Jul 30, 202311 min read

The Documented History Of Barcelona

The Documented History Of Barcelona, Spain

Today’s article will discuss the history of the the Spanish city known as Barcelona. We went on an expedition to Barcelona in order to do some seagrass related research & things of that nature. Results from this will be published in a new journal of ours called “The Persaud Catalogue: Scientific Journal of Marine Biology”. It will be located on this same website & will just be published in a different area of the website. For more information please look at the article titled “Major Announcement: The Persaud Catalogue: Scientific Journal Of Marine Biology”, published on March 17th. Barcelona is a city in Spain, located on the Mediterranean Sea. It is attached to mainland Spain & it is not apart of an island. The city is known largely for its superb beaches, beautiful artworks, & architectural features. However, Barcelona offer much more then just an exciting city, it has absolutely wonderful areas to snorkel in. Barcelona has a vast selection of marine life, this is largely due to the favourable weather conditions of the areas surrounding Barcelona. It is also extremely active marine wise, with many species being brightly coloured & high in population. For example, whale sightings are very common off the coast of Barcelona from March to October. Also, jellyfish enjoy invading the beaches of Barcelona during the summer months. Barcelona’s history dates back the Neolithic age. It has had very many wars as well as many triumphs. It has had to deal with many religious conflicts as well, especially by the muslims. The oceanic resources have been used since the very beginning of Barcelona. Especially in the way of fishing & transportation, as Barcelona is a coastal city. We will be only including the information that is available to the public domain. We will also, not be including the history of the entirety of Spain, only Barcelona. We will also only be including history on what are considered modern Barcelonian borders. If the city was once larger & then had land taken from it, we will not include the history of that land. In this article we shall discuss the documented history of Barcelona, both before & after Colonization, information on the aboriginals of Barcelona, the most destructive natural & man-caused disasters to ever affect Barcelona, & finally, the economic state of Barcelona.

The Documented History Of Barcelona, Spain

Before Colonization By The United Spanish & Romans

The earliest human remains discovered in Barcelona, date back to 2500 B.C. However, the earliest human settlements were not thought to be established until 2000 B.C at the earliest & 1500 B.C at the latest.

After Colonization By The Romans

The romans formally invaded the area in 218 B.C. They established themselves on Montjüic nearby the village of Laye, where they built a fortress. During Augustus Caesar rule, the romand was moved from Montjüic to Mont Tàber. This is where Plaça de Sant Jaume currently resides. This place was originally called Barcino, which is believed to have eventually evolved into the name Barcelona.

The 300’s

During this century, Barcino was destroyed by various germanic tribes. After this, Barcino was reconstructed & fortified with a 100,000 square meter (1076391.0420000001 square feet) wall. This shows that the romans were extremely invested in the city, it also shows the cities meaning to them.

The 400’s

In the year 415 the Visigoths led by Ataulf attacked Barcino after crossing the Pyrenees fleeing from Southern Gaul. Barcelona was then promptly declared the seat of Ataulf’s court for a brief period of time before he was murdered & the capital was moved to Toulouse, France. According to a Latin poet by the name of Rufo Fest Avieno who was born at the later half of the 4th century, Barcelona was home to 2 Iberian villages. One was located on Mont Tàber & unfortunately its name is unknown. This village was thought to have been called Barcilo Barcinom, of Barkeno. These various names were thought to be the origin of the name Barcelona. The other small township was named Laye & was located on Montjüic. This was inhabited by the Laietani peoples.

The 500’s

The Visigoths still controlled Barcelona during this time. The Visigoths were a group of north germanic people who united themselves under the rule of a king.

The 600’s

The Visigoths still controlled Barcelona during this time. At this point the Visigoths have controlled Barcelona for 2 centuries.

After Colonization By The Muslims / Moors

The 700’s

The Visigoths controlled Barcelona until 717. This means that they controlled Barcelona for a total of 3 centuries. Between the years of 717 & 718 the Moors captured all of Barcelona. The Moors then ruled for the rest of the century. These Moors were Muslim & this is the time when Barcelona was ruled by the Muslims. In 758 the local Walï declared independence from the emirate of Cordoba which was ruled by the Umayyed dynasty. To declare this independence, he had to ally with the french. There ended up being a struggle for power between the Muslims & the Carolingians, & the Carolingians won. They ended up fully capturing Barcelona in 801.

After Colonization By The Carolingians

The 800’s

In 801, Louis the Pious won the war against the Muslims & declared Barcelona to be under-rule of the Carolingian empire. The Carolingian empire was a family of French aristocrats who established an empire throughout western Europe. The empire lasted from 750 to 887 A.D. The name is thought to be from many family members who bore the name, Charles. The Franks formed it into the County of Barcelona, thereby integrating the Spanish denominations into the Carolingian Empire. To be clear, the Carolingians are the french. This original county was extremely small plot of land bordering the County of Girona & the County of Osona. In the year 803, the french named Bera who was a gothic tycoon, the first count of Barcelona. For this entire century, the county was directly ruled by various appointed french counts. The County of Barcelona suffered many raids by the Islamic during the years 827, 850, 852, & 856. In the year 878 Louis the stammerer named Wilfred / Wifred the Hairy, the count of both Barcelona & the neighbouring city of Girona. He was also named the count of several other counties such as Sardina & Urgell. He was count of Barcelona from 878-897, he led Barcelona to play a leading role in Catalonia during that time. After this, the new Count of Barcelona was Wilfred the II. Who was coincidentally, the son of the previous count. He was also known as Borell II. Wilfred the II ruled from 897 to 911 A.D. it is important to note that at this point, the title “Count Of Barcelona” become hereditary.

The 900’s

After this, the Count of Barcelona was Sunyer, one of Wilfreds sons. He was also the count of Girona & Ausona from 911 to 947 A.D. During Sunyer’s rule, he extended his influence to Ebro Delta. His successors were ended up being vassals for the muslims, yet they did not prevent the various raids by them. The worst of these raids took place in the year 965. 2 decades later in the year 985, Almanzor the chancellor of the Umayyad caliphate of Córdoba, launched a mass assault on the city & destroyed it.

The 1000’s

The next major Barcelonian count was known as Berenguer Ramon the Hunchback I. He ruled from 1017 to 1031 A.D. It was with him that success came to the county, as he put it in a more powerful & important position. He expanded the county farther south & prevented other counties such as Sardinia, Urgell, & Pallars from expanding. After him was count Ramon Berenguer I the old. He governed from 1035 to 1026 A.D. Soon after, Count Ramon Berenguer II wanted to conquer the county of Valencia, but Cid convinced him not to.

The 1100’s

Towards the beginning of the century, Count Ramon Berenguer III married the heiress for the county of Provence. Due to this, the County Of Barcelona temporarily began a strong alliance in which they would expand internationally together. In the year 1114, the counties temporarily captured the Mallorca. Unfortunately, this union was dissolved upon the death of the Count Ramon Berenguer III. In the year 1137 Ramon Berenguer IV, to avoid Castile, he decided to marry Petronila who was the daughter of Ramiro II of Aragon. When they wed, they united the county of Barcelona was intergrated into the Aragon crown.

After Colonization By Aragon Crown

The 1200’s

The union of the kingdom of Aragon & the county of Barcelona caused the expansion of Barcelona to be sped up throughout Catalonia. Soon after the unification, Barcelona became the economic & political capital of the Aragon crown. Barcelona was often the city of choice when celebrations were held within the Aragon kingdom. Not only was Barcelona an important city nationally, however it was important to the entire Mediterranean. This was due to the crown of Aragon being one of the main superpowers of its time. King James established the municipality of Barcelona in the year 1249. Wealth at this point was plentiful & in abundance. It remained in this way until 1333 A.D.

The 1300’s

During the year 1333, prosperity was demolished by a large famine that killed thousands of people, coupled with the plague that killed the people. This plague did not leave the city until the 16th century. This plague severely stunted the Barcelona’s growth.

After Colonization By The United Spanish

The 1400’s

During the year 1401, the first bank was founded. This bank was known as the Canvis Taula. During this century, things went went severely downhill. There were many economic difficulties such as inflation, & prices exceeding wages. Due to this economic crisis, some of the trading agreements were lost. During this time, 2 factions began to form in the city. Many trading agreements at this time were signed with the county of Valencia as it could provide a more stable trade. With the currency being devalued, the textile industry became practically non-existent in Barcelona. At this time there was also a “war of the remences” in which peasants went against their lords. On October 19th 1469, Isabel of Castile & Ferdinand II of Aragon were married. This created an effective unification of Spain. Once married, the 2 unified their kingdoms. This caused Barcelona to have an economic downturn as once unified, the city of Castile became more powerful. Barcelona also lost importance due to unification.

1500’s

There were very few major events that happened in Barcelona during this century.

1600’s

Barcelona ended up developing a naval industry, as a small naval base was built in the county. It also was in a prosperous economic area again as it benefited from the various metal tradings between Seville & Genoa. At this point they also started using a pure copper coin. In the year 1609 they founded the Banc de la Ciudat. Unfortunately, this was short lived as soon afterwards it faced economic downturn again. This was did not get any better in the next century over either. They also suffered from bandits constantly invading the land. The Reapers war caused many casualties, which resulted in a massive population loss in Barcelona. The Reapers war also known as the Catalan revolt, was a conflict between the principality of Catalonia & France. This ended in some land being given to the french in a Treaty & a stalemate. They effectively took half of the northern area of Catalonia.

The 1700’s

The economy of Barcelona absolutely plummeted from where it was before due to the Spanish war of succession which began in the year 1701 & ended in 1715. This war of succession caused many rivalries in Europe as everyone was fighting on one of 2 sides. The Crown of Aragon & Barcelona were in favour of having the Hapsburgs as the monarchs. These entities both promised the Hapsburgs that they would keep their privileges. However, unfortunately Catalonia was passed to the Bourbons & the Hapsburgs were eliminated from Spanish royalty. Of course, after seeing so much war & having existing economic difficulties, Barcelona went effectively bankrupt. Once the city was conquered by the Spanish & French, it was found in complete & utter ruin. The new king of Spain & the first Bourbon king, was Phillip V. Once he began his rule he began a radical cultural transformation of Catalonia. In the year 1716 Phillip V issued the Nueva Planta Decree. This decree was to unify his Spanish empire & eliminate local jurisdiction. After Barcelona’s effective bankruptcy, it began to trade with the newly established America. This completely transformed the city from dust to luxury & the city became extremely prosperous. It also became a major city for manufacturing textiles, this caused many workers to immigrate to Barcelona.

The 1800’s

In the year 1848, the first railroad was inaugurated into Barcelona. Since many more workers were immigrating, higher expenses came for companies. This was not liked so oftentimes it seems, Barcelonian workers were paid unfair wages. This led to the first workers strike in the year 1854. However, this ended up leading to many decades of economic strength rather then weakness. By 1872 Barcelona had experienced the three Carlist wars, the state of siege, various strikes & barricades, & the war of independence, which made social tensions high. However, the arrival of complete restoration to the city brought peace & calmness to the social tensions of the city. It also brought a golden age for the city in economic, & artistic words. Soon afterwards in the year 1886, the trams became electrified which enabled better transportation. Naturally, to accommodate this larger avenues were built & numerous buildings along side them.

The 1900’s

Towards the end of the 19th century & going into the 20th century, Barcelona became a city of the modernist movement art & architecture wise, & this gave Barcelona a distinct personality. In the year 1909 Barcelona had a so called “Tragic Week”, in which there was a serious work disturbance over the way soldiers were being recruited for the Moroccan war. During World War 1, Barcelona’s economy & overall bourgeoisie was improved dramatically. At the end of a war, arose a cultural crisis between the Spanish anarchists & the bosses. In the year 1929, Barcelona’s global status was improved when it hosted its second international exhibition. Soon after this, during 1936, the Spanish civil war started. Barcelona was officially on the republican’s side so it received many bombings at the hands of the nationalists. After the civil war Barcelona grew its industrial sector largely. It grew rapidly between the years of 1960 & 1975. When the dictatorship of General Franco fell & the era of democracy came about, Barcelona reclaimed its Generalitat, & became the official capital of Catalonia. Barcelona received another economic boom & in no small part due to to the Spanish entering into European Union, was able to host & organize the 1992 Olympics.

The Documented Aboriginals Of Barcelona, Spain

There were so very many empires & various kingdoms that have taken over Barcelona that it is unclear as to who exactly were the aboriginals. This is why unfortunately, we cannot give any information on the aboriginals as it is unclear as to who exactly the aboriginals are.

The Most Destructive Natural & Man-Caused Disaster That Have Affected Barcelona, Spain

For the purpose of this article we will not be including wars, or protests on this list as there are to many of them to say which one was the most destructive.

No. 1: Rubí River Flash Floods Of 1962

The flash floods in the Rubí / Ruby river were a severe flash flooding event that took place in the Ruby River, which is located in Barcelona. It is thought to have been the worst flash flooding event in Spanish history. It caused the casualty toll of a confirmed 800, those are only the confirmed deaths. It was largely caused by 200 millimeters (0.656168 feet or 0.2 meters) of rain that fell within the span of 2 hours & poor flood planning. There were many floodplains along the river in which people would live, this is what led to the high number of casualties in the accident.

The Economic State Of Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona is an economically enriched city & has a stable economy. Barcelona generated approximately 35% of all G.D.P in Catalonia. Barcelona is heavily service based as 89.9% of their economy stems from services. It is mainly based on tourism, retail, commerce, & communication. They have a decently large variety of economic industries to offer in Barcelona. The majority of exports from Barcelona are in the energy & industrial sector. They are most often being shipped to Italy, France, & Germany. Barcelona also uses the Euro just as the rest of Spain does. The average G.D.P per capita is currently 16,270 U.S.D (14,967.11 Euro). The unemployment rate of Barcelona also seems to be decreasing over the last 7 years. There is a current 13.1% total unemployment rate. This rate will most certainly drop lower sooner as Barcelona recently made a public plan that will the way for 120,000 new jobs by 2030. The jobs will be created in the digital & green sector.

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The Documented History Of Barcelona

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