Epilog: The Presence of Imperial Pasts

Abstract

The final chapter provides a perspective on subsequent attempts to exploit cultural ties from colonial times, by both the formerly colonized and the former colonizers by considering two brief case studies. The first elaborates on Spain’s withdrawal from its Saharan colony. Given the difficult life for Sahrawi in refugee camps, Sahrawi have adopted Spain’s colonial rhetoric of fraternal relationships and directed it to their Iberian “brothers.” The image of modern, empowered Sahrawi women, some of whom were educated by the Spanish Women’s Section during colonial times, is an important element of the narrative about “ideal refugees” presented to Western donors. The second case study evaluates briefly the lusophone and the Iberoamerican community. Both cultural unions accentuate their shared cultural heritage, as well as common language and history. Finally, both the flexibility and the longevity of colonial constructs and programs are elucidated. In the Spanish and Portuguese imagination, the empire would seem to never die.