Barcelona
Barcelona is a city in Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within city limits, its urban area extends to numerous neighbouring municipalities within the Province of Barcelona and is home to around 4.8 million people, making it the sixth most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, Madrid, the Ruhr area and Milan. It is one of the largest metropolises on the Mediterranean Sea, located on the coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs, bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range, the tallest peak of, 512 metres high. Founded as a Roman city, in the Middle Ages Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona continued to be an important city in the Crown of Aragon as an economic and administrative centre of this Crown and the capital of the Principality of Catalonia.
Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites; the headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean are located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions and many international sport tournaments. Barcelona is one of the world's leading tourist, trade fair and cultural centres, its influence in commerce, entertainment, fashion and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities, it is a major cultural and economic centre in southwestern Europe, 24th in the world and a financial centre. In 2008 it was the fourth most economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union and 35th in the world with GDP amounting to €177 billion. In 2012 Barcelona had a GDP of $170 billion. In 2009 the city was ranked one of the world's most successful as a city brand.
In the same year the city was ranked Europe's fourth best city for business and fastest improving European city, with growth improved by 17% per year, the city has been experiencing strong and renewed growth for the past three years. Since 2011 Barcelona has been a leading smart city in Europe. Barcelona is a transport hub, with the Port of Barcelona being one of Europe's principal seaports and busiest European passenger port, an international airport, Barcelona–El Prat Airport, which handles over 50 million passengers per year, an extensive motorway network, a high-speed rail line with a link to France and the rest of Europe; the name Barcelona comes from the ancient Iberian Barkeno, attested in an ancient coin inscription found on the right side of the coin in Iberian script as, in ancient Greek sources as Βαρκινών, Barkinṓn. Some older sources suggest that the city may have been named after the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca, supposed to have founded the city in the 3rd century BC, but there is no evidence that Barcelona was a Carthaginian settlement, or that its name in antiquity, had any connection with the Barcid family of Hamilcar.
During the Middle Ages, the city was variously known as Barchinona, Barçalona and Barchenona. Internationally, Barcelona's name is wrongly abbreviated to'Barça'. However, this name refers only to the football club; the common abbreviated form used by locals is Barna. Another common abbreviation is'BCN', the IATA airport code of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport; the city is referred to as the Ciutat Comtal in Catalan, Ciudad Condal in Spanish, owing to its past as the seat of the Count of Barcelona. The origin of the earliest settlement at the site of present-day Barcelona is unclear; the ruins of an early settlement have been found, including different tombs and dwellings dating to earlier than 5000 BC. The founding of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends; the first attributes the founding of the city to the mythological Hercules. The second legend attributes the foundation of the city directly to the historical Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal, who named the city Barcino after his family in the 3rd century BC, but there is no historical or linguistic evidence that this is true.
In about 15 BC, the Romans redrew the town as a castrum centred on the "Mons Taber", a little hill near the contemporary city hall. Under the Romans, it was a colony with the surname of Faventia, or, in full, Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino or Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino. Pomponius Mela mentions it among the small towns of the district as it was eclipsed by its neighbour Tarraco, but it may be gathered from writers that it grew in wealth and consequence, favoured as it was with a beautiful situation and an excellent harbour, it enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens. The city minted its own coins. Important Roman vestiges are displayed in Plaça del Rei underground, as a part of the Barcelona City History Museum; some remaining fragments of the Roman walls have been incorporated into the cathedral. The cathedral known as the Basilica La Seu, is said to have been founded in 343; the city
Infantry
Infantry is the branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot, distinguished from cavalry and tank forces. Known as foot soldiers, infantry traditionally relies on moving by foot between combats as well, but may use mounts, military vehicles, or other transport. Infantry make up a large portion of all armed forces in most nations, bear the largest brunt in warfare, as measured by casualties, deprivation, or physical and psychological stress; the first military forces in history were infantry. In antiquity, infantry were armed with an early melee weapon such as a spear, axe or sword, or an early ranged weapon like a javelin, sling, or bow, with a few infantrymen having both a melee and a ranged weapon. With the development of gunpowder, infantry began converting to firearms. By the time of Napoleonic warfare, infantry and artillery formed a basic triad of ground forces, though infantry remained the most numerous. With armoured warfare, armoured fighting vehicles have replaced the horses of cavalry, airpower has added a new dimension to ground combat, but infantry remains pivotal to all modern combined arms operations.
Infantry have much greater local situational awareness than other military forces, due to their inherent intimate contact with the battlefield. Infantry can more recognise and respond to local conditions and changing enemy weapons or tactics, they can operate in a wide range of terrain inaccessible to military vehicles, can operate with a lower logistical burden. Infantry are the most delivered forces to ground combat areas, by simple and reliable marching, or by trucks, sea or air transport, they can be augmented with a variety of crew-served weapons, armoured personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles. In English, use of the term infantry began about the 1570s, describing soldiers who march and fight on foot; the word derives from Middle French infanterie, from older Italian infanteria, from Latin īnfāns, from which English gets infant. The individual-soldier term infantryman was not coined until 1837. In modern usage, foot soldiers of any era are now considered infantrymen. From the mid-18th century until 1881 the British Army named its infantry as numbered regiments "of Foot" to distinguish them from cavalry and dragoon regiments.
Infantry equipped with special weapons were named after that weapon, such as grenadiers for their grenades, or fusiliers for their fusils. These names can persist long after the weapon speciality. More in modern times, infantry with special tactics are named for their roles, such as commandos, snipers and militia. Dragoons were created. However, if light cavalry was lacking in an army, any available dragoons might be assigned their duties. Conversely, starting about the mid-19th century, regular cavalry have been forced to spend more of their time dismounted in combat due to the ever-increasing effectiveness of enemy infantry firearms, thus most cavalry transitioned to mounted infantry. As with grenadiers, the dragoon and cavalry designations can be retained long after their horses, such as in the Royal Dragoon Guards, Royal Lancers, King's Royal Hussars. Motorised infantry have trucks and other unarmed vehicles for non-combat movement, but are still infantry since they leave their vehicles for any combat.
Most modern infantry have vehicle transport, to the point where infantry being motorised is assumed, the few exceptions might be identified as modern light infantry, or "leg infantry" colloquially. Mechanised infantry go beyond motorised, having transport vehicles with combat abilities, armoured personnel carriers, providing at least some options for combat without leaving their vehicles. In modern infantry, some APCs have evolved to be infantry fighting vehicles, which are transport vehicles with more substantial combat abilities, approaching those of light tanks; some well-equipped mechanised infantry can be designated as armoured infantry. Given that infantry forces also have some tanks, given that most armoured forces have more mechanised infantry units than tank units in their organisation, the distinction between mechanised infantry and armour forces has blurred; the terms "infantry", "armour", "cavalry" used in the official names for military units like divisions, brigades, or regiments might be better understood as a description of their expected balance of defensive and mobility roles, rather than just use of vehicles.
Some modern mechanised infantry units are termed cavalry or armoured cavalry though they never had horses, to e
La Línea de la Concepción
La Línea de la Concepción is a town in Spain, in the province of Cádiz in Andalucia. It lies on the eastern isthmus of the Bay of Gibraltar, north of the Gibraltar–Spain border, which lies north of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, with which it has close economic and social links, it is situated on the sandy isthmus which unites the Rock of Gibraltar with the coast in the eastern flank of the Bay of Gibraltar, between Sierra Carbonera and the Rock of Gibraltar. The town derives its name firstly from the línea or boundary line separating Spain from Gibraltar, secondly from the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, its people are called in Spanish linenses. The first dwellings, which date back to the 18th century, were behind the Spanish lines, being part of the Spanish municipality of San Roque until 1870, when La Línea became separate; the people of La Línea have traditionally found work in Gibraltar, from the days in the 18th century when Gibraltar was an important naval port.
This stopped with the total closure of the border by the Spanish government between June 9, 1969 and December 15, 1982 as a result of the dispute between Spain and Britain regarding the sovereignty of Gibraltar. The border was reopened on February 5, 1985. La Línea is a major supplier of fruit and vegetables to Gibraltar, it had an important military garrison with substantial fortifications and a port. When Charles II died in 1700 without an heir to the Crown of Spain, the War of the Spanish Succession broke out between the two main pretenders to the Spanish throne: Philip of Anjou and Charles, Archduke of Austria. Philip was the grandson of Louis XIV of France, had the support of France. Austria and the Netherlands feared a possible alliance and/or a hypothetical union between the French and Spanish royal houses, so favoured the Habsburg Charles. In November 1700, Philip was declared king. In August 1704, while returning to Lisbon after the unsuccessful attempt to seize the city of Barcelona, an Anglo-Dutch fleet of 45 English and ten Dutch ships under the command of Admiral Sir George Rooke landed about 10,000 sailors and marines to take the city of Gibraltar from about 400 defenders, on behalf of Archduke Charles.
The terms of surrender of the Spanish authorities of Gibraltar provided certain assurances, but commanders lost control, sailors and marines engaged in rape and pillage, desecrating most Catholic churches. By 7 August, after order was restored all the population felt that staying in Gibraltar was too dangerous and fled across the area of modern La Línea to San Roque and other nearby areas of the Campo de Gibraltar. Most hoped that they would shortly be able to go back to their homes, but this never happened, British control of Gibraltar became firm, in 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, by which Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain; the municipality of San Roque still has as its motto "La Muy Noble y Más Leal Ciudad de San Roque, donde reside la de Gibraltar ". The town lands included the area of the modern La Línea de la Concepción. King Felipe V, the name by which Philip of Anjou was crowned, ordered the Marquis de Villadarías to besiege the Plaza de Gibraltar; this first attempt to regain the city was unsuccessful and the Spanish army lifted the siege.
However, to monitor the isthmus and to oppose a possible invasion of the rest of the territory, a permanent garrison was established in the area, under the military government of Campo de Gibraltar. Gibraltar was under constant surveillance and subjected to the unsuccessful Siege of Gibraltar 1727 and the Great Siege of Gibraltar 1779-1783. After the 1727 siege, the Spanish government began the construction of a line of fortifications, the "Contravallation Line" or "La Línea de Gibraltar" thus giving rise to the town La Línea De La Concepción; this would isolate the British outpost from the Spanish mainland. An order was issued on 2 November 1730 to the Director of Engineering Prospero Jorge de Verboom, for the construction of two strongholds, one located to the east and the other at west of the isthmus, both united by a line of fortification, with the aim of preventing the movement and to assert rights over the isthmus, in addition to consolidate the Spanish presence in the area. Construction began in 1731 on the two major strongholds, known as San Felipe.
The first was named in honor of the patroness of the Artillery, located at the east beach, where their remains are still visible. The second took its name to honor King Felipe V, is situated on the west beach. Between these two strongholds a large wall was built with central square tip diamond shaped bulwarks with their respective bodies, running from Santa Bárbara to San Felipe. All of them were located at equidistant distances and were called Santa Mariana, San Benito, semi-square and body guard of San José, San Fernando and San Carlos. Construction of this formidable defensive line was completed in 1735. Thus, La Línea originated from a provisional camp made by artisans and merchants who supplied the military and their families in the vicinity of the fortifications erected to besiege Gibraltar, because as a territory in dispute, a civilian population was not allowed to settle; the bastions of The Line of Gibraltar would remain intact for twenty years, serving the purpose for which they were built.
In the early 19th century the Iberian peninsula was invaded by Napoleonic troops
Kingdom of Great Britain
The Kingdom of Great Britain called Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. The state came into being following the Treaty of Union in 1706, ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the kingdoms of England and Scotland to form a single kingdom encompassing the whole island of Great Britain and its outlying islands, with the exception of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands; the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government, based in Westminster. The former kingdoms had been in personal union since James VI of Scotland became King of England and King of Ireland in 1603 following the death of Elizabeth I, bringing about the "Union of the Crowns". After the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the kingdom was in a personal union with the Electorate of Hanover; the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746.
In 1763, victory in the Seven Years' War led to the dominance of the British Empire, to become the foremost global power for over a century and grew to become the largest empire in history. The Kingdom of Great Britain was replaced by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801 with the Acts of Union 1800; the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used in 1474; the use of the word "Great" before "Britain" originates in the French language, which uses Bretagne for both Britain and Brittany. French therefore distinguishes between the two by calling Britain la Grande Bretagne, a distinction, transferred into English; the Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain", as such "Great Britain" was the official name of the state, as well as being used in titles such as "Parliament of Great Britain".
Both the Acts and the Treaty describe the country as "One Kingdom" and a "United Kingdom", which has led some much publications into the error of treating the "United Kingdom" as a name before it came into being in 1801. The websites of the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, others, including the Historical Association, refer to the state created on 1 May 1707 as the United Kingdom of Great Britain; the term United Kingdom was sometimes used during the 18th century to describe the state, but was not its name. The kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a personal union in 1603, when James VI of Scotland became king of England under the name of James I; this Union of the Crowns under the House of Stuart meant that the whole of the island of Great Britain was now ruled by a single monarch, who by virtue of holding the English crown ruled over the Kingdom of Ireland. Each of the three kingdoms maintained laws.
Various smaller islands were in the king's domain, including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. This disposition changed when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800; the Union of 1707 provided for a Protestant-only succession to the throne in accordance with the English Act of Settlement of 1701. The Act of Settlement required that the heir to the English throne be a descendant of the Electress Sophia of Hanover and not be a Catholic. Legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the same location in Westminster, expanded to include representation from Scotland; as with the former Parliament of England and the modern Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Parliament of Great Britain was formally constituted of three elements: the House of Commons, the House of Lords, the Crown.
The right of the English peerage to sit in the House of Lords remained unchanged, while the disproportionately large Scottish peerage was permitted to send only 16 representative peers, elected from amongst their number for the life of each parliament. The members of the former English House of Commons continued as members of the British House of Commons, but as a reflection of the relative tax bases of the two countries the number of Scottish representatives was reduced to 45. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the automatic right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a separate parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws and system of courts, As its own established Presbyterian Church, control over its own schools; the social structure was hierarchical, the same elite remain in control after 1707. Scotland continued to have its own excellent universities, with the strong intellectual community in Edinburgh, The Scottish Enlightenment had a major impact on British and European thinking.
As a result of Poynings' Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, after 1707 to the Parliament of Great Britain. The Westminster parliament's Declaratory Act 1719 (also called the Dependency of Ireland
Mataró
Mataró is the capital and largest town of the comarca of the Maresme, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia Autonomous Community, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, 30 kilometres north-east of Barcelona; as of 2010, it had a population of c. 122,932 inhabitants. Mataró dates back to Roman times when it was a village known as "Iluro" or "Illuro"; the ruins of a first-century BC Roman bath house were discovered and can be visited. The coastal N-II highway follows the same path as the original Roman road. Mataró was declared a city by royal decree though at the time the population fell short of the requirement for city status; the first railway in peninsular Spain was the Mataró – Barcelona line which opened on 28 October 1848 by the Catalan businessman and Mataró native Miquel Biada. This line now forms part of the RENFE/Rodalies de Catalunya R1 suburban service between L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Maçanet-Massanes.
Mataró is connected with Barcelona and Girona by the C-32 autopista and with Granollers by the C-60 autopista. During the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Mataró was the starting point for the marathon events. Mataró is the birthplace of noucentista architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, who designed the ajuntament and several other notable buildings in the town: Casa Coll i Regàs. Casa Parera. Casa Sisternes. El Rengle. La Beneficiència. Nearby the town are the archaeological remains of the Roman villa of Can Llauder; the traditional vineyards were devastated by Phylloxera in the nineteenth century and only replanted, due to the growth of the tourist industry and the development of irrigation in the area. Potatoes were one of the first replacement crops to be introduced the Royal Kidney variety, Mataró obtained a Denominació d'Origen in 1932. Trocadero lettuce and peas are grown for export; the production of cut flowers is less important than in other towns of the Maresme. Irrigated land made up 9.13 square kilometres of the 10.57 square kilometres of agricultural land in the municipality in 1986.
Mataró has a borderline humid subtropical climate bordering with a Hot-summer mediterranean climate. Several major events are celebrated annually in Mataró; some of them are celebrated in the rest of Catalonia and others, which have a religious origin, are part of the folklore and traditions of Spain and some other countries. Among all of them the most popular ones are: The three wise men in Mataró. Carnival in Mataró: celebrated before Lent. Easter in Mataró: celebrated every year during one week on a movable date from the end of March to the beginning of May Saint George in Mataró: celebrated on 23 April, it is a big celebration. St. John the Baptist in Mataró: celebrated on 24 June Les Santes: local festivity of the city celebrated at the end of July, it involves the recognition of Saint Semproniana. The Tió: celebrated in Catalonia on 24 December. Mataró celebrates several fairs such as:Tres Tombs and Saint Ponç In May it is celebrated a fair called Mercat de Sant Ponç. At the fair handicraft products, medicinal herbs, natural products like: honey, fruits, flowers and salami are sold.
Sant Ponç is the patron saint of the herbalists and bee keepers. The fair has been done for centuries, its origins date to the 16th century. Today Sant Ponç fair is celebrated to preserve the antique customs. Festival "Cultural Crossroad". International Dance Festival "Days of Dance". Cehegín, Spain Dürnau, Germany Gammelshausen, Germany Créteil, France Corsico, Italy Fort Lauderdale, The United States of America Mataró Museum. Roman villa of Can Llauder. Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria. Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona:Caixa de Catalunya. ISBN 84-87135-01-3. ISBN 84-87135-02-1. Official website Government data pages
Anchovy
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water and some in South America are restricted to fresh water; the more than 140 species are placed in 17 genera. Anchovies are classified as oily fish. Anchovies are small, green fish with blue reflections due to a silver-colored longitudinal stripe that runs from the base of the caudal fin, they range from 2 to 40 cm in adult length, their body shapes are variable with more slender fish in northern populations. The snout is blunt with sharp teeth in both jaws; the snout contains a unique rostral organ, believed to be sensory in nature, although its exact function is unknown. The mouth is larger than that of herrings and silversides, two fish which anchovies resemble in other respects; the anchovy eats plankton and hatched fish. Anchovies are found in scattered areas throughout the world's oceans, but are concentrated in temperate waters, are rare or absent in cold or warm seas.
They are very accepting of a wide range of temperatures and salinity. Large schools can be found in brackish areas with muddy bottoms, as in estuaries and bays; the European anchovy is abundant in the Mediterranean in the Alboran Sea, Aegean Sea and the Black Sea. This species is caught along the coasts of Crete, Sicily, France, Turkey and Spain, they are found on the coast of northern Africa. The range of the species extends along the Atlantic coast of Europe to the south of Norway. Spawning occurs between October and March, but not in water colder than 12 °C; the anchovy appears to spawn at least 100 km near the surface of the water. The anchovy is a significant food source for every predatory fish in its environment, including the California halibut, rock fish, shark and coho salmon, it is extremely important to marine mammals and birds. Anchovies, like most clupeoids, are filter-feeders; as water passes through the mouth and out the gills, food particles are sieved by gill rakers and transferred into the esophagus.
* Type species On average, the Turkish commercial fishing fleet catches around 300,000 tons per year in winter. The largest catch is in December; the Peruvian anchovy fishery is one of the largest in the world, far exceeding catches of the other anchovy species. In 1973 it collapsed catastrophically due to the combined effects of overfishing and El Niño and did not recover for two decades. A traditional method of processing and preserving anchovies is to gut and salt them in brine, allow them to cure, pack them in oil or salt; this results in a characteristic strong flavor and the flesh turns deep grey. Pickled in vinegar, as with Spanish boquerones, anchovies are milder and the flesh retains a white color. In Roman times, anchovies were the base for the fermented fish sauce garum. Garum had a sufficiently long shelf life for long-distance commerce, was produced in industrial quantities. Anchovies were eaten raw as an aphrodisiac. Today, they are used in small quantities to flavor many dishes; because of the strong flavor, they are an ingredient in several sauces and condiments, including Worcestershire sauce, Caesar salad dressing, Gentleman's Relish, many fish sauces, in some versions of Café de Paris butter.
For domestic use, anchovy fillets are packed in oil or salt in small tins or jars, sometimes rolled around capers. Anchovy paste is available. Fishermen use anchovies as bait for larger fish, such as tuna and sea bass; the strong taste people associate with anchovies is due to the curing process. Fresh anchovies, known in Italy as alici, have a much milder flavor. In Sweden and Finland, the name anchovies is related to a traditional seasoning, hence the product "anchovies" is made of sprats and herring can be sold as "anchovy-spiced". Fish from the family Engraulidae are instead known as sardell in Sweden and sardelli in Finland, leading to confusion when translating recipes. Anchovies portal Sardine Chavez FP, Ryan J, Lluch-Cota SE and Ñiquen CM From Anchovies to Sardines and Back: Multidecadal Change in the Pacific Ocean Science 229217–221. Froese and Daniel Pauly, eds.. "Engraulidae" in FishBase. January 2006 version. Miller DJ "Anchovy" CalCOFI Reports, 5: 20–26. Nizinski MS and Munroe TA FAO species catalogue, volume 2: Clupeoid Fishes of the World, Anchovies Pages 764–780, FAO Fisheries Synopsis 125, Rome.
ISBN 92-5-102340-9. Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission Northern Anchovy The dictionary definition of anchovy at Wiktionary Fisheries Ebb and Flow in 50-Year Cycle National Geographic News. Chisholm, Hugh, ed.. "Anchovy". Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University Press
Miquelet (militia)
Miquelets or Micalets were irregular Catalan and Valencian mountain light troops. They enjoyed a certain prominence in the wars in the Iberian Peninsula during the 17th and 18th centuries, in peace seem to have on occasion plundered travellers; the name is a diminutive of Michael. The term was used for many unconnected groups of Catalans who took up arms in many wars, as well as in banditry; the Miquelets were maintained at the parish level, not by the central or the provincial governments, as they had to turn out for duty on sound of the village alarm-bell they are called sometents. The Miquelets were active during the Catalan secessionist revolt of 1640 In the War of the Spanish Succession, most of the Miquelets fought on the Austriacist side. During the Peninsular War, the Miquelets harassed the French occupiers in the mountains of Catalonia, sometimes participating in operations in large bodies, such as in the Siege of Girona and other operations around Girona in 1808 and 1809. Miquelet was a sobriquet used by Catalan soldiers on both sides of other wars.
Regiments of Miquelets were integrated in the Spanish army and fought in other places of the Spanish Empire, outside Spain. For example, the First Free Company of Volunteers of Catalonia, composed of Catalan Miquelets, was destined in New Spain. From there, the Company played a crucial role in the Spanish colonization of the Pacific Northwest, building Fort San Miguel, the first formal European settlement in British Columbia, from 1790 to 1792, its captain, Pere d'Alberní i Teixidor, received military decorations and was appointed Interim Governor of California in 1800. The police forces of the autonomous governments of Biscay and Gipuzkoa were known as Miqueletes, their homologous police forces in Álava and Navarre, called Miñones and Policía foral, managed to survive beyond the Spanish Civil War for the siding of these provinces with the military uprising. Battle of Montjuïc Battle of Cambrils Guerrilla warfare in the Peninsular War History of Catalonia Free Company of Volunteers of Catalonia Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 1798Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed..
"Miquelets". Encyclopædia Britannica. 18. Cambridge University Press. P. 566
_in_the_late_1800s.jpg)
Media related to Catalan Bay at Wikimedia Commons
