UB organises the international meeting ʻCatalonia, between war and peace: 1713, 1813ʼ
Every five years, since 1984, the Department of Early Modern History of the University of Barcelona organises the Meeting of Early Modern Catalonian History with the aim of communicating the most recent contributions to Catalan modern history. This year, the meeting is entitled “Catalonia, between war and peace: 1713, 1813” and takes place from 17 to 20 December at the Faculty of Geography and History. One hundred and fifty historians participate in it; they will place Catalan society between two long and complex international conflicts: the War of the Spanish Succession and the Peninsular War.
Every five years, since 1984, the Department of Early Modern History of the University of Barcelona organises the Meeting of Early Modern Catalonian History with the aim of communicating the most recent contributions to Catalan modern history. This year, the meeting is entitled “Catalonia, between war and peace: 1713, 1813” and takes place from 17 to 20 December at the Faculty of Geography and History. One hundred and fifty historians participate in it; they will place Catalan society between two long and complex international conflicts: the War of the Spanish Succession and the Peninsular War.
Participants will analyse how these two conflicts gave rise to new socioeconomic factors emerged in both post-war periods, as well as to new legal regulations, for instance the Nueva Planta decrees (in the case of Philip V and the War of the Spanish Succession) and the Constitution of Cadiz adopted in 1812. Organisers explain that they did not want to “focus only on 1713-1714, but also on 1813, in order to perform a comparative analysis to weight up change and continuity elements in each period of time”.
Yesterday, the opening session took place at the Maritime Museum of Barcelona. Roger Marcet, general director of the Drassanes Reials Consortium and the Maritime Museum of Barcelona, and Xavier Gil, director of the Department of Early Modern History, participated in it. The opening speech was pronounced by Jean-Frédéric Schaub, from the Institute for Advanced Studies of Paris, who spoke about war and peace in the Ancient Regime.
The meeting covers a broad range of subject areas: politics, war, society, economics, law, cartography, art, memory. It gathers experts from fifteen universities. Even if its more than sixty communications deal with particular aspects, the meeting aims at providing a global insight into the context of this period of time.
The meeting includes some extra activities; for example, yesterday, a concert took place at the Paranymph Hall of the University. The concert included a cantata by Ferran Sor (1778-1839), which was not been performed since 1813. On Thursday 19 December, the meeting moves to the former University of Cervera; discussion will then occur on the post-war scenario emerged from the War of the Spanish Succession. On Friday 20, the meeting is closed at the Royal Academy of Good Letters of Barcelona. The session, chaired by the president of the Royal Academy, Pere Molas, includes a lecture pronounced by Angela de Benedictis, from the University of Bologna, on resistance, revolution and constitutionality between 1713 and 1813.
The 7th Meeting of Early Modern Catalonian History is supported by the Office of the Vice-Rector for Institutional Relations and Culture of the University of Barcelona, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Royal Academy of Good Letters, the Maritime Museum, the Fundació Noguera, the Paeria de Cervera and the Museu Comarcal de Cervera.