This spring we are planning to take a trip to Barcelona, Spain. I wanted to visit the city because I knew of its fabulous modernist architecture and status as a blossoming metropolitan center of the Mediterranean area, but I didn’t know much else about the history of the city, or its region’s (Catalan) distinct cultural history. Over the next couple of weeks I will be publishing a handful of articles that trace the history of the region from the Pre-Roman Iberian tribes to the modern day political environment. This first installment talks about the periods of the Laitetani, Roman, Visigoth, and Frankish peoples, ending in 988 A.D. with Catalan sovereignty.
The Path to Catalonian Sovereignty (Prehistory to 988 A.D.)
Controversy has always enshrouded the stories of Barcelona’s origins. Legends have said that the city was founded by the Hamilcar Barca of Carthage (Hannibal’s father). More far fetched legends attributed Hercules as the founder, but archaeologists have found that the area’s earliest inhabitants were a group called the Laietani. The Laietani were an indigenousness Iberian tribe who practiced agriculture in the hills between the mouths of the Llobregat and Besos Rivers. These people are remembered with the naming of Via Laietana (a grand boulevard in modern Barcelona) but there is no clear evidence directly linking the civilization of these people to the development of modern, urban Barcelona.
Roman influence on Barcelona is clear. The language of Catalan evolved from Latin independently from Castilian Spanish. It bears strong influences from the regional Celtic and Iberian languages. Romans established the first urban center on the spot of Barcelona. It was called “Barcino”. Initially Barcino was nothing more that a crossroads station north of the city of Tarraco (modern day Tarragon). Barcelona’s original city walls were built during Rome’s Pax Romani of the 1st century. Caesar Augustus also constructed a forum and a temple to his own glory. Some traces of the Roman construction are still visible in the city’s Barri Gotic district. The entire territory of Spain was referred to as “Hispania Citerio” by Romans. The majority of Roman officials settled in the south of Spain, while soldiers and traders gravitated north toward Barcino and Valencia, perhaps laying groundwork for the area’s strong independent nature.
As Roman domination began to crumble in the 3rd century, the area was overtaken by the Visigoths. Visigoth King Ataulf set up court in the city, ushering in a period of prosperity until the Visigoths moved their capital to Toledo in the mid 6th century. Moors advanced from the south and established Muslim rule over the city from 717 to 801. In 801 Charlemagne’s Frankish forces came from the north to take control of the region. The Franks called the area “Marca Hispania” (Spanish March). Barcelona lied on the vanguard of the Frankish empire. It was a buffer against the Moors. To rule the area more effectively, Franks divided the area in semi-autonomous counties. The combination of geographic and political isolation eventually led to an strong spirit of independence in the region. In 897 Guifre el Pilos (Wilfred the Hairy) was the strongest of the sovereign counts in the region. Rather than wait for the official decree of the central Franish government, he passed his governing power directly to his son. This strongly symbolized the Catalonian independence. Frankish power had diminished to point that they were no longer able to exert central leadership. In 988 Barcelona was sacked by the Moorish leader Al-Mansur. Barcelona’s sovereign count Borrell II requested military aid from the Frankish central forces. He received no help. Catalan was now on its own as an independent nation.
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