“A tealess, beerless, beefless land”

For England and the United States, the nineteenth century witnessed moments of unrivalled power while the once-global power, Spain, was economically and politically anaemic. Against the backdrop of political boundaries of the modern nation-state, British and American travel writers used the senses, and especially eating, to convey the national character of Spain through affected responses. Spain was romantic and savage, hungry and thirsty, as experienced through the palpable and tasted. Through this case study, scholars can better appreciate how food, cuisine and the senses can be used as discourses of power in travel literature.