CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
EN/FR
Search
Menu
Research dossier · People & Ideas

Luis Araquistáin

Spanish politician, writer (1886–1959)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 31, 2022
Entity authorityQ2074856 ↗
Source-derived summary

Luis Araquistáin Quevedo (Bárcena de Pie de Concha, Cantabria, Spain, 1886 – Geneva, Switzerland, 1959) was a Spanish politician and writer. Member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) from a young age, he belonged to the circle of Largo Caballero and Tomás Meabe, of whom he was a close friend.

In 1932 he was named ambassador to Germany and in September 1936 ambassador to France, where until May 1937 he took charge of buying arms for the Republican army in the Spanish Civil War.

He founded the journals España, Claridad and Leviatán.

Although his leanings before and during the war were decidedly revolutionary, later he became drawn to a socialism more 'European' in character, and was moved to insist on the necessity of unity between monarchists and republicans in order that a peaceful transition from Francoism to democracy might be effected. This position made him some enemies, but he developed a great understanding with other moderate members of the PSOE.

After the war he went into exile in Great Britain and later Switzerland, where he died in 1959. Just before his death Araquistáin edited the Spanish language magazine of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, Cuadernos.

References

Further reading

Luis Araquistáin y el socialismo español en el exilio (1939-1959), Madrid 2002. ISBN 84-7030-967-6.

Zuzagoitia, Julián, Guerra y vicisitudes de los españoles, Crítica, Barcelona, 1977.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Luis Araquistáin” as spanish politician, writer (1886–1959). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1886, 1959, 1932, 1936—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1886-06-18, 1886—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. The account is most persuasive where Luis, Araquistáin and Spanish can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as spanish politician, writer (1886–1959). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 31, 2022. The linked authority identifier is Q2074856. VIAF identifies the subject as 24616799. The Library of Congress control number is n80086715. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1886, 1959, 1932 and 1936.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Luis Araquistáin”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Luis Araquistáin primary sources, Luis Araquistáin archive and Luis research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Luis Araquistáin”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Luis Araquistáin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.