The seven volumes of Historia crítica de la literatura española [Critical history of Spanish literature] continue to serve as a key resource for researchers today. Written and personally presented to Queen Isabella II, these works established a new canon that encompassed all the languages spoken on the Iberian Peninsula throughout the centuries. However, it is important to emphasise the notable Castilian-centrism evident in this and other works by JAR. For example, in the sixth volume of Historia crítica [Critical History] , JAR stated: "Portugal, a region conquered from the Moors by the arms of Castile and settled by Galician colonies, a kingdom made possible by the somewhat indiscreet generosity of Alfonso VI could in no way deny its origin or sever

the ties of its most vital traditions in a single day" (Historia crítica ..., Vol., 6, p. 23). While he acknowledged the contrast between the political distance between the territories and the centuries-old existence of a cultural bond — "If the battle of Aljubarrota cemented the animosity between both peoples that still lives on today due to misguided policy, it was not enough to completely erase the affections that had developed among scholars" (Historia crítica ..., Vol, 6, p. 24) —, in the review of the study Os Músicos Portuguezes [The Portuguese Musicians] by Joaquim de Vasconcelos, the author's perspective is criticised precisely because he considered it to be conditioned by his ideology, unlike other Portuguese researchers: "It would have been easy and natural for Mr Vasconcelos to arrive at the true origins of the Portuguese nation through this process, and it would not have been unworthy of a philosopher to confess, as his compatriot Herculano does, the immense debt that this part of Spain owes to central Spain, from which only misguided policies have dislodged it repeatedly" ("Os musicos portuguezes", p. 399).

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