1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So we went to Barcelona. 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: We did. That's gonna come up a little bit here 5 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: for a minute. We have a few episodes lined up 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: that are inspired by that trip. One of my very 7 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 1: favorite days from that trip is when we went to Montserrat. 8 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: That name literally means serrated mountain because if you look 9 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:36,320 Speaker 1: at it, it is jagged. There are some cool pieces 10 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:41,600 Speaker 1: of lore about how like angels cut it that way, 11 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 1: none of which we're getting into today, but I was 12 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: just blown away by how absolutely beautiful it is. Both 13 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,160 Speaker 1: the natural elements of it, like when you're up there 14 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: and you're looking out at the vista, you feel like 15 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: you're on top of the world, but also the man 16 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: made structures there are quite beautiful. And because it's about 17 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: an hour's bus ride from where we were staying in 18 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: Barcelona proper, we got a lot of history information en 19 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: route from our guide, who was the wonderful Isabelle, who 20 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: I absolutely adored. But there is a little bit of 21 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: a language difference, and that meant that there were a 22 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: few times where she said something that made me go 23 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: what we Yeah, we had very similar experiences and that 24 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: I was like, what are you? What are you talking about? 25 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: And then it made me start to think about what 26 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: kind of information I would like if I could curate 27 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: the story of Monserrat for a group of visitors, right, 28 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,119 Speaker 1: I would want stories that ranged from the earliest days 29 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: of the monastery that's there to more modern times. There's 30 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: even prehistory before the monastery. We can talk a little 31 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,959 Speaker 1: bit about that behind the scenes. But Manserrat is a 32 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: really culturally important place with a lot of stories. So 33 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: I was like, how how would I want to lay 34 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: this out as like a terronism guide. So that's kind 35 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: of what you're getting today. We're mostly focusing on three 36 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: primary elements of its history, which kind of show the 37 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,400 Speaker 1: importance of the place as a religious center, which also 38 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 1: includes some art history, as a military center, and finally 39 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,880 Speaker 1: as a place that has been home to political protest. 40 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,440 Speaker 1: So the earliest historical information on the site where the 41 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: monastery at Manserrat would eventually be built is of course sparse, 42 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 1: and it all starts at least in terms of the 43 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: inspiration for the monastery with a kind of mythic story 44 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: about a sculpture being found, and according to that legend, 45 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 1: in the year eight eighty, several shepherds who were children 46 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: saw a light and heard music coming out of a 47 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: cave on the mountain one night. So when they went 48 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,080 Speaker 1: to this cave, they found a sculpture of the Virgin Mary. 49 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: This sculpture was surrounded by angels who were playing music. 50 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: So the children went and reported this to local adults, 51 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: and as a result, the bishop came to see the 52 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: sculpture for himself. He was so taken with it that 53 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 1: he wanted to move it to an existing cathedral. But 54 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 1: the story goes that as the madonna was being carried 55 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,639 Speaker 1: down the mountain, she got heavier and heavier, and they 56 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: interpreted this as a sign that the statue wanted to 57 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 1: stay there on Manserrat, and so that was where a 58 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: monastery or any other religious buildings would have to be built. 59 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: Where this sculpture came from is unknown. The lore puts 60 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: its origin at the time of Jesus, and that it 61 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: was a request of Jesus to Saint Luke to have 62 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 1: an image of his mother Mary carved from wood. In 63 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: some tellings of this story. The carpentry tools which had 64 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: belonged to Jesus were used by Luke to create this 65 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: wooden portrait of Mary, and according to legend, this piece 66 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: of artwork arrived in Barcelona via Saint Paul, who gave 67 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 1: it as a gift to the Christians living in the area. 68 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,520 Speaker 1: So that of course leads to the question how did 69 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:01,360 Speaker 1: this statue get to a cave on Maserat? But one 70 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: popular theory is that when the Moors attacked Barcelona in 71 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: seven eighteen, the sculpture was hidden in the cave for 72 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: safety and then stayed there for the next one hundred 73 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: and sixty years because over time the secret hiding place 74 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: was forgotten. Basically, everyone who knew where it was eventually died. 75 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: And within a decade of this find, which believers consider 76 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: to have been a miracle, there was a chapel built 77 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: outside of the Santa Kova, which is the name for 78 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: the cave that the statue was found in that translates 79 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:40,159 Speaker 1: to Holy Cave. That chapel location can still be seen, 80 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: but you have to hike a little way away from 81 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: the monastery to see it. By the end of the 82 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: ninth century, there were several more chapels. In ten twenty five, 83 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: abbott Oliva of Ripley officially founded the Monsarrat Monastery, and 84 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: for several hundred years the monastery at Monsarrat was under 85 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: the control of this monastery at Ripley. It didn't become 86 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: completely independent from that organization until fourteen thirty one, under 87 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: an act of Pope Eugene the Fourth. There is this 88 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: really significant moment that happens in the late eleven hundreds, 89 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: the statue was replaced with a new one. But even 90 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,360 Speaker 1: this is something that's a little confusing because it's not 91 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:25,040 Speaker 1: often mentioned in various accounts of the statue at the monastery, 92 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,360 Speaker 1: although the abbey's official website does mention it in their 93 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: historic timeline, noting that this twelfth century statue is one 94 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:35,719 Speaker 1: of the jewels of the collection, and even today when 95 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:38,400 Speaker 1: you read short write ups, this statue is still talked 96 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: about as though it's possibly something that was made by 97 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 1: Saint Luke. The statue, which is currently on display, is 98 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: very much in line with the art style of the 99 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: twelfth century. The seated figure of the madonna is elongated, 100 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 1: like her features are elongated. Although it is not an 101 00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:57,839 Speaker 1: especially large piece, it's thirty eight inches tall, so about 102 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: a meter tall. The infant Jesus is in her lap, 103 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: and she holds an orb in one hand. That orb 104 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: is actually a thing you can touch. The way she's displayed, 105 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 1: there's like a glass case protecting her, but that one 106 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: hand holding the orb protrudes from it and people touch 107 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: it as part of their prayers. That switcheroo aside, maybe 108 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: the most fascinating aspect of this depiction of Mary is 109 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:25,839 Speaker 1: that she's dark skinned, so she's grouped under the umbrella 110 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:30,160 Speaker 1: of depictions known as black Madonna's like that name suggests, 111 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:33,280 Speaker 1: these are images of the Madonna that have brown or 112 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:39,080 Speaker 1: otherwise very dark skin. The Mansarat sculpture is called La morinetta, 113 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: which translates from Catalan literally to meaning brunette or brown. 114 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,480 Speaker 1: So there's a lot of religious and art history writing 115 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 1: about black madonnas because there are a lot of them, 116 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:55,040 Speaker 1: and there are lots of varying theories about why they 117 00:06:55,080 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: exist and what, if anything, that coloration means. To be clear, 118 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: this is referring to madonnas that are found primarily in 119 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: like predominantly white European countries, not madonnas that are made 120 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: in regions where a darker skin tone is like more 121 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: common among the general public, so it does raise some questions. 122 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 1: One theory is that these images were made with darker 123 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: skin tones in an effort to kind of marry pagan 124 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: and Christian imagery. That is just one possible explanation. We'll 125 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:32,160 Speaker 1: talk about others in just a moment. I will say that, 126 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 1: like a lot of these depictions, their skin is a 127 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 1: lot darker than like the rest of the sculpture. Yeah, yeah, 128 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: well so darker than the rest of the sculpture, and 129 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: like darker than like the olive toned skin that like 130 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: a lot of scholars believe that like the historical Jesus 131 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,440 Speaker 1: probably had right right, they are like dark, dark brown, 132 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: and sometimes literally like the color of coal. Right. There 133 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,760 Speaker 1: is also a commonality among the various black madonnas in 134 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 1: that most of them, by which we mean the sculptures 135 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: or paintings, are associated with miracles, which has led to 136 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: a common belief that a black madonna is especially sacred. 137 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: This is also linked by some to the verse in 138 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 1: the Song of Solomon in the Bible, which reads, I 139 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: am black but comely, or in some editions, I am 140 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: black but beautiful. That verse, which of course includes a 141 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: lot more. Text is often examined as a study of 142 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: race within Christianity, but as it pertains to Madonna's there 143 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: are theories that some of them may have been painted 144 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: with dark skin to invoke that verse, and there is 145 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: even a possibility that a trend may have started after 146 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:43,200 Speaker 1: some representations of Mary were made with this darkened skin 147 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:47,080 Speaker 1: tone or became darkened, and that then others followed suit. 148 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: In the case of the Madonna of Monserrat, it appears 149 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 1: that she wasn't actually created with dark skin, but that 150 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: her skin on this sculpture darkened over time, and she's 151 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,439 Speaker 1: not the old only black Madonna that appears to have 152 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 1: gone through this sort of shift. There are a few 153 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: different possible reasons for this. One cause is that some 154 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:13,600 Speaker 1: of them have just been discolored by their surroundings, particularly 155 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:17,960 Speaker 1: things like candles, which can deposit a fine soot residue 156 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:22,200 Speaker 1: onto surfaces. Another, which was mentioned as early as eighteen 157 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 1: seventy eight by French architect Charles Ruhal de Fleury, is 158 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: that works might have had silver plating, and that silver 159 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:34,360 Speaker 1: plating blackened over time, and then he suggested that that 160 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: look was copied by subsequent artists In the early twentieth century, 161 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:43,000 Speaker 1: Stephen Bissel, a Jesuit scholar, noted that a lot of 162 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:48,400 Speaker 1: skin tone paint included vermilion or red lead, and both 163 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: of those can blacken over time. In a paper for 164 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: the American Historical Review in two thousand and two, anthropologist 165 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: Monique Scher, who includes all of these explanations and authors, 166 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: notes quote Although the novelty of a black madonna seems 167 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: to be a source of pride for local pilgrimage centers, 168 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: today among most scholars the phenomenon has been deemed rather uninteresting, 169 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 1: as it is customarily considered to be nothing but darkening 170 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 1: by candles and age, and thus not warranting greater investigation 171 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 1: or elaboration. I will confess when we got kind of 172 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 1: the weird she's black, but they think it's from candles, 173 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 1: I was like, what that doesn't make sense. But reading 174 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:32,560 Speaker 1: all of the art history discussions of what may have 175 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:35,360 Speaker 1: gone on, I'm like, ah, now I understand. I had 176 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:38,120 Speaker 1: a very similar response to like a different part of 177 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 1: that same explanation that she gave to us, which is 178 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:42,720 Speaker 1: like she was like she might have been white and 179 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:44,120 Speaker 1: she might have turned black, And I was like, what 180 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:49,719 Speaker 1: are what do you say right. The Madonna of Montserrat, 181 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: which is a wooden sculpture as we said, was examined 182 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: by conservators in the early two thousands to determine what 183 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: the true nature of her pigment was, and using X 184 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 1: rays and other tests methods, researchers concluded that she had 185 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 1: originally been depicted with light color skin, but that either 186 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:10,080 Speaker 1: candle smoke or a varnish reaction on the skin tone 187 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: areas of her sculpture caused this thing to turn black. 188 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 1: She was then, though repainted black during restoration efforts over 189 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:23,080 Speaker 1: the years by conservators who may have believed the original 190 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 1: color was black. The most recent black repaint that they 191 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,960 Speaker 1: were able to conclusively identify was done in the early 192 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:34,959 Speaker 1: eighteenth century. By the twelve twenties, pilgrims started to make 193 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:38,119 Speaker 1: their way to the monastery to visit the Virgin of Monserrat. 194 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 1: By the mid twelve twenties, the monastery had a boy's choir, 195 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: which it still has, and official recognition of the Brotherhood 196 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: of the Mother of God of Monserrat. Also in the 197 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:53,800 Speaker 1: early thirteenth century, Alfonso, the tenth King of Castile Leon Englecia, 198 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:57,760 Speaker 1: who was known as Alfonso the Wise published a book 199 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 1: of songs, Canticles of Holy Mary. These are not all 200 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:04,440 Speaker 1: songs he wrote, although he may have written some of them. 201 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:08,360 Speaker 1: It's believed that musicians of his court created most of 202 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 1: the songs, and the songs tell the story of the 203 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 1: monserrat Virgin Mary. They attribute multiple miracles to her. In one, 204 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 1: a man who put a ring on the statue's finger 205 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: is then visited by the madonna in his sleep. After 206 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: he gets married, she tells him that he cannot marry 207 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:30,440 Speaker 1: because he had already pledged himself to her. According to 208 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: the song, that man left his wife to become a monk. 209 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:37,840 Speaker 1: Other stories told through the canticles include the madonna bringing 210 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:41,400 Speaker 1: a woman's beloved son back from the dead, and there's 211 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:44,000 Speaker 1: even one in which a man is struck dead after 212 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 1: painting the madonna white. That's a particularly interesting one because 213 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:52,880 Speaker 1: it indicates the statue had already blackened by the thirteenth century. 214 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:56,600 Speaker 1: This collection of songs helped spread the story of the 215 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: statue and its finding, which was considered a miracle, as 216 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:02,720 Speaker 1: well as other miracles attributed to it, and it drew 217 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:06,120 Speaker 1: more people to the site. The monastery continued to grow 218 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:08,920 Speaker 1: throughout the following decades, and it had a steady stream 219 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:12,160 Speaker 1: of pilgrims who visited to see the Madonna. In the 220 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: fourteen nineties, the monastery got a printing press. It was 221 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 1: one of the first in Spain, and that makes Monsarrat 222 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 1: now home to one of the oldest publishing houses in 223 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 1: the world. It is still going more than five hundred 224 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:28,720 Speaker 1: years later, although there have been interruptions due to various conflicts. 225 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:33,480 Speaker 1: This area has had a lot of conflict. Yes, we're 226 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 1: going to talk about some more of them in a 227 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:39,600 Speaker 1: subsequent episode Bonus Story. Also in the fourteen nineties, the 228 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:43,440 Speaker 1: monastery at Monsarrat was invoked in the naming of an island. 229 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:46,800 Speaker 1: Just in case at the beginning of the episode you 230 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 1: weren't clear on whether we were talking about the mountain 231 00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:52,800 Speaker 1: or the island, the two do have a common tie 232 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:56,800 Speaker 1: between them. The island was named Santa Maria de Monserrat 233 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:00,560 Speaker 1: in honor of the Virgin Mary. At Monsarrat, there was 234 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:04,560 Speaker 1: a monk from Monsarrat with Columbus on his second Transatlantic 235 00:14:04,679 --> 00:14:09,439 Speaker 1: voyage in fourteen ninety three. His name was Bernardo Buil. 236 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:13,720 Speaker 1: While the Caribbean island was inhabited around three thousand BCE, 237 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 1: possibly by a pre Arwak people, and then by the 238 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: carib people. After that. When Columbus got there, no one 239 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:24,520 Speaker 1: was living there, so it was colonized almost one hundred 240 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:28,400 Speaker 1: and forty years later and used for plantations. This island 241 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,600 Speaker 1: passed between Britain and France until the Treaty of Paris 242 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: and seventeen eighty three once again made it British territory, 243 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 1: and it's remained British territory ever since. The island of 244 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,560 Speaker 1: Monsarrat has its own lengthy and complicated history of slavery 245 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:47,640 Speaker 1: and government unrests and even volcanic activity, way beyond the 246 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 1: scope of this episode, which is about a different place. Yeah, yeah, 247 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 1: I just thought we would pop that in in case 248 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 1: you're like, wait, but why does the island have the 249 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:59,240 Speaker 1: same name. Coming up, we're going to talk about Napoleon's 250 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:02,040 Speaker 1: role in the hisay of Monsarrat, but first we will 251 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: pause for a sponsor break. One of the most significant 252 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 1: events for Monsarrat was the destruction of the entire facility 253 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 1: in the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon invaded Spain in eighteen oh eight, 254 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: and if you look at Monsarrat on a map, it 255 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: sits to the northwest of Barcelona, so it was right 256 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: in between the French border and the city of Barcelona, 257 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 1: which as a religious center made it vulnerable to an 258 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:39,160 Speaker 1: advancing army, and as a military location, made it important 259 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:43,000 Speaker 1: as a strategic location for both the Spanish and French armies. 260 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 1: So because of this, the Spanish army moved into the 261 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: monastery and the monks left. Most of them went to 262 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,440 Speaker 1: the island of Majorca, taking a lot of the monastery's 263 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:55,440 Speaker 1: valuables as well as art, in the hopes of keeping 264 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 1: those things safe. Although Spanish forces held the mountain and 265 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 1: use it is a central location to send arms and 266 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:07,600 Speaker 1: information to the surrounding military units, Napoleon's troops boldly moved 267 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:10,520 Speaker 1: to try to take it for themselves. There's an interesting 268 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 1: piece of lore attached to the first battle at Monserrat 269 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 1: between France and Spain. The French military was powerful. It 270 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:22,360 Speaker 1: managed to set the monastery on fire, but then they 271 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: heard what sounded like a massive Spanish army marching on them, 272 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: and they retreated. Those huge troop numbers were an illusion, 273 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:33,760 Speaker 1: though The noise was attributed to the drum of a 274 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: single boy whose drum beats echoed so loudly off the 275 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: mountains that it created the sound of just a huge 276 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: throng of marching troops. Sometimes this story is told as 277 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 1: though the drumming was part of an organized effort on 278 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 1: the part of the Spanish forces, and other times it 279 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:54,000 Speaker 1: sounds more like just a lucky accident. The name Isidra 280 00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:57,880 Speaker 1: Juke Casanovas is often given as that of the drummer, 281 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:01,640 Speaker 1: and there's a mania meant to him in Elbrook, which 282 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:04,960 Speaker 1: that's just to the east of Monsarrat. That's where he 283 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:08,240 Speaker 1: is said to have been drumming. And the early fighting 284 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 1: at Monsarrat in eighteen oh eight, the French lost more 285 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: than four hundred men. Yeah, it's very interesting how differently 286 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:17,520 Speaker 1: that story gets told. In one, it's like the people 287 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 1: of Elbruk are trying to take up arms and help 288 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: in the effort, and they tell him he can't help 289 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:23,600 Speaker 1: in any way, and so he gets his drum and 290 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:27,199 Speaker 1: it's very heartwarming and inspiring story. And in others it's like, no, 291 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:31,880 Speaker 1: they literally plan this out. Oh so, so just if 292 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 1: you read it, it may come out different depending on 293 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: your source. But the Napoleonic Wars, of course continued for 294 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:41,320 Speaker 1: years beyond that early victory for Spain and overall, Napoleon 295 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:45,320 Speaker 1: was quite successful in his campaign to capture Spain. In Catalonia, 296 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:49,760 Speaker 1: Montserrat was one of the holdouts, and then in eighteen eleven, 297 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:54,399 Speaker 1: General Louis Gabriel Cuchet took ten thousand French troops and 298 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:58,240 Speaker 1: positioned them all around the monastery for a coordinated attack 299 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:01,679 Speaker 1: from all sides. This operation on the part of the 300 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:05,160 Speaker 1: French took the Spanish forces at Monsarrat by surprise, and 301 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:08,680 Speaker 1: France killed hundreds of Spanish soldiers and at that point 302 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:13,040 Speaker 1: the monastery was burned down. The site remained empty for years, 303 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:17,199 Speaker 1: during which time Spain enacted land acts which divested the 304 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,879 Speaker 1: monks of the property on Monsarrat, But in eighteen forty 305 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,959 Speaker 1: four monks returned and in the decades that followed the 306 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 1: monastery was rebuilt. In eighteen eighty one, the Virgin of 307 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:32,000 Speaker 1: Monsarrat was declared a patron saint of Catalognia. Yeah, she 308 00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: is not the only one, but she is one of them. 309 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:38,680 Speaker 1: In nineteen eleven, Monsarrat opened its museum, then the Biblical 310 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:42,720 Speaker 1: Museum of Monsarrat. During the tumultuous times, the monastery had 311 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,119 Speaker 1: experienced Before this, it had lost almost all of its 312 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:50,440 Speaker 1: heritage objects. So a Benedictine monk and scholar from the abbey, 313 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:54,479 Speaker 1: father Bonaventuro Ubach, had traveled to various sites in Northern 314 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 1: Africa and the Middle East to create a new collection 315 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:01,879 Speaker 1: for this museum. More than sixty years later, in nineteen 316 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:05,600 Speaker 1: sixty three, the museum expanded and evolved to become Musea 317 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:10,119 Speaker 1: de Montsarat. This new museum included archaeological items that the 318 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:13,480 Speaker 1: monastery had acquired, and it also transitioned a lot of 319 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:16,199 Speaker 1: the art that had been displayed or stored in the 320 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,159 Speaker 1: monastery into the museum setting. This included a lot of 321 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,440 Speaker 1: Baroque and Renaissance art that had been collected over the decades. 322 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:26,919 Speaker 1: And then the museum received a large donation from the 323 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 1: collection of Catalan art collector Joseph Salardies when he died. 324 00:19:32,119 --> 00:19:35,159 Speaker 1: Salardis had lived to be one hundred and five and 325 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:38,240 Speaker 1: throughout his life he had acquired art, so his collection 326 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:42,439 Speaker 1: was very impressive. Some of the most impressive pieces in 327 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,200 Speaker 1: the collection of the Museum of Montserrat today are from 328 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:50,160 Speaker 1: this bequeathment, including works by Picasso, Fortuny and Johnsinger Sergeant. 329 00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:54,639 Speaker 1: The collection has continued to grow as other estates have 330 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:59,560 Speaker 1: bequeathed collections, and it operates through donations. This year we're 331 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,960 Speaker 1: recording twenty twenty three, the museum added a really interesting 332 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,640 Speaker 1: exhibit which shows off the excavated walls of the oldest 333 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:11,320 Speaker 1: buildings of Monsarrat. They are reconstructed on an upper gallery floor, 334 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:13,359 Speaker 1: so you can walk through the space in the same 335 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:17,320 Speaker 1: configuration that it was originally built in. This exhibit is 336 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 1: starkly lit. It's incredibly striking. Did you go there? I did? 337 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: I did not? I did, And it's it's a little 338 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:29,639 Speaker 1: bit strange just in terms of like the feeling it 339 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 1: evokes when you walk in, because you're up there looking 340 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 1: through their art galleries, which again they have what I 341 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,880 Speaker 1: can only describe as a banging art collection, Like they 342 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,200 Speaker 1: have some jewels in there that I never realized were 343 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:44,920 Speaker 1: there at Monsarrat. And you kind of seen this door 344 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,120 Speaker 1: open and you see like stone walls, and not knowing 345 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:49,800 Speaker 1: what it was, I was like, what on earth is 346 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:51,760 Speaker 1: in there? And I went in and started walking around, 347 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: and a couple of other people from our tour group 348 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 1: had gone in also, and a couple of people were like, 349 00:20:57,359 --> 00:20:59,359 Speaker 1: it's a little bit spooky up here because it is 350 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 1: there's nothing else in there except these walls, and like 351 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:06,160 Speaker 1: the lighting is very very dramatic. And then as you're 352 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: reading that this is what they had excavated during one 353 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: of their building periods, it's really interesting and it's just 354 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:18,199 Speaker 1: by itself. There's no other stuff, right, and so I 355 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,600 Speaker 1: don't know, it's a really really beautiful thing that entire 356 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:25,640 Speaker 1: museum kind of blew me away. I am in love 357 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:28,080 Speaker 1: with it. So it's on my list to go back to. 358 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:30,800 Speaker 1: So we are jumping ahead a little bit here. Yes, 359 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:32,919 Speaker 1: we are jumping past the Spanish Civil War, but I 360 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:36,800 Speaker 1: promise you're going to get some in upcoming episodes because 361 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:39,439 Speaker 1: I want to talk about a more recent event. But 362 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:42,159 Speaker 1: to talk about this event, which was a protest that 363 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: happened at the monastery in nineteen seventy, we first have 364 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:48,359 Speaker 1: to talk about the Basques and an extremist group that 365 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: grew out of the Basque desire for self governance. So, 366 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 1: just as an expectations management here, this is a high 367 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,720 Speaker 1: level look at these ideological struggles, and we obviously cannot 368 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:02,680 Speaker 1: condense decades and even centuries in some cases of nuanced 369 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:05,919 Speaker 1: conflict down to a few paragraphs and capture everything. So 370 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:10,200 Speaker 1: please know that your understanding after you hear all this 371 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:15,680 Speaker 1: will be very basic. It's a very high level overview. 372 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: So the Basque people are defined as an ethnic group 373 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 1: originating in the western Pyrenees, on the Bay of Biscay, 374 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:28,000 Speaker 1: so the northern shore of Spain and into France, and 375 00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:31,720 Speaker 1: for quite a while the Basque area, like Catalounia, has 376 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,840 Speaker 1: been involved in a dispute with Spain over its status 377 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:38,600 Speaker 1: as part of that country, with the issue of autonomy 378 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:42,040 Speaker 1: at the core of that. In eighteen ninety four, the 379 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:46,439 Speaker 1: Partido Nationalist of Osco, or the Basque Nationalist Party was formed, 380 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:50,400 Speaker 1: and it persisted in secret all through the Franco regime, 381 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,760 Speaker 1: but it had its own internal struggles. In the mid 382 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,920 Speaker 1: twentieth century, the Basque Nationalist Party fractured, with a breakaway 383 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:02,960 Speaker 1: group forming these Scottita Askatasuna that's the Basque Homeland and 384 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:06,159 Speaker 1: Liberty Party that's also known as the ETA. And a 385 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:08,960 Speaker 1: big reason for this fracture was that while most members 386 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,879 Speaker 1: of the Basque Nationalist Party wanted to continue to pursue 387 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,600 Speaker 1: their political goals peacefully as sort of a moderate Party, 388 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:18,640 Speaker 1: a smaller group felt like it was time to take 389 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:23,160 Speaker 1: up arms and physically fight for self determination. That fracture 390 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:26,520 Speaker 1: was catalyzed when Franco's regime, in an effort to quell 391 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,960 Speaker 1: Basque unrest, banned the Basque language and conducted a cultural 392 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 1: genocide against the Basques. That smaller group that wanted more 393 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:39,600 Speaker 1: direct action formed the ETA, and even within the ETA, 394 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,240 Speaker 1: there were disparate factions with separate goals. So one branch 395 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:47,960 Speaker 1: in the ETA, the Nationalists, wanted Basque autonomy, essentially in 396 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,359 Speaker 1: the same way the Nationalist Party had, But another faction, 397 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:55,399 Speaker 1: which is sometimes called the ETA VII, made up of 398 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,879 Speaker 1: younger members, wanted to pursue a more Marxist approach to 399 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:02,120 Speaker 1: government than their ETA fellows, and they were also much 400 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:04,960 Speaker 1: more willing to take extreme measures to reach that goal. 401 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,600 Speaker 1: So the ETA became the target of the Franco regime. 402 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:12,360 Speaker 1: And while there were absolutely members of the ETA committing 403 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,040 Speaker 1: violent and terrorist acts, you will sometimes see it called 404 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:19,439 Speaker 1: a terrorist organization. The Spanish government would also just arrest 405 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: people on even a whiff of suspicion that they had 406 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 1: connection to or involvement in the ETA, and once detained 407 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:30,200 Speaker 1: that those people were treated terribly. They were beaten and tortured. 408 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:33,639 Speaker 1: Whether there was evidence of that connection or not. The 409 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:38,280 Speaker 1: ATA engaged in various illegal and violent activities, including robbing 410 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:42,400 Speaker 1: banks to maintain their financing. But in nineteen sixty eight, 411 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:46,159 Speaker 1: there were two murders that resulted in a massive effort 412 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 1: on the part of the Franco led government to just 413 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:52,560 Speaker 1: shut the ETA down completely. The first murder victim was 414 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 1: Jose Pardoner, who was a Spanish Civil Guard officer that's 415 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,399 Speaker 1: one of the country's national police forces, and he was 416 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:02,679 Speaker 1: shot on on June seventh, nineteen sixty eight, when he 417 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:06,000 Speaker 1: pulled over two of the founders of the etaight sabi 418 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 1: Is Barrieta and Enachi Sarascietta, at a traffic stop. These 419 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:12,639 Speaker 1: two men fled the scene and they were stopped a 420 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:17,320 Speaker 1: second time, and during that second stop, Asbarrieta was killed. Yeah, 421 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,639 Speaker 1: for clarity, we did not get good pronunciation examples for 422 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:22,800 Speaker 1: those name, so apologies if you know them and they 423 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: sound terrible, that is not Tracy's fault. I couldn't find 424 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 1: a guide. The second murder victim was Militon Manzanes, who 425 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,399 Speaker 1: was an officer in the Spanish Secret Police, and he 426 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 1: was killed outside his home on August second. This is 427 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:40,480 Speaker 1: characterized as retaliation for the death of extra Barrieta, but 428 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 1: Manzanas also had a reputation as an incredibly brutal man 429 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:50,400 Speaker 1: who ordered arrests and tortures of Basque citizens. These two 430 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:52,960 Speaker 1: murders led to a massive effort on the part of 431 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:56,639 Speaker 1: the Spanish government to bring the responsible parties to justice, 432 00:25:56,720 --> 00:26:01,119 Speaker 1: and ultimately sixteen Basques were brought in on accusations that 433 00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:05,159 Speaker 1: they had participated in or aided in the murders. In 434 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,960 Speaker 1: a moment, we'll talk about how these legal proceedings played 435 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,240 Speaker 1: out and how Monsarrat came into the picture. But first 436 00:26:11,359 --> 00:26:14,200 Speaker 1: you'll hear from the sponsors that keep Stepfimus in history 437 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: class going. The trials which resulted from the arrests made 438 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:30,640 Speaker 1: after those two nineteen sixty eight murders was carried out 439 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:33,280 Speaker 1: in the city of Burgos. They are sometimes called the 440 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:37,960 Speaker 1: Burgos Show trials. One man, Francisco Isco, was accused of 441 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:41,639 Speaker 1: shooting Manzanas, and the other fifteen defendants were brought up 442 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:45,359 Speaker 1: on a variety of charges. Five of them, in addition 443 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,399 Speaker 1: to Isko, were accused of planning the murder of Manzanas, 444 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:51,680 Speaker 1: and the death penalty was sought for them. The others 445 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:54,359 Speaker 1: had all been accused of different crimes in service of 446 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:58,679 Speaker 1: the ETA, including things like robbery, bombings, and distribution of 447 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:03,720 Speaker 1: pro Basque and anti fas Franco materials. One woman, Maria Arenzazu, 448 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:08,399 Speaker 1: had no specific charges against her. These trials were actually 449 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:12,240 Speaker 1: courts martial, even though the defendants were not military personnel. 450 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:15,919 Speaker 1: This was a practice under Franco in which trials happened 451 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:19,720 Speaker 1: very quickly and sentencing was harsh, and the press was invited. 452 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,920 Speaker 1: A Spanish government seemed to believe that media coverage would 453 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:27,800 Speaker 1: show how quickly and forcefully terrorism was being dealt with, 454 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,800 Speaker 1: but it really had the opposite effect. While many of 455 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:35,120 Speaker 1: the reporters who witnessed the trials were from Spanish papers 456 00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:39,880 Speaker 1: that supported Franco, there were also international journalists there who 457 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:44,199 Speaker 1: saw these proceedings as extreme and in violation of human rights. 458 00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:50,040 Speaker 1: The prosecution's case had one big problem. There were confessions 459 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:53,080 Speaker 1: from some of these people to the murder of Manzanas, 460 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,680 Speaker 1: but all of those confessions had been given during torture, 461 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:01,439 Speaker 1: with no additional evidence in place. There was conflict in 462 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:04,520 Speaker 1: the courtroom throughout these trials, which ran from December third 463 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:09,240 Speaker 1: to December ninth, nineteen seventy, and even before the trial started, 464 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:12,920 Speaker 1: members of the ETA kidnapped West German Consul Eugen Biel. 465 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:16,880 Speaker 1: Although leaders within the ETA initially claimed that their organization 466 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:21,600 Speaker 1: had no involvement, this entire scenario was contentious and because 467 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,520 Speaker 1: of the murky information that was presented to prosecute the defendants, 468 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:29,399 Speaker 1: public opinion landed not really with the Franco regime, but 469 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:32,879 Speaker 1: with the Basques who were on trial. If you're wondering 470 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:37,280 Speaker 1: why that kidnapping didn't turn public opinion against the defendants, 471 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,760 Speaker 1: the Guardian explained it as being more about the ongoing 472 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:43,760 Speaker 1: problems with Franco in its reporting at the time, quote 473 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:48,160 Speaker 1: the issues of Basque nationalism as such are only an 474 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:51,800 Speaker 1: occasion for deeper protest at the depressed state of Spain 475 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: thirty years after General Franco's crusade. This is one reason 476 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 1: why the kidnapping of the West German Consul, deplorable as 477 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,600 Speaker 1: it is, has not undermined the anti Franco movement. The 478 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:07,640 Speaker 1: kidnapping was a blunder and has rightly been condemned by 479 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:12,160 Speaker 1: most of the movement. Even before this trial started, members 480 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:15,240 Speaker 1: of the Catholic Church had publicly stated that the death 481 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:19,040 Speaker 1: penalty should not be pursued. Many of the defendants used 482 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:21,040 Speaker 1: their time on the stand to shine a light on 483 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:25,800 Speaker 1: police brutality. Jizeus Abriscatta very plainly stated the reason he 484 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: was part of the ETA in his examination, which was 485 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,720 Speaker 1: printed in the New York Times. He told the court 486 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 1: that he joined the ETA when he first became aware 487 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:38,960 Speaker 1: of social oppression. He then described his arrest in his 488 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,840 Speaker 1: apartment along with his two friends, and how one of 489 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:44,920 Speaker 1: the men was abused and questioned there in the apartment 490 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:47,920 Speaker 1: after he had been shot in the chest by police 491 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 1: and was begging for a doctor. He described extreme torture 492 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:53,880 Speaker 1: at the hands of police once they were brought to 493 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,000 Speaker 1: a station and booked as well. His descriptions were so 494 00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:00,200 Speaker 1: graphic that the judge was like, let's move on. The 495 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:03,120 Speaker 1: cases concluded on December ninth, and then the weight began 496 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,960 Speaker 1: for the judges. There were seven to issue their verdicts. 497 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,720 Speaker 1: I also saw this reported once as having five judges. 498 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:12,440 Speaker 1: I wasn't able to conclusively see like a list of 499 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:15,160 Speaker 1: them to know which is the case, But there were 500 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:18,959 Speaker 1: multiple judges in this In these courts martial here's how 501 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:22,280 Speaker 1: all this relates to the monastery at Monserrat. While the 502 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:25,560 Speaker 1: world waited to learn the fates of the defendants, three 503 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,880 Speaker 1: hundred of Catalonia's prominent intellectuals staged a sit in at 504 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:33,280 Speaker 1: the monastery to protest the trials. This was done with 505 00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:36,360 Speaker 1: the support of the Abbot. This protests started on the 506 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 1: afternoon of Saturday, December twelfth, and by Sunday police had 507 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:43,360 Speaker 1: blocked all the roadways leading to the monastery and were 508 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:47,320 Speaker 1: patrolling the area. This was to be clear and illegal 509 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:51,000 Speaker 1: sit in, though the Abbot had approved it. Spanish law 510 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:53,920 Speaker 1: at the time forbid assemblies of more than twenty people 511 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:57,360 Speaker 1: without a government permit, and it speaks to the importance 512 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:01,200 Speaker 1: of the Monsarrat Monastery and its association with peace. It 513 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:03,960 Speaker 1: was a place that protesters were fairly confident and no 514 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,320 Speaker 1: one would barge in because it is considered such a 515 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:10,280 Speaker 1: sacred and important place, and the monastery was itself a 516 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:13,040 Speaker 1: place of protest in its own right. By this point, 517 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:16,560 Speaker 1: when the Catalan language had been banned in Spain, sermons 518 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:20,080 Speaker 1: continued to be delivered there in Catalan, and while the 519 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 1: police sealed off the monastery so no one could go in, 520 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:26,720 Speaker 1: or out, even the monks. They did not actively interfere 521 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,360 Speaker 1: with the protesters, but they did, according to reports, shut 522 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:34,080 Speaker 1: down the telephone lines to the facility. That lockdown also 523 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:36,880 Speaker 1: meant that things like food and other supplies could not 524 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,719 Speaker 1: go in. This was not the only protest in Spain. 525 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:43,480 Speaker 1: While people waited to hear the verdict, there were so 526 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:48,160 Speaker 1: many that Franco ordered unlimited arrests throughout the country and 527 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:52,680 Speaker 1: expectation of the reaction once the verdict was issued. That 528 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,040 Speaker 1: meant they could arrest and hold anyone for up to 529 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,400 Speaker 1: six months and withhold any legal rights. This was a 530 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,920 Speaker 1: suspension of a provision within the country's constitution that gave 531 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:06,880 Speaker 1: citizens legal rights even outside of Franco's jurisdiction. In other countries, 532 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:11,080 Speaker 1: protests were staged that were openly critical of Franco. According 533 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 1: to newspapers reports at a protest in Amsterdam, signs carried 534 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:19,800 Speaker 1: by protesters read quote Spain the tourists Mecca, but Liberty's 535 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 1: tomb for the monsarrat protesters. Things ended peacefully. This, once 536 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,000 Speaker 1: again evidence is the high regard that the monastery was 537 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:32,320 Speaker 1: and is held in. Unlike other places throughout Catalogna and Spain, 538 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:35,840 Speaker 1: there were no arrests of protesters, and the protests only 539 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:39,479 Speaker 1: lasted a couple of days. The protesters became kind of 540 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:43,200 Speaker 1: concerned that the Franco government might do something to the monastery, 541 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:46,320 Speaker 1: so they negotiated that they would leave peacefully if their 542 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,280 Speaker 1: names were not recorded and no arrests were made. That 543 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:53,280 Speaker 1: was agreed to, but before vacating, they wrote and published 544 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:57,240 Speaker 1: a manifesto which included the following passage damning the Franco 545 00:32:57,360 --> 00:33:01,440 Speaker 1: regime quote, the rights of the peace and nations which 546 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:05,800 Speaker 1: form the Spanish state are suppressed by an artificial national unity, 547 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:09,760 Speaker 1: and the present political and judicial system makes crimes of 548 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:14,959 Speaker 1: actions which in democracy are considered fundamental civil rights. On 549 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:18,960 Speaker 1: Christmas Day, a week after the Mansarat sident ended, Consul 550 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:23,280 Speaker 1: Eugenbiel was released by the ETA. The verdicts were released 551 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:27,760 Speaker 1: three days later. They acquitted one defendant, sentenced six to death, 552 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:30,959 Speaker 1: and then doled out a combined five hundred years of 553 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:33,280 Speaker 1: prison time to the rest of them. The whole thing 554 00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:36,000 Speaker 1: was a media nightmare for Franco, and two days after 555 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:39,320 Speaker 1: the decisions he commuted the death sentences to life in prison. 556 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,840 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy seven, two years after Franco's death, Spain's 557 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:47,480 Speaker 1: new amnesty law led to the release of all fifteen 558 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:51,040 Speaker 1: people who had been sentenced at these trials. The ETA 559 00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:54,360 Speaker 1: continued to exist until it was disbanded in twenty eighteen. 560 00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:58,240 Speaker 1: And those are a handful of events that happened in 561 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:01,120 Speaker 1: Montsarat that to me give you a bigger overview of 562 00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:11,960 Speaker 1: what its importance is in Spanish and Catalonian history. Yeah, 563 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:14,640 Speaker 1: and hopefully we didn't bungle any of those details because 564 00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:17,920 Speaker 1: some of these things are going through translators. Yeah, I'm 565 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:22,320 Speaker 1: gonna say we have another a Barcelona trip related episode 566 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:23,759 Speaker 1: coming up in the near future. And I had some 567 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:28,680 Speaker 1: similar struggles. Dim I get, Am I understanding this correctly? 568 00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:33,160 Speaker 1: I hope? I hope. Fingers crossed, Fingers crossed? Do you 569 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:37,239 Speaker 1: have some listener mail? Yes, I'm still going to talk 570 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:39,880 Speaker 1: about Jack Landards. Look, I know we're into wintertime and 571 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:42,160 Speaker 1: there are other things going on. We're not quite in 572 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:45,200 Speaker 1: winter officially, but you know, we're into the winter holiday season, 573 00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:48,600 Speaker 1: but it's always Halloween at my house. So I'm going 574 00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:52,440 Speaker 1: to read this email from our listener, Carolyn, who writes HI, 575 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:56,839 Speaker 1: longtime listener, first time writer. While listening to your Jack 576 00:34:56,840 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 1: o Lantern episode, I was reminded of the following story 577 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:04,080 Speaker 1: Worry About nine years after moving to London from the Midwest. 578 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:06,480 Speaker 1: I was talking to my coworkers about how excited I 579 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:08,960 Speaker 1: was to carve pumpkins with my toddler age son for 580 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:11,319 Speaker 1: the first time, and I was shocked to be met 581 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:15,520 Speaker 1: with blank stares from my coworkers. Halloween wasn't as big 582 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:17,399 Speaker 1: a deal in the UK in two thousand and five 583 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:20,759 Speaker 1: when we moved, but it had steadily been gaining a popularity, 584 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:24,480 Speaker 1: so I erroneously assumed my younger colleagues would be totally 585 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,319 Speaker 1: on board with this whole concept, but nope, they all 586 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:30,759 Speaker 1: thought I was crazy. Luckily, our neighborhood was much more 587 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:34,320 Speaker 1: Halloween friendly and our carved pumpkins were very warmly received. 588 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:37,440 Speaker 1: We live in Luxembourg now and there are enough expats 589 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:40,640 Speaker 1: here to provide a suitably Halloween atmosphere if you know 590 00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:43,400 Speaker 1: which neighborhood to hit. It's also a tradition here to 591 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:46,040 Speaker 1: celebrate trolikt at the same time of year by carving 592 00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:49,400 Speaker 1: spooky faces into turnips and beats and lighting candles and 593 00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:51,839 Speaker 1: windows to protect yourself from the souls of the dead. 594 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:56,479 Speaker 1: She includes a link about Halloween in Luxembourg and says 595 00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:58,680 Speaker 1: thanks for your hard work putting out such a great podcast. 596 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:02,120 Speaker 1: As Tax attached a photo of my son as a 597 00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:05,480 Speaker 1: vampire squid from Halloween twenty eighteen and my cat Sophia 598 00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:09,840 Speaker 1: Castrillo and Flavia Edith Beans. Sophia is the void and 599 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:12,359 Speaker 1: Flavia is the fluf and they are a bossy pair 600 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:14,440 Speaker 1: of con artists who claim they have never been fed. 601 00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:17,480 Speaker 1: You know, I think there might be like a little 602 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:20,319 Speaker 1: secret school of cats where they teach each other how 603 00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:23,000 Speaker 1: to look pathetic and like they've never been taken care 604 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:26,120 Speaker 1: of or eaten in their entire lives. Yeah, I am 605 00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:29,040 Speaker 1: continually thankful that our cats are not like that about 606 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:33,239 Speaker 1: their meals, although they are like that about treats. We 607 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:35,680 Speaker 1: have a mixed bag since you have multiple cats. One 608 00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:38,040 Speaker 1: of our cats will literally like look up from the 609 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:40,879 Speaker 1: bowl he's in if one of the other of us 610 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:42,839 Speaker 1: that did not feed him comes in the room and 611 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:45,520 Speaker 1: act like they were left out of the feeding proceedings, 612 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:47,520 Speaker 1: even when you can point and go, your food is 613 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:51,399 Speaker 1: right there, my dude. So he took the advanced level 614 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:54,640 Speaker 1: classes clearly. In any case, Thank you so much, Carolyn 615 00:36:54,719 --> 00:36:57,520 Speaker 1: for sharing that story with us, It's always interesting to me. 616 00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:00,320 Speaker 1: I have had other friends who have gone abroad, and 617 00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:03,480 Speaker 1: their stories similarly of how they're like, it's Halloween and 618 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:05,960 Speaker 1: they kind of get blank stares always tickle me a 619 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,640 Speaker 1: little bit. Since it has become such a huge deal 620 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:11,560 Speaker 1: here and certainly it's a huge deal in my life. 621 00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:13,799 Speaker 1: But if you would like to write to us and 622 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:16,319 Speaker 1: tell us your stories of holidays that don't go quite 623 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:19,200 Speaker 1: the same wherever you're at as to the way you 624 00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:21,560 Speaker 1: grew up, you can do that at History Podcast at 625 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:24,560 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio dot com. You can also find us on social 626 00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:27,680 Speaker 1: media as Missed in History, and if you haven't subscribed 627 00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:29,279 Speaker 1: and would like to, you can do that on the 628 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:34,080 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows. 629 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:41,080 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 630 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:46,040 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 631 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:49,760 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.