Spain: its monuments and arts, its nature and history

Spain: its monuments and arts, its nature and history. Pablo Piferrer y Francisco Pi y Margall

Chapter I. Barcelona. Its foundation. Hamilcar Boat. Laietania. Roman monuments. Port
Barcelona could justly emblazon of great antiquity, if the efforts and subtleties of the chroniclers who have tried to explain its origin were before signs of that than of lack of data to record a fixed and true epoch. Perhaps in ancient times the tribe that populated this region gave rise to an establishment, which could very well be modified by dealing with the Pelasgians and Tyrrhenians, and be another of those that in Catalonia present indications of those relations and of a very remote Civilization. By chance and most likely the Phoenicians touched and stopped on these beaches; that we believe this means the tradition of the coming of Hercules, not only myth of the first progress of civilized man, but also particular symbol of the Tyrian people, perhaps really prince of it and one of the first who set out in search of new lands to conquer the lordship of the seas. But this is that Barcelona, the same as Cartago Nova, points out in the annals of Spain a memorable time, when the command of a powerful foreign nation provoked in the natives the first historical sign of their love of independence, and afterwards attracting the assistance of another rival nation called outside and strengthened more and more of each day the elements of a future nationality, at the same time that it subjected them to a single empire. It is a common opinion among historians that Hamilcar, the so-called Barca, laid the foundations of a factory, in which, if he did not, the undenied adherence of his army wanted to eternalize that his nickname, more pleasant and even familiar to the troops, as well as perhaps imposed by themselves, than the proper name. There is no need to remember that Barca was nothing but a personal, significant nickname of Lightning, worthy of one who had so often decided on battles and sealed all his actions with the greatest activity and with indomitable energy.

Fragment of the work