Esta publicación se ha llevado a cabo en el marco del proyecto de investigación de excelencia "la construcción de la identidad europea y los extranjeros durante el siglo XVIII en la Monarquía Hispánica: líneas de continuidad y análisis comparativo".

This book deals with the process of European identity construction, linked to the development of the perceptions of forign communities' and their subsequent treatment. With this aim in mind, it trats of the different conceptions of the "other" from historical, anthropological and sociological perspectives - i. e. of the natives of other states of the Old World in terms of how nationality as an instrumentalised element in international laws and treaties, as well as the mechanisms of ethno-religious inclusion and exclusion might have decisively influenced the elaboration of this identity by favouring it, putting obstacles in its way or impeding it totally. In this context, we have noted a number of differences and similarities between the different territories of the Hispanic Crown, mainly the Spanish, American and North African ones. Within a comparative methodological framework, the following issues have been studied - the role of wars and conflicts in the emergence of potential resistance to the forging of a common consciousness, the image of Europeans' in the media and in literature; the influence of religion and beliefs; the role of the Pilgrimage of Saint James as a vehicle of interaction between pilgrims of different nationalities; the repercussion of the processes of integration and acculturation of foreigners; the specific characteristics of border areas; the contrasting intercultural relations with other communities such as the Muslims, Asian/North African populations, Native Americans, Mestizos, and even the Creoles of Spanish descent; together with the effects of peace treaties, international conventions and legislations. Likewise, in this work certain lines of continuity with respect to the historical roots of current European identity are evident. These represent an instrument to help understand their current intellectual, political and social base lines. At the same time, the paradoxical coexistence of buiding a common European conscience, while the majority of the continent's inhabitants are considered to be foreigners to each other is also obvious.