Rousseau in the Spanish liberal revolution: The social contract first edition in Spain (1812)

Abstract

The first edition of The Social Contract in Spanish was issued in Paris in 1799 by José Marchena. However, in Spain the first edition was published in late 1812 in the city of Valencia, which at that time was occupied by Marshal Suchet. The booksellers Pedro Juan Mallén, his partner and brother in law Vicente Salvá, as well as the translator, Pedro Estala collaborated in this edition. The present work analyses the vicissitudes of this edition and the persecution the publishers endured by the Inquisition Tribunal of Valencia. With this purpose, we look into the reception of Rousseau’s works in Spain, the political and cultural context of Spain in the late eighteenth century and the first edition in Spanish of the most influential work by the Genevan thinker.