Tras el «Desastre» colonial de 1898, la elite cultural española encontró
la solución a los «males de la patria» en la reforma de la enseñanza.
Su objetivo era preparar a una nueva «minoría dirigente» que
devolviera al país la gloria perdida. Para educar a la juventud española,
estos intelectuales utilizaron algunas ideas pedagógicas británicas.
Así, favorecieron la creación de casas de estudiantes donde, partiendo
del ideal inglés de masculinidad, emprendieron la formación del gentleman
español. Este artículo reconstruye las conexiones que existieron
entre esas residencias españolas y los centros educativos más prestigiosos
del Reino Unido.

Abstract: The reaction of the Spanish elite to the crisis of 1898 was the origin
of different residential centres in which a new ruling class was educated.
The educationalists who were in charge of those foundations
were attracted by the English ideal of masculinity. They considered the
English gentleman was the best model to educate a new Spanish minority
who should be willing to regenerate Spain. As the British gentleman
was educated at the oldest English universities, the Spanish residential
institutions for undergraduates were made to be like Oxbridge
Colleges. My paper sheds light on this cultural transfer.