CATALONIA TODAY,  November 2003

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
         
          As our readers will probably remember, some months ago we published an article written by Francesc Puigpelat dealing with the almogavers. Among other things, he told us there that this year is the 700th anniversary of the Catalan expedition to the Eastern lands. We will bring to our readers other aspects of these historical facts, here and in the coming numbers of Catalonia Today. It is worth to know a little more about them. Here are some Puigpelat’s thoughts about this matter:
          “All nations need myths. Their self-respect, their pride, their cohesion, is very often bound to myths. In the case of Catalonia, few episodes in its history are able to reach the status of a myth. The episode of the almogavers, Roger de Flor, and the expedition to the Orient, is probably one of the few episodes that can become a myth in the history of Catalonia.
          “It has been asked why Catalonia is not able to generate an epic story like, for instance, the “Braveheart” of Mel Gibson. This is a complex subject, but it is evident that if it has not been done, the reason why is not a lack of subject. In tbe adventures of Roger de Flor and his men there is enough raw material to film several Braveheart.If there is a will to do it, of course.
          “And now I come to a thorny aspect of this vindication of the 700th anniversary of the almogavers. I have sometimes heard people saying: “What? To celebrate the almogavers’ feats? But they were bloodthirsty warriors!” It is true. So they were. However, the heroes of all the national historic myths were bloodthirsty. Why should we, the Catalans, be ashamed of facts that in any other country would make its people to be proud of them?
          “Let me give you an example. Spain celebrates every October 12 the historical Spanish myth, the “Hispanidad”. They do it with pride, and nobody questions it. Nevertheless, what does the “Hispanidad celebrate? It celebrates, among other things, a conquest whose outcome was that one-century after the “Descubrimiento” the native population of America went from 80 million to 10 million people.
          “But they celebrate it in Spain. The big difference between Catalans and Spaniards is that we Catalans do not have self-respect. Let me propose a hypothesis. Let us imagine that Roger de Flor and the almogavers had been sent to Constantinople by the king of Castile.  Let us imagine that they had conquered Athens and that, for a whole century, Castilian was the official language in what was and is the birthplace of civilization. It is a very simple hypothesis, isn’t it? Moreover, what would happen now if that had been so?  It would happen that the Spanish television, the Spanish newspapers, the Spanish producers of films, and the Spanish publishing houses would spend the whole year spreading and popularizing “nuestra gloriosa gesta en la Atenas medieval” and “la extraordinaria historia de la Grecia española”. Aznar would visit Athens and we would have had “Atenas española” at all times. Is there any doubt about it?
          “But, since the almogavers were Catalan we remain silent, and even seem to be somewhat ashamed. And this is sad. Very sad. Or…. have we decided not to be silent any more?” As we have already mentioned, we will bring to you several aspects of this subject. 
          We are also sharing with our readers a tribute to Dr. David Cardús that appeared in the newspaper AVUI when the July issue of Catalonia Today had already been posted. This tribute is written by Dr. Ricard Guerrero, a professor of microbiology at the University of Barcelona. 

THE CATALAN VICTORY OF 1705

THE CATALAN VICTORY OF 1705
Chapter XVI
(Continued)

THE ACTION GOES ON

          Peterborough remained in Montjuïc all day of the 14th. The following day he called together a council of war with the commanders of the main ships on the “Britannia”. Van Almonde says that the count explained the victory achieved on the 14th, and their taking of the outer fortifications of the castle and the Sant Bertran’s fort.
          He said that at that moment, the best point of attack on the city was at the Montjuïc location, but he added that, in order to do it, he would need the help of the fleet. Their lordships agreed to take action following the decision made on the seventh, in all its points. It was a unanimous decision, where it was also accorded that five English ships and three Dutch ones, with all the gunboats, were to cannonade the city as much as was necessary. Admiral Shovel added that he would order that the artillery that had already been put ashore on the city's East side to be taken by boats to the West side, at the foot of Montjuïc’s mountain.
          That was a necessary decision. The cannons could not be easily taken from one side to another on land. There was the possibility of an attack by enemy cavalry, and that was something to bear in mind. By sea, the only nuisance was the chore of placing the artillery on the boats, and then off again, by pushing it bit by bit until it was in position. There was yet another problem, although not a very dire one. As we previously noted, there was a small fortress at the foot of the mountain, slightly more elevated than the wharf. The Vic people, despite all their efforts, had not secured it by land, because the fortress slanted into the mountain rock.
         Let us follow the course of events. Captain Adrian Muinck, of the “Salamander” ‘s gunboat, had written in his diary on the 14th:”Order to prepare bombs. At night some gunshots come from inside the city.” On the following day, after writing down that there had been a general council of war, and that Van Almonde had called him, he adds: “At four o’clock in the afternoon, we are ordered to open fire on Barcelona. The city is bombarded at night by three English ships and one Dutch ship”. He does not overlook to record, as well, that the weather was good. “At five o’clock in the morning, one of the mooring ropes broke and we lost the cable and the anchor. At eight o’clock in the evening. the move begins toward the city with six other gunboats, casting anchors 23 meters deep. The bombardment was launched at ten o’clock, then, after a temporary halt, was resumed at two o’clock in the morning.”
           On that same day Van Kopperen, captain of the “Gelderland”, also recorded the decisions taken in the council of war of the admirals, about which he wrote:” It was agreed that eight ships, five English and three Dutch ones, would be placed under the command of Vice-Admiral Fairborne, who set out aboard the seventy-cannon ship “Essex”. These vessels were to attack the harbor and the seaside fortresses, all along the span of the city. Admiral Van Almonde has assigned us this task, together with Captains Beckman and Trewell. These two men commanded the ships “Ziereckzee” and “Emilia”, both sixty-four cannon strong.”
          At that moment, the role of the Navy was very critical. Its first commission was to take the artillery from the Portal Nou, carry it to the Western ramparts, and assemble a sizeable enough battery to breach the rampart. The greatest drawback came from the castle batteries and the small fortress near the sea. The land forces had taken one of the castle’s inner bastions and were fighting on the mountain’s flank, while the cannons of the Sant Bertran shelled the castle. The bombers were using Howitzers, a type of cannon that allowed shooting at greater height. The projectile thus plummeted onto the target, and although it struck with a much less violent impact than the other bombs did, its cannon could shoot bigger bombs, which would explode on contact with the earth.
          We should also mention an operation that I only came across in the “Verídica Relación”.
          According to this “Relación”, Velasco had visited Montjuïc on the 14th, and was certain that the citadel would be perfectly able to stand firm with the garrison it had. Thus, on the night of the 14th, and into the 15th, he sent one of the miquilets, dressed in civilian clothes, with an order for Caraccioli to organize an attack to drive out the allies from the mountain. The envoy, disguising himself any way he could, did as he was ordered. In the early morning of the 15th Caraccioli tried to recapture the enclosed route that was used to communicate with the castle. The Vic people, who defended all of that section up to the Sant Bertran fortress, could not resist the forceful and direct attack of the Neapolitans and fled, leaving the communication between the castle and the city exposed.
         This was only for a short time, however. The Vic people perceived that the Neapolitans had reached the walls without leaving anyone to defend the covered route. Accordingly, the Vic people went back and occupied it and thus, the castle was again inaccessible. I assume that this incident, which did not essentially change the situation, had not been mentioned elsewhere because it took place in a sector where there were only Catalan forces.
        From the same source, we have knowledge that since the arrival of the allied fleet Velasco had spent his nights at the domicile of Count de la Rosa. The Count had directed the expulsion of the noblemen in the first days of the siege. He was well acquainted with Catalan affairs due to his many years residing in our land. His residence, in the Sant Francesc Square, was promptly hit by the first allied bombs of that night. Velasco ran to the center of the city and came across a patrol on Ragomir Street. The patrol doubting that such a darkish (swarthy) and ill-looking little man was the viceroy, would not allow him to pass until a superior officer was able to recognize him. Velasco spent that night at the Casa de l’Ardiaca, next to the cathedral.
          One of the incendiary bombs from the allies fell on the viceroy’s palace, who, upon receiving the news, demanded that the Council of the Hundred sent a watch patrol to put out the fire. The Council responded that there were no patrol watches in keeping with his own orders. However, were he to allow it, they could reorganize once more because the situation created by the bombardment. Therefore it was done.
          One hundred and seven bombs fell on Barcelona that first night. There was destruction and damage, but no casualties.
      Yet, this was only the first night. A greater number of bombs fell during the days that followed. Three hundred bombs fell on the city the day after that first night, and one of the casualties was the ecclesiastic deputy, Antoni Valls, who had gone with the watch to a highly dangerous location. Twelve people died and there was a great deal of destruction. That night Velasco left the Casa de l’Aediaca and went to the seminary, where he felt more secure. The bombs, nevertheless, fell over all areas of the city.
         As seen in the ships’ diaries, it is evident that until now the city had not been bombarded only because it lacked the will to engage in battle; and, not because of respect to the civil population (populace). According to Van Almonde, the purpose for the repeated night bombings that went on for several days was not done with the intent to destroy the walls, but only to “ expel the enemy”.          
            On the 16th, some two thousand men landed in order to participate actively on the siege. The Dutch sent four hundred marines who were part of the ship’s crew but did not participate in maritime operations: their duty was to defend the ship should another attack it.  In those times, war at sea was in some ways parallel to the war on land. The main goals were to board with hooks and ladders onto the enemy’s ship and to fight with steel blades on the upper deck of the ship that was to be conquered. The sea tactics of sinking the enemy ship from afar was not commonly used until Nelson’s time.
          Those four hundred men were not the ones who had landed with General Schatenbach. Van Almonde added two hundred and forty men of the ship’s crew to the land troops. To those seamen he also added twenty ship carpenters, and who would share the work with thirty English carpenters. A very rich ship captain commanded the men who went ashore. He was Francis van Aersen van Sommelsdijk, a member of the family who owned the Surinam colony in the Brazil coast, the origin and nucleus of today’s State of Suriname. The total number of allies that made land that day was three thousand.
          On board of the “Rotterdam” captain van Wassenaar wrote: “ In the council War Admiral van Almonde told us to send thirty men, which we did, commanded by Lieutenant Pijl”. Then he goes on to write about the death of a seaman who was not killed by a bullet.  As we previously recounted, the seaman probably died of an infectious illness he contracted on the ship itself. In Captain Van Brakel’s, ship another seaman also died of a sickness, on that same day.
          The troops went directly to Montjuïc, as Captain Van Kopperen recounts. It is possible that, in order to avoid the fire of the small fortress on the shore, they had circled around Montjuïc’s lower ridge, and then proceeded to the Llobregat area.
          That same evening the captain of the “Salamander” wrote: “At ten o’clock tonight we went close to the city and bombarded it until one in the morning.”

THE CAPTURE OF THE CASTLE 

	The 17th was a rainy day with some wind from the Northwest.  The bombers advanced to the mountain and bombarded the castle. These bombers, were small boats that carried seven- inch mortars. The “Shetland”, one of the boats, happened to torch a stack of sixty boxes of ammunition that were inside the castle. The explosion destroyed a good portion of the portal and of the walls. The Dutchmen and the Catalans near to the portal immediately commenced their attack, taking advantage of the confusion created inside the castle. The upheaval inside was great. In addition to the garrison, there were three hundred allied prisoners in the castle; however, the most important factor was that the explosion had killed the marquis of Caraccioli, commander of the garrison.
          At three o’clock that afternoon, the officers now in command believed that they would be unable to continue resistance against the allied attack, and, consequently, immediately surrendered. These officers were: Joan Franco de Mena, second commander of the castle; the Marquis of Sant Telmo, captain of the horse guards; a man we previously mentioned as fighting against the Vic people; Joan Pecte; a cavalry lieutenant colonel; infantry captains Miguel de Lacerda; Carles Gandolfo, Manuel Garambito, Antoni Plani and the captain of the Italian company Jaume Bindo; the assistant Carles de Hua, plus seven lieutenants. In unison with the above-mentioned officers, another two hundred and seventy-one soldiers surrendered.
          The situation had altered. Montjuïc was now in the hands of the allies, who no longer had to worry about the danger of being attacked by enemies in the rear if they decided to set up artillery along the city walls. The fleet continued barraging the city during the night and the viceroy’s palace was hit.
          On the18th, the day after, the allies reached the small fort that dominated the harbor at the foot of the mountain. This was a joint action of sea and land combat. An English frigate and two Catalan galleys were involved in this battle, where some pieces of artillery were seized, and every man in the garrison was taken prisoner.
          Montjuïc was left in the hands of the allies. Because of this fact, a period of what would later be known as the Spanish War of Succession had begun.  Be it only for a while, both in Madrid and in Versailles this was perceived as the end of the Spanish-French power over Catalonia and Valencia. Observing the Englishmen, it appears clear that each of who had participated in that battle considered himself the hero of the day. One obvious example of this attitude is that of Capitan Carleton – an apocryphal name. According to the memories published in his name, he had carried the news of the prince’s death to Peterborough, thus portraying himself as the hero of the story, positioned between the two battling giants, as the link that would join them.
          In England, there were people who did not have the same appreciation of his version as Carleton did. This, however, became evident until some years later, when the novel was written. In it, Carleton explains that, after the war had ended, he met with an English minister to discuss the possibility of a position for him in that administration. When he described his participation in the capture of Montjuïc to the minister, Carleton said that the minister’s response was that it would have been much better not to capture it at all. The England of 1705 was not the same as that of 1711, in which the political roles had changed, nor was it the same as England of 1715. For Catalonia, nonetheless, Montjuïc was extremely important in September of 1705.
          For the inhabitants of the city that day was, in a way, extraordinary. Roughly, three hundred bombs had fallen over the city nightly. Beyond the walls, there were neither miquelets nor Velasco’s cavalry. The place was now completely besieged and Velasco sought to secure enough provisions to continue resisting. He authorized leave from the city to anyone who did not wish to remain. The Verídica Relación mentions that nine thousand seven hundred and fifty individuals of all types left the city on that day, yet they were not questioned or interfered with in any way.
         They could only leave by the route to Sarrià, thus the allies, who had taken the Convent del Jesús near the ramparts, offered them protection to get there. Also among them, was a community if nuns, who followed in procession with the Holy Christ at their head. 
         The next day Velasco thought that it would be best for him to seek shelter in the Monastery of Sant Pere de les Puel.les, considered one of the sturdiest buildings in the city. In fact, in 1706, the town hall of Barcelona asked Charles III to take residence in Sant Pere during the siege commanded by his enemy, Philip IV.
         Velasco remained there until the last day. It then became evident to both those inside as well as outside the city walls that a new phase of the siege had begun.

Antoni Porta

 (To be continued)

To the interested reader: 

LA VICTÒRIA CATALANA DE 1705, by Dr. Antoni Porta can be ordered from

Clara Prat 
Sant Pau l6 08340 Vilassar de Mar
Barcelona Spain. 

Price: $20, postage and handling included. 
Send check or money order with your order. 
Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery

                               

CATALANS FOR INDEPENDENCE IN AMERICA

          Doctor David Cardús’ death will certainly elicit the publication of many papers about his contribution in the scientific field and the important research he could not finish. There will also be memories of his human chronicle.
          We should point out an important facet of his sentiments for Catalonia, an aspect that places him in the top line of those we usually label “the Catalans of America”. This focal characteristic is the unmistakable dedication to have us Catalans show our National identity in the countries where we reside. The fact is that as a Nation without a State we are subjected to extremely strong pressure to get us involved with the foreign nation where we reside. These nations typically have a hegemonic and consistent way of being, thus, the world will only know about us through our own supplementary efforts, which is what most of the Catalans do, with prominent personalities taking the lead. This happens in all fields, be it the corporate, the artistic, or the scientific fields, as has been the case of Dr. David Cardús. We trust that a thorough study of his life work will be made, both as a form of acknowledgement as well as a fitting and essential historical record. Both his commemoration and his great example would be highly valued.
          Although in other places this is not so outstanding and so generalized, in the Catalans “transplanted” to America the gamut of demeanor goes from the simple national affirmation among friends and acquaintances to collective consolidations in the shape of entities of national gatherings, as in the Catalan Casals or institutions of a nunmistakable Catalan projection. A good example of the latter is the American Institute for Catalan Studies, created by Dr. David Cardús.
          As a modest posthumous homage, we specially dedicate to Dr. Cardús a brief palliative tribute of three pioneers from another important aspect of the “Catalans of America”: the Catalan contribution to the independence of the American nations in the lands of Rio de la Plata, in this case, very far from North America. We are referring to three men of whom, in spite of being quite renowned, we still lack an in-depth knowledge of their personalities as well as their ideological and sentimental ties with parallel or identifiable movements in Catalonia proper.
          We are talking about Domènec Matheu (1765-1831) from Mataró, Joan Larrea (1782-1847) from Balaguer, and Blai Parera a  (1773-1840), born in Murcia of Catalan parents and educated in Mataró. These three men are important in the history of the Argentine Republic, where they are known as Domingo Matheu, Juan Larrea. And Blas Parera.  All three of them were in front line positions in the battle for independence and in the initial phase of political consolidation. The first two of these men worked in government concerns, the third one wrote the music of that country’s National Anthem.
         In fact, the three of them belonged to a quite numerous group of Catalans who were active in both sides of the Río La Plata, that is to say, in what later on would become the Eastern Republic of Uruguay. The Catalans, since they were considered foreigners in the Crown of Castile – which was synonymous with Spain – had been excluded from dealing directly with the Americans. This had radically changed in the t decades of the XVIIIth century, when Charles III ruled Spain. At that time, a growing commercial trade was established, which brought forth a noteworthy Catalan presence, with modern ideas and behavior that identified itself with the existing urges for independence and reform in the country.
          In the first half of last century, when the Catalan collectivity in Argentina reached high levels of representation, both in Catalan and in republican ideology, those distinguished Catalan men stood out. So now, to mention their names when we speak about that period has become something normal. The truth is, however, that their biographies have only very general information mentioned. No accurate research has been done of what they did and what they thought, of their ideological connection with the Basques – always so active in ideas of independence – or with the local natives.
         Other very interesting things that have not been studied are; their contacts, their ideological and national affinities with the most nationally conscious group in Catalonia: what was then, and later continued to be, the “Liberal Independent Catalan Movement”. This was also the title of a lecture given by Josep M. Batista i Roca at the Casal de Catalunya in Paris, France, in 1961, and is a movement that, in one way or another, has always remained alive in modern Catalonia.

Víctor Castells

From EL Periódico de Catalunya

WHILE YOU ARE READING MY WORDS…

          What I am going to write about right now cannot be called news in the sense that it is not something new because it is a usual fact. At this moment and, every 30 seconds, a child dies in Africa from malaria. Malaria is an infectious illness transmitted to people by the most fearsome mosquito: the anopheles.
          I would appreciate that the reader stay with me to the end of this column. The World health Organization has informed us that malaria, also called paludism, kills 3,000 children each day. The Organization has requested for more assistance to help fight against this endemic illness, and one of the things they want to do is buy mosquito nets. Reading this, I fall into a very sad depression. We have begun the XXIst century, and still have only mosquito nets to fight so wide and deadly a plague?
          Perhaps the reader will remember the announcement of a vaccine against malaria and the controversy that followed about its effectiveness. The only sure thing is…- excuse me… 30 seconds have gone by and another child has died.
         As I was saying, the only sure thing is that the Organization is asking for mosquito nets. I hope they will be able to buy very many of these nets, but I cannot help thinking that this protection, so elemental and passive, is a very old device. As old as our incapacity to eliminate an illness that kills a million children each year, which translated means that 3,000 more children will die between our breakfast today and our breakfast tomorrow.
          Frankly, I do not know what to think. Is the eradication of malaria a money problem? There must be little left after building so many mega-buildings, fighting so many wars, investing in so many businesses that go bankrupt. On the other hand, is it a problem of not enough research? Perhaps it is so because the victims are only children who is said are living in Africa, the poor things.
          After many centuries of helplessness, injustice or indifference – excuse me, another child has died; 30 seconds more have gone by – the African Day Against Malaria has been instituted. And no, it is not one of the many international days that are usually commemorated. It is strictly an African Day. It does not affect us.

Josep M. Espinàs

                                                                                        

El Avui

THE DEEDS

           The chronicler Bernat Desclot, in the last third of the XIIIrd. Century, describes the Almogavares(raiders) as rough and aggressive people who did not live in villages and cities, but in mountains and woods. They raided the Islamic land where they stole what they could, and they took people as captives. They fought on foot; they were strong, resistant, frugal; able to walk for many hours every day and they were simply dressed “Una gonella o una camisa, sia estiu o hivern, molt curta, e en les cames unes calces ben estretes  de cuir e als peus bones avarques de cuir”
           In addition, their military equipment was also simple:

         “Porten bon coltell, e bona correja e un foguer a la centura, e porta cascú una bona llança, e dos dards e un serró de cuir a l’esquena en què porta son pa”

         Desclot says that they were Catalan, Aragonites, and highlanders; meaning that they were from the border mountains between Aragó, the Valencian Land, and Castille. Ramon Llull adds that there were many Almogavares in Castille, as well. This is easy to understand: old Hispania, being a border region between Christendom and Islam, became in the Middle Ages a setting for an almost millennial conflict between the Hispano-Christians and the Andalusian peoples to dominate the land. The war became a business, a way of life for many people, most of all for those living at the borders. It is probable that the Almogavares appeared in this given setting and situation at the end of the XIth. Century and during the XIIth Century. Then, in successive waves, Berber troops of the Almoravit and the Almohades arrived at the Peninsula and stopped the territorial progress of the Portuguese, the Leonese, and the Castillians.
          In the center-South, the Guadiana lands were involved in a war of attrition with constant raids made by peasant people who appeared to be the image of the Almogavar. At the Peninsular East, the border on the Aragó and Catalonia side was progressing (Saragossa,1118; Tortosa, 1148; Lleida, 1149). Some of these people were probably branded, and some probably not branded, Almogavares who, without being members of the nobility, used the war as their source of support.

          The end of the Christian conquest in Catalonia (1153); in Aragó (1170); later the conquest and colonization of Mallorca (1229-1232) and the Kingdom of Valencia (1253-1245) shifted those warriors – who were already called Almogavares in the XIIIrd Century – towards the South to the Mediterranean lands. In fact, being relatively numerous in the Southern region of the Kingdom of Valencia, they formed autonomous bands, whose leaders, the Almugatens, were elected amongst themselves. These bands raided and plundered the Eastern lands of the Kingdom of Granada during all the Lower Middle Ages. For their raiding, which always were of short duration, the Almogavares were frequently offered nourishment (taleques or a shepherd’s bag of bread) by the border villages, which afterwards were given a share of the booty.

          As well as organizing these raids themselves, the Almogavares worked doing covert services in enemy land as sentinels; as lookouts on country roads; as pursuers of highwaymen; as scouts and couriers servicing the townships, while being remunerated by them. All this, of course, is not what has made the Almogavares renowned. Their celebrity comes from their participation in the expedition of the Great Catalan Company of Orient; an adventure that would not be understood without the incorporation of the Almogavares into the royal army.

          Pere III, in the chronicle where he explains the many wars of his reign, reports about the Almogavares who were a part of his army and about the leaders he assigned to them, the adalils. The Almogavares were efficient warriors, however, not very easy to place in an army. The Almogavares were called by the kings of the XIIIrd and XIVth centuries with the purpose of incorporating them into the royal armies to participate in every important campaign.

          They had, consequently, an important role in the war in Sicily during the reigns of Pere el Gran and his sons, from 1282 until the conflict ended with the peace treaty of Caltabellota in 1302. Subsequently, as it is well known, a group of some 6,000 Almogavares, recruited by the emperor of Byzantium, went to Asia Minor (1303) to battle against the Turks who were threatening the borders of the Empire of the Orient. The success of these troops and, first and foremost, the personal ambition of their leader, Roger de Flor, created distrust and fear in the Byzantine court, from which was ordered the assassination of that leader. Feeling themselves alienated from the court, the Almogavares took to plundering the European lands of the Byzantine Empire, commanded for a time by Bernat de Rocafort and Berenguer d’Entença. Next they established themselves in classical Greece; conquered the Duchy of Athens (1311) and founded the Duchy of Neopatria (1319). This last they kept until the end of the Century (1391), at first under the nominal sovereignty of the kings of Sicily, and later under the crown of Aragó.

          Ramon Muntaner, who was a warrior and a master of the Company between 1303 and 1307, has left us an enthusiastic account of the Almogavares’ fights in the Orient in his Chronicle. Today most people tend to limit the history of the Almogavares to that of  those crusaders who, in point of fact, were only engaged in an autonomous military action, relatively apart from the general history of the Catalans and the Aragonites. All of this is due to Muntaner and to the seductive appeal of his Chronicle.

         In the XVIInd Century, Francesc de Montcada published “La Expedición De Catalanes Y Aragoneses Contra Turcos Y Griegos”, and since then, numerous studies have appeared regularly about that expedition to the Orient. Towards the end of the XIXth and at the beginning of the XXth Centuries, the most important contributions are thanks to Antoni Rubió i Lluch, who exhaustively researched the original documents and published the “Diplomatari de l’Orient Català (1301-1409). Among others, some of the important authors to follow Rubió were L.Nicolau d’Olwer, F.Soldevila, R. Tasis, J. Pascot, and A. Lowe.

        Although less known, the history of the Almogavares, is much greater and closer to us, than the remote history of the Great Company. As Maria Teresa Ferrer explains, we only need recall that the Almogavares of the Catalan Lands collaborated with the royal army in the wars against Castille in the years 1296-1304 and 1356-1369; in wars against the Saracens between 1309 and 1334; in the war against the King of Mallorca in 1343-1344; in the expeditions of 1353-1354 and 1368 to appease Sardinia; in the defense of Catalonia against the troops of the count D’Armanyac (1390) and of the count of Foix (1396-1397); and yet again in some campaigns of the XVth Century.
          With no intent to make myths of them, the history of these fierce and sometimes -possibly cruel foot soldiers, who were the antithesis of the idyllic knight, is an intrinsic part of the history of the Catalan people.

Josep M. Salrach

From EL TEMPS

POLICE

         We have seen in several news broadcasts that the police have dismantled a sinister and clandestine workshop in Badalona. In that place, twenty Chinese nationals worked, slept, and ate in subhuman conditions. These ill-fated Chinese, who lived like imprisoned slaves, will possibly be sent back to their country of origin. Moreover, here begins my moral uncertainty:  Is this deplorable exploitation the only solution for these famished people, so unprotected by the law? Do these wretched people feel that they have been freed or are they distraught to be sent back? Have they been robbed of the only chance to a better life within their reach, and has this situation increased their despair?  Can the law not find more humane solutions?
          I obviously suffer the same doubts when supporting the cause of those who denounce the enslavement of children in the Third World and clamor against child labor exploitation, a contemptible and lacerating scourge. On the other hand, if the police were to intervene and enforce the law, what will happen to these children? Will they escape one kind of Hell simply to be sent into one more horrible such as prostitution? Do we have ways to liberate those who are suffering without making them go through a worse kind of hell?
Other questions come to mind. Sometimes the news we hear is good: for example, that the police have dismantled a network of drugs and have confiscated a sinister clandestine cargo. We are pleased, of course, however, an abhorrent thought comes immediately to mind. How will the drug addicts handle this during the days that follow, until the next cargo gets delivered? Will their terrible sickness make them more aggressive? Will this increase the delinquency in the streets?  Let me add another observation. Taking a walk through the streets in Barcelona, I see all kind of beggars: some in alcoholic stupor, some on their knees, others carrying confusing posters, with different accents… There are many, so very many of them, that I wonder why is pauperism continually on the rise? Why have we not found a system to beat it or, if this is too difficult, is there at least some way to decrease it? Why have we implemented absolutely nothing to cure this blight of our society? Why is it that the refuse of society, the outcasts and the losers, are persistently increasing in number in a now welfare-prone society?  Is not illogical (Ironic) that more welfare programs would mean more poor people?
         I consider that all these questions are highly significant in order to attain a satisfactory, up to date, and efficient police force. Both the bludgeoning and the increase of repression are as ineffective as they are incapable of answering even a small fraction of these questions.

                                                                              Isabel-Clara Simó

A  MAN  OF  SCIENCE

          David Cardús, born in Barcelona in 1922, died in Houston, Texas, early in June of this year. He was a Catalan scientist who settled in the United States in 1957, after graduating in medicine in Barcelona and taking post-graduate courses in France and England. His thirst for knowledge let him to study mathematics that he later applied to the medical research. As it happened with Joan Oró – who until a few years ago also lived and worked in America– David Cardús is mainly thought of as being associated with the research done for NASA. In both cases, however, the collaboration with the American space agency has been only a part, albeit an important part, of their scientific research activity.

          David Cardús was a professor of physiology and of rehabilitative medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine and a professor of mathematical sciences at Rice University. He also directed the department of bio-mathematics and the program of cardiac rehabilitation of the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research.

          His research at NASA was centered in the physiological changes that the human body undergoes when gravity decreases or disappears. These changes cause physiological alterations that could be dangerous for the astronauts’ life in the case of very long journeys or of a long stay in an extraterrestrial base. Cardús looked for the way to balance the damaging effects of the gravity changes. One of the solutions he considered was the creation of artificial gravity in the spaceships and in the space stations through a gravity simulator. This is a rotating platform with a short radius that is able to produce variable gravity up to three times the earth’s. In fact, the artificial gravity is the centripetal force that the simulator’s platform generates when it rotates. This creates an inertia force that affects the body in a similar way to what the earth ‘s gravity does. In the case of long space trips or of space missions that imply the landing in other planets, it is necessary to avoid physiological changes that could damage the astronauts’ health, or even decrease their capacity for the work they have to do.

          With the simulator of artificial gravity, David Cardús studied, among other things, the cardiovascular response to different levels of gravity and the different lengths of time of exposition to these changes. This research, however, was not limited to the study of astronauts’ possible problems: it has also been applied to solve problems that appear on Earth.

          Cardús thought that human physical activity could be measured in three scales: the capacity to do certain functions; the improvement of those functions according to the general state of the organism; and the adaptability of the organism to the environment changes. With this theory, he used a centrifugal machine with a short arm, like those of the NASA, to study the cardiovascular troubles of patients who suffered a paralysis caused by a medullar lesion. Many people with these conditions have their cardiovascular functions decreased because of the paralysis and because they cannot adopt the vertical position.

          With the development of computer science the application of mathematical calculus entered into a new phase and, as many other sciences, medicine was benefited by it.  David Cardús had sensed that the change was imminent, thus when he arrived in the United States, he began the bio-mathematical research. His deep interest for  medical science went beyond the strictly scientific limitations, and he worked arduously in its social aspects. He believed more in medical progress based in prevention than in the eradication of the illness once it was already there. Historically, the purification of water and the introduction of hygienic measures brought great changes to the health of the people.

         Cardús thought that it did not make sense to speak of “systems of health” when in fact it is the illness that worries the health managers. He did not like the adoption of the name “Health Center” to indicate what had always been a “ Medical Center”. Cardús criticized the fact that, in spite of the name, the same activity of diagnosis and treatment was going on and no prevention programs were established for health maintenance.

          Alfred Giner-Sorolla, born in Vinarós, has also developed a splendid scientific work in the US in the field of oncological pharmacology. He has said that David Cardús and Joan Oró are two scientists who, because of their presence in the inner core of NASA, have been able to work toward the goal of conquering space: one of them, Cardús, with his norms for the astronauts physiology; the other, Oró, with his system of analysis of materials. As new discoverers, they have been a part of the two most splendid enterprises of the XXth century: the Moon exploration and the first exploration of Mars with the Viking project.

CATALAN IDENTITY

          The decades of American life did not make David Cardús to forget his Catalan roots. He not only kept alive the memory of his own country, but also found enough time to bring to the American people the knowledge of the Catalan identity. He promoted different aspects of our culture and did it mainly in English, the language more easily understood by the people who had welcomed him.

          Today people universally accept René Dubos’ slogan: “Think globally, act locally”. We could say, however, that Cardús did the opposite thing: he thought locally, of his country, and he acted globally to make it known abroad.

          The American Institute for Catalan Studies, (AICS), which he founded on December 20th, 1979, had as main objectives to bring to the American people the knwledge of Catalonia, of its history, culture, art, and economy, everything that portrays  Catalonia as a nation. Cardús wanted the Institute to help the scientific, literary, and educational studies of the political, cultural, economic and social institutions of Catalonia,. He also wanted AICS to support institutions or individuals who studied diverse aspects of the Catalan culture,  as well as to contribute to the diffusion of the knowledge of Catalonia and its culture.

          From the day of its foundation, the AICS has subsidized very many visits of Catalan artists to the United States and has collaborated with Catalan institutions to organize exchange projects between the two countries. In the field of publications, David Cardús directed the edition of  “The Catalan Nation and its people” by Josep Carner- Ribalta. As Cardús writes in the prologue, this is a book that brings up the role of Catalonia throughout the course of history. Carner declares in his book that he is in love with his country: Cardús’ love for that country was no less strong and it was evidently there, up until the last moment. 

Ricard Guerrero

FIVE CENTURIES OF NOTHING

          I realize that all of you – institutions and authorities included- have suffered a very hot summer and are in no mood for commemorations. I understand that the last months, including these pertaining to the Year of our Lord 2003, have been full of happenings that affect us in a deep and strong way. Among these one finds the war in Iraq and the demonstrations against it; the actions of Minister Zaplana in Madrid; the elections that the Bloc could have won and did not; the elections that the PSOE could lose and did lose, not to mention other news and events that are making history.

          I do understand, therefore, that people are not ready to think of old memories and other retrospective thoughts. If this were not so, it would be impossible to understand why the five hundred years since the death of pope Alexander VI Borja have passed, continue to pass and will go on passing as if the date had no meaning, no interest. There is not even the most remote echo of recognition for this country of ours, nor for its neighboring lands in the North and the West, where the Borja family are not exactly a part of , or  where they are only part of a list of distant and exotic names.

          Thus, on August 18 1503 Alexander VI died of malaria – bad air of summer, caused by the hot weather and the mosquitoes-. He was an impressive man who had been born in Xàtiva with the name of Roderick de Borja, and whose life ended in Rome, sweating and feverish, bearing another name, Alexander VI. This happened five hundred years ago, but neither fact nor date, or even the five centuries appear to have any meaning for the country itself, nothing, an absolute zero. There has not even been a meager public mention, nor public acts of study or remembrance,nor a miserly congress or symposium, about him;  much less the dedication of a street or a commemorative plate, or at least a public commission to organize acts for this man.  Evidently, no one has thought of organizing anything, not a thing.

           I do understand that nobody would bother to remember such a troubling personage in the kingdom of Spain, which still is, and will be, principally the kingdom of Castille. Borja was not one of them, and they do not consider him so. He is Valencian, marginal for them, remotely and uncomfortably so. If Popes Calixtus III and Alexander VI had come from Ävila, Sigüenza, or Peñaranda de Bracamonte, you may rest assured that the Five Centuries of the great Borja’s death would be the object of royal patronage, concerts and exhibitions, opening of monuments, international projection, vindication of those great Spaniards who brought to Rome the power, the culture and the presence of Spain when the Renaissance was there, and so on.

          However, they were not from there, they were from here, and the Roman church does not accept them either as belonging to their own people, and therefore they are nothing. They mean nothing to the King of Spain; to the country’s government; to the opposition; to the press; to the historians; to the intellectuals; to the cultural institutions; to the academies; to the families; to the unions, or to the townships of Spain.

          Recently, with the aid of the brutal, ignorant, disgusting  book by Mario Puzo, at best, they are like an echo of a sinister, dark legend. Certain people who would like to make a film from that book have requested my collaboration (“Para saber las recetas de los venenos y cosas así …”), and you can well presume what my answer was.

          Altogether, this is somewhat logical, normal. However, it is not so normal that, in Valencia, well known people of the intellectual world, the university or the press, have been systematically  making fun of the Borjas in a way that they would never have done had they been Castilian. Their argument may perhaps be that some of us Valencians, who do not have a first class mythology, have created a fictional importance for this family. What is not normal is that efforts like the Diplomatari, and other similar enterprises, be scorned and segregated. Furthermore, it is five centuries ago today that this pope died, the greatest human being the Land of Valencia land has projected into history; yet, the silence is complete, absolute. I think about it, I think of its deep causes, and a nation-wide sorrow floods my soul.

Joan F. Mira

THE UNITY

          With all due respect, to Practicing Catholicism, I wonder why Pope John Paul II, in his last visit to Spain, had to include in his speeches references to the unity of Spain and criticism of nationalism as a concept.
          One lesson he should have learned at this time is the extremely dire outcome of mixing politics and religion. Terrible atrocities have been committed, through the centuries, in the name of the different gods of the different religions. Even in the most recent happenings, it is easy to see that religious conviction continues to be present in the background of the armed conflicts and it remains the core of most international terrorism.
          If his kingdom were not of this world, a good thing would be not to interfere in those things that do belong to this world. Non -secularism of the states, freedom of worship, tolerance and respect, are milestones that democracy must conquer and protect, in a permanent effort, as basic elements for coexistence. 
          According to what the Pope seems to be saying, the most “ exasperated” nationalism in Spain today would seem to be the excluding “Ibero-Hispanicism” practiced by the two main political parties of the State, the PP and the PSOE. These political parties do not accept the different sensibilities that exist in the Spanish State in any way.
          No matter how hard I try, I cannot understand John Paul II’s great concern about the unity of Spain. I believe that this unity should not worry anyone today. The world context and the democratic mechanisms now relegate the old taboos that used to be kept in fearful silence, to the past.  I realize that for some people who still think of the past with longing, this may go on being a forbidden subject, politically speaking. However, if the Vatican really wants to get closer to the people, and the believers who think that religious convictions are qualifying positive personal values  – not simple political rules of the times – then the Vatican should adapt its message to whatever is essential for the freedom and happiness of all people.

Lluís Oliva

TO THOSE WHO DID NOT COME BACK

         Compulsive trips back to Girona usually create such deep, shameful longings in my inner self, that they can never be put into words. Girona, being a rather small city, at the same time can be both victim and accomplice of rumors which in no time at all can make or destroy the dignity or indignity of its inhabitants. Once you come back to Girona you again recognize and live those Roman pavements that you walked upon in your mindless youth.
          You recall that youth as if you were the owner of those monuments, those churches, the countless steps of the cathedral; and, as you did so long ago, you walk slipping up the marble slopes that take you to Lluís and Aurora’s Arc snack bar. Right there in my city, with an absent-mindedly perverse melancholy, I think again of all the shattering caused by exile, of the strength of those who could not come back and of those who never did.
         How courageous it was not to come back! What a great surrender of their roots all those Republicans, who lost against Franco, had to do in the name of their personal ethics! They had to wait forty years to return. Through my readings I filled my memory with names which I learned until I became a mytho - maniac (mythical fanatic) of their personal experiences.
          I know not how to say it. It is an inexpressible feeling that Reason cannot reach. This is why I have tried to write a type of introduction to define the theory of my repulsion (repudiation, rejection) to the media commemorations of the Year of Gaudí  and of the imminent Year of Salvador Dalí. I have a feeling of deathly shame facing the already decided, thus unavoidable, celebration of that monster Cadaquès Egotistic, this unpresentable ( repulsive) being,  who flattered the regime that killed García Lorca, our Poet from Granada. They were friends, but Garcia Lorca is not here to add the words that are missing ( was  not allowed  or able to add  any more)
         Today, when I watch the Francoist right-wingers striving to redirect  their enemies toward their cause, I angrily explode. My thoughts , for instance, go to Pau Casals who died 30 years ago. As my friend Lluís Orozco explains in his excellent book “Chronicles of Classical Music”, our Universal Musician did not have any doubts about that sinister 18th of July in 1936. He was at the Orfeó Gracienc, where they were playing the “Cant Dels Ocells” when he was told of Franco’s insurrection, while Pau Casals’ eyes kept staring blindly at the score.
          “Allow us to finish”, Casals told the messenger, who was also there to ask them to suspend the concert. The choir then began to sing that great hymn of peace: “Embrace each other, men, now that a great kiss ignites the Heavens.”
          My friend Orozco says that the orchestra of cellos gave much satisfaction ( pleasure)  “to many Catalans who saw it as a show of respect to a Culture so badly treated by the regime. In fact, only a few melo maniacs ( did she mean megalomaniacs or music fanatics, perhaps?) were able to appreciate the strong symbolism of that moment.
          “To die in Spain”, Frederica Montseny used to say unrelentingly to those who could not bear the longing for their native land.  “When we listen to Spanish music, linked to so many memories, how often our soul is filled with  such melancholy, that tears come to our eyes”.
          What torture it was to refrain  from coming back! My admired Pau Casals, you once said that “to halt, to retire, is to begin to die”. Thus, you remained always active and firm in the face of the temptation to return to that country which had betrayed you. I am obliged to demand great homage for all those of you who never came back. I have to call for the revival of your memory, so commendable, so steeped, strong (infrangibly) infrangible  (was this a literal  translation?), in the renunciation of longing. 
What greatness!
                       
Carmen Alcalde

DID     
                  YOU
                                          KNOW
                                                                   THAT…?

*** The European Parliament has begun to edit an informative publication in Catalan that, up to now, appeared only in the official languages of the European Union. Now we have it in the only non-official language of the Union: our language. If you subscribe to it, you will receive it free of charge. We would like to suggest to all of you to do it, since this is a step towards the acknowledgment of non-state languages. 
The address is as follows:
http:// www4.europarl.eu.int./ press / main/ mailing_reg.cfm

Tell your friends!

*** Professor Miguel Tresserras has published the book “Wittgenstein: integritat i transcendència”. In this work, he proposes a second reading of the texts of the Austrian philosopher. He proposes “ a re-reading, among the many possible ones, that would show the insertion of Wittgenstein in the mystic stream of the German intellectual tradition” Tresserras says that the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein is a work of love towards language and towards humanity, and he points out that the author has been one of the great philosophers of the XXth century who has seen the philosophic problems “from a religious point of view, too”.

*** Archaeologists have discovered in Can Gambús (Sabadell) an important necropolis of the Neolithic age, dated between 4,500 and 3,000 B.C. The 29 sepulchers found are among the most important of Catalonia, due to their perfect preservation and to the quality of the funeral apparel. The human remains, all of them from adult people, are in a fetal position, and there are turquoise necklaces and silex weapons next to them.