Eclosions in the 19th century: humanitarianism, between sanctity and heresy

Although when we think about humanitarianism, we consider it to be a modern-day phenomenon – the sphere of competence of NGOs, a way of overcoming the deficit in dignity in the actions of politics and states – the fact is, it emerged at the same time as they did: let us not forget that states, science, trade and war were the instruments that enabled us to deploy the progress of civilisation and improvements in social conditions wherever they were needed.

As a new arrival to a family of terms used to describe the relieving of others’ suffering (and which includes magnanimity, philanthropy, charity and beneficence), the neologism humanitario, which first appeared in Spanish in 1832-1833, taken from the French humanitaire (autumn 1831), had many different meanings over the following decades, parallel to their corresponding meanings in English, French and Italian, at least.

It was an intruder that became enveloped in the complex struggle that took place in Europe between adversaries who were defending different social models, scientific paradigms and religious conceptions.

But furthermore, and beyond the exemplification of ideological conflicts, humanitarianism proved to be an element in the dynamic of the institutionalisation of values and, as a consequence, of the cultural updating of the parameters for interpreting reality.