Foundation
The creation decree of the Institute of Valencian Studies appeared under the Government of the Republic on 9th February 1937, in the heat of Spanish civil war; therefore, it is possible to consider this date as the official and legally recognized one. However, it was previously, in 1913, when we found the first publications that state the interest of the Valencian intellectuality for the creation of an organism dedicated to the scientific research in all the orders of the general culture and especially of the valencian one.
The people who influenced positively in the birth of this institution were many and, among them, emphasize the works of Eduardo Martinez Ferrando, journalist and writer, the President of the Delegation of Valencia: Juan Izquierdo or the deputy Juan Perez Lucia. Among all the figure of Francisco Bosch Morata points out, then Advisor of Culture, who impelled from his position and in a decisive manner the creation of this organism. For this promoter of the culture an orthographic regulation of the Valencian language was important, which had to be taken by an organization like the Institute; on the matter he thought that <<If to this matter we add up the morphologic anarchy and orthographic of our literary production derived overall from the lack of a prestigious academic organism that unifies the criteria of the authors, standardizing our lexicon, we have to arrive at the deduction to why we did not enjoy a serious bibliography although commendable individual attacks are delivered that have sporadically taken and take place, accusing a constant increase in number and quality of works written in valencian language>>.
To Bosch Morata was precise <<a prestigious academic organism to facilitate our clear Renaissance, by inescapable exigencies of the dynamic reality in which we live, needed of advisers and meticulously analytical organisms that, picking up our classic treasure, save it and bring it up to date [...] that purifying and polishing our language, definitively qualifies it like natural vehicle of the valencian culture [...]>>.
About industry says: <<an organism [...] that organizes a most powerful social collaboration to its application to the arts, the industries and all the activities of the modern life; that studying the economic phenomena of the valencian people: production, circulation, distribution, consumption, etc., produce the well-being of people like the valencian one [...]>>. Also, it sees clear the convenience of the action in the scientific and economic fields as the following words show: <<The Institute has to wake up the spirituality of a whole town, applying it to the collective organization of the scientific work, reuniting the individual effort and totalizing it in a practical work that turns it into an echo of our language, our sciences, our economy, our culture>> and <<to the scientific work by antonomasia has to add itself the through study, the objective and cold critic of our economy in all its aspects [...]>>.
He does not forget the most classic studies: <<To our people, like to others, it is unquestionable the interest that has the study of their history, since it is unnecessary to mention that all study of old history must be necessarily preceded by the one of the prehistoric time of the place at issue, [...], we considered indispensable an Historical-Archaeological Section on which the Museum of Prehistory would depend.
At the same time, the advisor Bosch demands a Valencian National Library that would depend on the Institute of Valencian Studies (IEV) and adds up that <<the Institute, besides making science, would be of vigorous stimulus to the Valencian conscience, keeping awake the intimate feeling of its existence, the restlessness of its personality. It will demonstrate a true tradition that responds to a patriotic idea, of which, put into action, it must expand its creations in all orders worldwide, instead of being tributary of the progress and of the activities that it is strange to>>.
His speech finalizes saying that <<It is an arduous, distressful mission, but, for this reason, it is more stimulating and commendable to the firm wills who initiate it to assimilate the suitable direction to the purposes of the Institute>>.