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,
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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.
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