British in Iberia

Tangiers, 1911:  It had been over five years since English battleships had sailed into Tangiers.  For this reason, the majority of the local people went down to the port in spite of the heavy rain and storms.  No-one spoke of anything else other than the shipwreck and speculated regarding its rescue.

The Delhi was a transatlantic ship and docked every Tuesday in Gibraltar.  The wreck was caused by fog and storms which made the Captain mistake Cape Espartel with Cape Trafalgar, forcing him to search for the mouth of the Straits of Gibraltar further down in the wrong area.  The ship was also being swept along by the strong storms.   On board the ship were the Duke and Duchess of Fife and their daughters, Maud and Alexandra.  The Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife (Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar) (Marlborough House, London, England) member of the British royal family, eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra,  was the fifth person to be styled Princess Royal and upon marriage, she took the title of Duchess of Fife.

 First news of the disaster which struck the Delhi reached Tangier by telegram from the ship itself, in which they requested urgent assistance.  At the same time the English battleships in Gibraltar received the very same desperate message.  A seaman from Tangiers who went out to the accident zone in the steamship Muza, belonging to the the company Bland of Gibraltar, managed to get within a couple of hundred metres from the Delhi and could see that all the passengers were out on the deck.  The ship had run aground on a sandbank and was at a distance from the rocks, but the prow was sinking further and further into the water.  The authorities were already studying how, once the storm calmed down, to best rescue the passengers and crew.  They had two options: one was to approach the ship by sea and the other was by land using cables launched by canyons then passing large baskets along the cables with the crew and passengers inside.

The decision was made to use the first option and all the ships (Spanish, English and French) that had steam launches released them into the water to use prow, stern, leeward and windward sides of their vessels to protect the hull of the ship from the breaking waves.  After several attempts, the commander of the British squadron stated that it was an impossible task to carry out and, by means of flag signals, ordered all the launches to return to their ships.  The order was obeyed by every launch, with the exception of that of the French cruise ship Friant which managed to recklessly sail beyond the breaker, miraculously avoiding being swallowed up by the crashing waves.  Once protected from the currents by the immense bulk of the grounded ship, the French launch of the Friant , based in Tangiers, began to ferry groups of thirty passengers and crew between the Delhi and the nearby shore, leaving the vast ship as a wreck in the breakwater.

Curiously, after rescuing the final passenger, in an absurd display of bravery, the launch chose to return to the French cruise ship, rather than staying at shore.  Whilst remaining protected by the large mass of the Delhi, the launch calmly moved forward but, as soon as it emerged from the shelter of the larger boat, a massive wave struck it sideways, overturning it and smashing it into smithereens.  The captain, helmsman and the engineer (José Remond, Gregorio Lagarde y Florencio Carel) all drowned whilst the remaining crew remarkably made it to shore.

The Delhi remained there, not far from another ship, the Italian Nuova America, wrecked months previously due to storms. 

The survivors of the Delhi were taken to Gibraltar and Delhi where they were looked after and given everything they needed.

Written by Jesús de Castro

Translated by Rachael Harrison

Sponsored by www.costaluzlawyers.es

The three most important values of Wellington were: foresight, zeal and courage. He was a staunch supporter, was his role model; Agelisao, king of Sparta, which he copied, which imitated. It was like him, well versed in every stratagem of war and cheated on his enemies, without ever discovering their true these purposes. He knew also distort reality to his soldiers. Projects are easily forged and implementation "? Wellington spot on both, theory and practice. In Spain broke up the legions of the invincible French with ease. Never shook, shook or struck. I never saw Vimierio fluctuate (the defeat of the French was in the battle of Vimieiro, on 21 August 1808 to cause the result was signed between the French and English the Convention of Cintra). I never saw him back in Arroyomolinos (October 28, 1811). I never saw fear in Talavera (took place near Talavera de la Reina (Toledo, Spain) on July 28, 1809). In Arapiles (the Battle of Salamanca British historiography known as the Battle of Salamanca is one in the duels most important Spanish War of Independence and was redeemed in the vicinity of the hills and Arapiles Arapiles Chico Grande in the municipality of Arapiles, south of the city Salamanca, 22 July 1812), or Albuera (on May 16, 1811 was fought around the village of Albuera one of the closest battles in open field). Never in the Espinal, in store in White or Frexedal Castello.

The military power of prophecy is what most distinguished our duke said: "Badajoz surrender at two in the morning." The French governor of the General Armand Philippon square, had also said arrogantly "There are English or Spanish, those who defend this place." (Between 16 March and 6 April 1812, the city was besieged Badajoz by the Anglo-Portuguese army under the command of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, the site was one of the bloodiest of the Napoleonic Wars.

Thirteen months before the general had begun to fortify it. With cunning and tenacity made to surround with a ditch around the wall with battlements and bastions, the mission of these structures was the passive defense and protecting the inhabitants of the square of the assailants or counter guarantees some protection, they had put the same traps near the pit so placing bombs, these helmets, helmets of wood, axles of carriages so that when the British raided, fall to less momentum in these traps. The main strength of the French were the defenses of the gaps by ditches, wells and frieze and briers horses that made the place impregnable. The pond water in the moat was another obstacle that would overcome the attackers. Yet despite so many entrenchments of ravelins, moats, walls and bayonets, the city was taken by assault at one thirty in the morning.

What ancient or modern conqueror, who has known warrior ever see the precise time of the conquest of a place? Of a square also strengthened by the art of war and fiercely defended by a ferocious and desperate enemy.

It was a great master of Brigadier Victor Fané (Sixth Brigade) and Robert Long, generals Posomby and Hill (the very popular "Papa") and Colonel Grant and Major O'Callagan Gardiner. Is the great general who fights and overcomes great generals. Filled with shame Junot (defeated in Vimeiro, signed the Convention of Sintra, Portugal with which the British left), was the one who ruined Massena, one of Napoleon's most competent officers in Santana, who destroyed Marmont ( Viesse Auguste Frédéric Louis, Duke of Ragusa) in the Arapiles, which humbled Aal Count Jean Baptiste Jourdan at Vitoria. That General! Junot, Marmont Massena and Jourdan famous for the Battle of Marengo (took place near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, north east of Italy on 14 June 1800, concluded with a French victory and the withdrawal of Austrian troops Most of the Italian territory) and The Battle of Austerlitz (also known as the Battle of Three Emperors, took place on December 2, 1805, near the city of Brno in the present Czech Republic was one of the major battles of the Napoleonic Wars and is the greatest military triumph of Napoleon), famous for Vsitula and Odder and winners in the defiles of Franconia (Bavaria, Germany) and Eymar.

Wellington gave freedom in Sintra Portugal, in Arapiles shook off embarrassing the capital of Castile and Vitoria Spain crowned with the laurel of independence

Written by  Jesús Castro

Translated by Rachael Harrison

Sponsored by www.costaluzlawyers.es

In August, 1812, immediately after victory in the Battle of the Arapiles and after Jose I fled the Court, the allies entered Madrid.  The anglo-hispano-portugese army, led by General Álava and Lord Wellington were warmly welcomed by the people of Madrid with rousing ovations.   Rowdy and lively by nature, the Madrileños went crazy over the English and in particular, over the Highlanders, for their unusual clothing and their fervent Catholicism.

Wellington, however, was stand-offish, disagreeable and with a permanent frown and in his few dealings with the Spanish authorities who showered him with gifts to try to make him smile, he was notably cold.   Once he knew the French had been driven out, there was only one thought  behind his furrowed brow that gave him any pleasure, and that was the idea of having his portrait painted by Goya. 

He knew that Goya, that magical painter, lived in Madrid.  Although not from the city, he was a Madrileño in his heart.  Wellington knew that his accomplice, General Álava, was a great friend of the painter and so suggested to him that he do the necessary introductions and requests.  Álava made hints to Wellington about Goya’s personality, that he wasn’t a particularly pleasant character with people he didn’t know.  Despite the fact that the painter would of course know about Wellington’s talents and know that he was no social climber, he also advised him that the painter tended to charge exorbitant fees for painting portraits.  Despite all this, Wellington, Álava and their escorts headed over to see Don Francisco de Goya.

Goya lived in a house with gardens and farm land on the other side of the Manzanares river (Estación de Villa del Prado).   Given the personalities of those involved, the greetings on arrival were somewhat frosty.  Both equally brusque and surly, and Goya being unsociable and half deaf, it was quite a sight.  Due to the dexterity of his hands, compared with the lack of it in his hearing, an hour was enough for Goya to do the rough outline of a portrait.  Without wasting any time and wanting the Englishman to leave as soon as possible, Goya got straight on with the painting.  When he had placed Wellington’s face on the canvas, he decided to show it to him so that the Islander could see how it was coming along.  In showing it to him, he used tremendous skill and trust and with his finger, beckoned to the Irishman to come closer as he turned the easel around.  Unaccustomed to people gesturing to him, in particular with their hands, Wellington very reluctantly complied.  On laying his eyes on the painting, the General  could do nothing else but show a gesture of his disgust.

Javier Goya, the educated and English-speaking son of the painter at this point stepped in, anticipating the reaction of his father on seeing Wellington’s look of complete displeasure.  He spoke to him in Wellington’s native language and tried to convince him of the compassion and the skill of the drawing.  The Briton replied to this, moving his head stiffly and saying in a slow, low voice, “no, no”.  Goya, who understood nothing, or who pretended not to understand, angrily cleaned his brushes, with a false smile whilst he waited for the praise, the usual postscript to his work.  On realizing what was happening and that the praise was not forthcoming, he looked questioningly at General Wellington, meanwhile General Álava didn’t know quite where to put himself. 

The show played out as follows:

Wellington with a face as sour as vinegar, Goya with a face like a bull about to charge, Javier Goya looking at both of them, talking in English and Spanish at the same time until the arrogant aristocrat picked up his hat and prepared to leave without a word. 

Goya had the unusual habit, as many habits tend to be, of keeping a couple of pistols close to hand whilst he painted.  Javier Goya shuddered when he saw his father’s gaze moving between Wellington’s face and his pistols.   Suddenly Francisco de Goya reached for his pistols and anticipating his father’s move, his son threw himself onto his father to stop him whilst General Álava bundled out the victor of Arapiles, telling him that the artist was crazy.  The great hero almost lost his life in the home of the deaf artist, without even reaching Waterloo.  Goya went on to do three portraits of Wellington; two oil paintings and one in red chalk.
 

Written by Jesús Castro

Translated by Rachael Harrison

Sponsored by www.costaluzlawyers.es

In 1304, a Seville merchant ship reached England.   However, at this time in the 14th Century, the majority of trade between England and Andalucia was transported by Basque ships and, from the second half of the century onwards, also by ships from Bristol.  In Andalucia, the merchandise most sought-after by the English traders was olive oil, for use in cooking and also in the textile factories and also in the making of Seville soap.  They also exported leathers and honey.  However, during the 15th Century, the merchandise of choice was Andalucian wine.  In turn, the English exported wools and cloth.  The English were in constant trading wars with Genoese and Florentine traders in Seville.

The result of this intense business activity was the rise in the number of English traders in Seville, particularly after the discovery of America, making them the second largest group of foreign traders in the city, after the Genoese.  The largest concentration of English traders was in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, attracted by the special privileges provided by the Dukes of Medina Sidonia.   In Seville, following the discovery of America in 1492, the Kings of Spain set up a trading monopoly with the newly discovered lands of America, the Canaries and the Barbary Coast, forming the House of Trade (Casa de Contractión) in 1503.  This meant the closing off of colonial trading traffic from the ports of the Andalucian coast which then led to a quick economic decline.  Thanks to a lawsuit against the Kings of Spain allowing it freedom to trade and the Duke keeping his own independent Customs, Sanlúcar was the only exception to this economic down- turn.  In addition, a branch of the House of Trade was established in Sanlúcar which meant large vessels could avoid the difficult trip up the Guadalquivir river to Seville.   

The groups of traders - the Flemish, the English and the Italians remained settled there in the town.  The community of English traders had a particularly strong influence in the town, where, in 1517, they began building the English Catholic Church of St. George.  There is a strong history of English in neighbouring Seville between 1480 and 1515, the most notable of whom was Thomas Malliard, who worked for the London rag-and-bone man, Henry Palmer.

Trading disputes and arguments were common between the English and their Genovese and Florentine counterparts, with their inevitable lawsuits in the legal framework of the period.  The following are some examples, with the names and surnames in the Spanish version, as would have been the case:

On the 26th April, 1492, the Law calls Guillén Esterlin, English trader, on request of Juanoto Berardi, Florentine trader, both parties resident of Seville, for the pending lawsuit regarding trading disputes regarding Irish leathers.

On the 15th September, 1499, a Seville judge makes some enquiries into whether an English trader, Jorge Bolestrud, had tried to bribe another judge who was overseeing the lawsuit between said trader and Francisco de Riberol, a Genovese trader.

28th April, 1497.  A Seville judge, Juan de Silva, dealt out justice to Jorge Bolestrud, an English trader resident in the same city, who had lawsuits with Francisco Relirol, a Genovese trader, over merchandise that he had sent from London.

21st November, 1494.   Recourse to the committee of Juan de Porras, a Seville collection attorney, on the request of Guillén Asteley, an English trader who wanted to recover the money given as guarantor to the Irish trader, Juan Linche.

On the 18th March, 1492, the Seville courts passed sentence in the request of the English trader Juan Bisnes, who was owed an amount of maravedis (an old Spanish coin) by the Genoves trader Francisco de Riberol. 

The 3rd May, 1492.  Sentences passed from the judicial courts of Seville and Cádiz, and also from their Archbishop and Bishops, so that, on request from Juan Tristán, city judge, obliging the English trader, Jacome Fruiges to honour the quantity of merchandise that he had sold.

8th February, 1497, a petition is made on behalf of an English trader in Seville, Jorge Bolesques, who had served in the Spanish Flemish fleet with two of his ships, both of which were embargoed for a period in the port of Deva, Guipuzcua  which prevented him from continuing with his business.  One of his servants, Diego Gonzalez from Sanlúcar de Barremeda, absconded with one of the ships and twice, in order to cover his tracks, he faked the sale of the ship.
 

Written by Jesús Castro

Translated by Rachael Harrison

Sponsored by www.costaluzlawyers.es

There is an English coin which was minted by the colony of Gibraltar in 2005.   It is a crown coin with Her Majesty Elisabeth II, the year and Gibraltar embossed on one side.  On the reverse side is a small detail of the oil painting by Richard Westal which hangs in the National Maritime Museum in London which depicts Admiral Nelson, injured during an attack on Tenerife in 1797.

Only two figures appear on the coin: a seriously injured Nelson and supporting him from behind, his step-son, Lieutenant Josiah Nisbet.  The minting of this coin was in commemoration of an English military victory, the bi-centenary of the Battle of Trafalgar (1805-2005) when the British hero, Sir Horacio Nelson lost his life.  For unknown reasons, an image of the Admiral injured in battle was chosen for this occasion.  He lost his right arm as a result of a well-aimed shot from a tiger cannon in his first and only defeat in 1797, in an attack on Santa Cruz de Santiago de Tenerife..

On the 25th July, the city celebrates this heroic deed – the battle which liberated the city from the siege of the English, led by Admiral Horatio Nelson, and which was the cause of the area being nominated as a “free town”, with its own Town Hall, Coat of Arms and with the titles of Most Loyal, Noble, Undefeated, Most Benevolent City, Port and Square of Santa Cruz de Santiago de Tenerife.

The unshakeable appetite for perfection of the English Admiral, Sir Horacio Nelson, the most powerful figure on the high seas, helped him to create the idea of controlling the Canarian archipelago and, with this intention, he set sail with his armada from the Bay of Cádiz on the 15th July, 1797 and arrived in the Canary Islands on the night of the 21st July.
Following two unsuccessful offensives on the garrison of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the night of the 24th/25th he managed to off-load his troops in various different zones, himself and a large team of troops arriving on land via the harbor of the main square.

Courageously assisted by the people of Tenerife, and under the command of General Juan Antonio Gutiérrez, the troops put up such a strong defense that the English were forced to surrender after suffering over 200 fatalities and hundreds of casualties, amongst which was the Admiral who lost his right arm.

In a quest for peace, the local people dedicated themselves to the benevolent task of looking after the enemy casualties.  A local peasant, who had spent the entire night tirelessly fighting the invaders, came across an English officer who was dying.  He politely tended to him, removed his doublet and tore it into strips to bandage the man’s wounds, then with great mercy and decorum, and with tears in his eyes he said, “Look, Sir, at what has happened here.  Why did his lordship not stay back in his own land?”

There are various pieces of memorabilia remaining from this historic event – the tiger cannon which was responsible for the injuries suffered by Nelson, the two flags taken from the English which are kept as priceless items of treasure in the Church of the Conception in the Canarian capital, and the city’s insignia with the coat of arms which King Charles IV awarded by Royal Decree on the 28th August, 1803 in recognition of the outstanding military action.
 

Written by Jesús Castro

Translated by Rachael Harrison

Sponsored by www.costaluzlawyers.es

“You won’t find him at home.  The Count is constantly in his office.  Only at lunch time will he take a car and drive home to spend an hour with his family, after which he returns immediately to his wineries.  He is a tireless worker and is so scrupulous in his business that every single delivery that is dispatched from his work is meticulously inspected by either himself or his brother, Juan. Maybe it’s due to this virtue and excellence, maybe it’s due to the superiority of the products that the house of Osborne has achieved its current status”.

The Count of Osborne, Tomás Osborne y Guezla, managed the fortunes of his home winery since 1890, the year of the death of his father, the fine, upstanding gentleman, the Count of Osborne who, from the exterior, appeared to be a quintessential Englishman - impeccably dressed, serious and correct.  No doubt the fifteen years he spent in England and his English roots influenced his character, his personality and his behavior.  Tomás was the grandson of a young English trader, Thomas Osborne Mann, born in Exeter and who settled in the port of Santa María where he joined up with a large firm of wine dealers, Lonergan & White.  He made contact with Sir James Duff, the man who helped General San Martin leave Spain, thanks to the friendship they developed in the Spanish struggle against Napoleon as well as being “brothers” in the Masonic Lodge in Cádiz.  Together they founded the wine-producing company Osborne, in his name, and which until 1890 traded abroad under the name of Duff-Gordon.

In 1956, at the height of General Franco’s dictatorship, the publicity agency Azor, under instruction from the Osborne Group, designed a logo which would be used to represent Veterano brandy on roadside publicity hoardings.  In the new Spanish democracy, the Government of Felipe Gonzalez never looked kindly on the Osborne bull.  In reality, some Socialists obsessed with the idea of “progress” were never fans of bull-fighting, nor of the “National Day” and of course, not of Francoism (the dictatorship of General Franco).  It was therefore inevitable that they distrusted a sign which alluded to all of this.  However, what they forgot was the Republican origin of the Osborne bull, as its creator (in 1956) was the artist Manuel Prieto who was a well-known militant of the Spanish Communist Party who, during the Spanish Second Republic collaborated as an artist in the group, Milicia Popular.  He inspired his friend, Josep Renau, a sign-maker of the Spanish Second Republic who drew almost identical bulls in his propaganda signs. 

In July, 1988, the General Highway Law forced the removal of all types of publicity visible from any state road.  All billboards were removed but the bulls remained in place.  The General Highway Rule of September, 1994 ordered for the Osborne bulls to be removed. Many autonomous communities, various municipalities, cultural associations, artists, politicians and journalists spoke out in favour of keeping the bulls.  The Andalucian Autonomous Government requested it to be approved as “cultural heritage” and the Chartered Community of Navarre made use of a chartered law to keep their local Osborne bull.  In December 1997 the Supreme Court made a ruling in favour of keeping the Osborne bulls due to their “aesthetic or cultural interest” and from this point onwards, the Osborne bull was no longer just a purely commercial logo.  Although not a symbol of Spanish identity, Catalan nationalists boycotted and tore down the only bull located in Catalunia, in El Bruc.  Some Catalan nationalists adopted their own symbol of the ruc, the Catalan donkey.

At present there are 90 Osborne bulls located throughout Spain.  The largest concentrations are around Jerez, both in the provinces of Seville and of Cadiz.   The rest are spread out across Spain. 

In September 2005 a criminal court judge acquitted several businessmen of the illegal use of the image on souvenirs for “people who see the figure of the bull as a national symbol and not as the specific logo of a business”.  However, following this, the Provincial Court of Seville revoked the first ruling and found the businessmen guilty, stating that “the cultural and symbolic reference that the Osborne Bull undoubtedly has, does not imply a the total freedom of Osborne’s rights over the Osborne Bull brand”.  Many rulings, before and after the aforementioned confirm the depth of the reference of the branding rights of the Osborne Group regarding their Bull.

The English Osborne Bull, communist and born at the height of Franco’s dictatorship, has transcended its character as just a sales logo and has become something that needs no explanation.  Perhaps the reasons behind its continued presence along the roadsides and horizons in Spain are this brotherly union and the concentration of the various ideas and nationalities.  The case of the Osborne Bull is a perfect example of how something that occupies the public space is integrated into the identifying culture of a community.  It becomes the sentimental and intellectual property of everyone, from a communist to a conservative, from an Englishman to a Spaniard.  The origin of this image belongs with all of them, probably without them even knowing it.
 

Written by Jesús Castro

Translated by Rachael Harrison

Sponsored by www.costaluzlawyers.es