Monday 4 July 2011

The history of Barcelona

Like many towns and cities in Spain and elsewhere in Europe, Barcelona has a chequered past. With waves of different rulers in the past, including the Goths, location villa piscine and the Moors, the city has a wealth of historical points of interest for the interested tourist. The modern age of Barcelona can in some extent be traced back to the expulsion of the Moors from the area. As the moors withdrew the area began to come to the fore and the kingdom of Barcelona managed to control many of the islands in the Mediterranean as well as some areas of France and Greece. This was a golden era of Catalan power in the wake of Arab rule.

Unfortunately, plague, disease and sieges led to decline. Locals initiated a rebellion which resulted in the fall of the city to Felipe V from France who banned their language and maintained a military rule over the town. The area saw a period of re-growth during Spain’s adventures in the new world of the Americas. The city grew enormously and modernised thanks to its cotton industry, as well as undergoing a sort of Catalan renaissance thanks to the romantic movement of the time. This resulted in the growth of Catalan nationalism.

Turmoil erupted at the end of the 1800s with all sections of society attempting to manoeuvre into positions of power. At the same time, the city began to struggle with a growing population which went from just over one hundred thousand to 500,000 by the early 20th century. As the city grew in industrial strength it saw a further bloat in population as the city swelled to accommodate workers from the countryside and as the size of the working class population grew and became more demanding so did the number of strikes and protests.

The independence movement never went away and by the beginning of Spain’s 2nd republic there were calls for an independent state. This became a brief reality and for about 12 months the area was run by Marxists and anarchists in a show of independence. This peace didn’t last however, and infighting eventually erupted into riots.

During Franco’s rule Barcelona stood firm against the fascist dictator, until eventually falling to his henchmen just before the outbreak of WW11. Many locals rather fled to France than be ruled by a fascist, and disappeared out of the country. Franco’s oppression of the Catalan region began, but did nothing to halt the Catalan spirit which still remains fiercely independent to this day.

About the author

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