“A detailed and archivally rich perspective on the ideas that shaped mid- to late nineteenth-century Spanish attitudes toward its empire. . . . Eastman both builds on and works to insert Spanish historiography into broader critical histories of European imperialism.”—Joshua Goode, author of Impurity of Blood: Defining Race in Spain, 1870–1930
“A Missionary Nation closes an important gap in the scholarly literature that usually focuses only on the British and French empires. It is impeccably documented and the result of years of research on both sides of the Atlantic. Not only should it appeal to those interested in Spanish history, but it should be of relevance to anyone studying the dynamics of European expansion during the nineteenth century.”—David Stenner, author of Globalizing Morocco: Transnational Activism and the Postcolonial State