The Memoirs of Fray Servando Teresa de Mier by Teresa de Mier Fray Servando; Rotker Susana; Lane Helen

Author:Teresa de Mier, Fray Servando; Rotker, Susana; Lane, Helen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press USA - OSO

V

From My Arrival in Barcelona to My Arrival in Madrid

Here I am again in the country of despotism, putting myself into the lion’s mouth for it to devour its prey. There was no other way for me to get back to my homeland. From here, my reader will be expecting me to provide, as is my habit, a description of the country. There is very little to say about Barcelona, despite its being one of the best cities in Spain; but it is of course made up of a tangle of streets, and the houses have tiled roofs, which on first sight look to be in ruins, and the tiles are all uneven. The Catalans delight in showing the visitor the tomb of the last count of Barcelona, don Berenguer. These counts were sovereign rulers, and Catalonia had its Constitution, its Cortes and its laws, called usages. The Customs House is a very fine building, as is the Mercantile Exchange. The post of administrator general of the latter was held by señor Imas, my friend, who refused to allow my trunk to be searched, and extended me a personal invitation. Two other friends of mine, the baron who had taken the Royal Oath and another Catalan whose name I do not recall, did likewise. Several rich merchants decided to follow the example of America and build a district laid out like a grid, and built the Barceloneta at one edge of the city. It is very pretty, though quite small, and the houses have only one upper floor. The most noteworthy buildings in the district are the castle of Monjuitch [sic] and the citadel. Monjuitch is a mountain that overlooks the entire city, sufficiently leveled off at the top to provide ample room for a castle. The citadel is a fine one. When taking a city, the garrison of its citadel is sent word that if the city is bombarded its inhabitants will be put to the sword, and in the end it is obliged to surrender. The purpose of citadels, then, is to keep the citizens in check, in places where the Government mistrusts them. And following the war of succession the Bourbons’ mistrust of the Catalans could not have been greater. They were not permitted to have arms. The bread knives were chained to the table. It was necessary to have good connections and pay a fee in order to be able to obtain a hunting rifle. And this was a very good measure, because the city dwellers shot at people passing through the city so as to rob them, and if they missed and failed to kill them, they came out of hiding to ask them if they had seen the conil (the rabbit). That part of the country was not subject to levies of troops, or conscription, since it was considered to be a country in open rebellion, but people were obliged to pay a tax.

In other respects as well it is not possible to tell the truth about Spain without offending the Spaniards.

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