The promotion of the Colegios Mayores in the Spanish post-war period (1939-1951)

Abstract

The Colegios Mayores boomed after the Spanish Civil War. The promoter of this policy was José Ibáñez Martín, Minister of National Education (1939-1951). The reasons that had led to the revival of this old residential formula based on cultured coexistence since the beginning of the 20th century seemed more powerful than ever. The aim was to form leading minorities to regenerate Spanish politics, society and culture. The background was the reform of a university which, it was thought, was in decline because it was not able to educate. The study of the development of the Colegios Mayores is completed in the light of a model, the Jiménez de Cisneros in Madrid, heir to the prestigious Residencia de Estudiantes. The Minister of National Education also had the support of the main forces of Franco’s authoritarian coalition, which he encouraged to collaborate with the State in the creation of Colegios Mayores. This impulse, which suffered the hardships of the post-war period and its political vicissitudes, did not achieve the expected results, but crystallised into an ecosystem of centres of varying sizes (at least 63 by the time the minister left power in 1951) reflecting different political and social interests in this residential model.