El legado inglés en catálogos bibliotecarios victorianos en Huelva y el Alentejo

Résumé

The thesis entitled The English Legacy in Victorian Library Catalogues in Huelva and the Alentejo reveals the birth of British libraries and Reading Rooms overseas in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. It analyses those institutions that were managed by the British community that moved to the province of Huelva (Spain) and the region of Alentejo in southern Portugal. The study describes the library of the English Club of Rio Tinto during the period in which this British society administered the mines in Minas de Rio Tinto under Rio Tinto Company Limited (1873-1954), the Reading Room of the Huelva Seamen's Club and Institute during its existence in Huelva (1891-1954), and the Amélia library in Mina de Santo Domingos in the years in which the Company Mason and Barry controlled this mine site (1858-1966) in Portugal. It shows the complex patterns of the lifestyle that the British developed in a microcosm that mirrored the Victorian society in their homeland and their colonial mentality. The study focuses on the origin of such centers describing the volumes that have been preserved until today and the nature of the catalogues, which represent a significant literary legacy. Data and documents from these libraries and Reading Rooms also allow to understand the richness of these collections as a vestige of the British trace in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The work is divided into two main sections with annexes attached. The first part focuses on the development of reading centers in the UK, describing the history of libraries in the British Isles until the historical moment in which the libraries and Reading Rooms under analysis were created. It also includes an introduction of Neo-victorian trends that establishes the theoretical framework for this research. The second part offers a detailed analysis of the development of these libraries and Reading Rooms from their documents. They reveal the peculiar nature of these reading centers managed with a colonial mentality. The third and final section includes various annexes of documents from these libraries with their translation into Spanish and a complete and comprehensive list of the catalogues unveiling the literary canon at the time. The relevance of this study lies in the fact that there is no other existent analysis of these catalogues. It uncovers the cultural and testimonial value of these libraries, ignored until now in the academic world. Its aim has been to fill the gap that reveals another aspect of the undeniable influence of the British community in the Iberian Pyrite Belt.