar opposite of those romantic writers who repeatedly advocated for creative freedom, in fact, Alarcón embodies the skilled mass communication professional seeking social status, economic benefit, and political credit. All these objectives were fully achieved by the writer from Guadix in the years following the publication of his war chronicles, which were widely appreciated by contemporary Spanish readers.