Recuerdos de un anciano by Antonio Alcalá Galiano
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"Recuerdos de un anciano" by Antonio Alcalá Galiano is a historical memoir written in the mid-19th century. It offers firsthand recollections of early 19th‑century Spain—its society, politics, and wars—with special focus on Cádiz, the Battle of Trafalgar, and Madrid under Carlos IV. The narrator blends vivid city portraits and political insight with personal experience and loss. The opening of the memoir begins with an editor’s note explaining that these articles were first
printed in the magazine La América and are now collected to preserve an eyewitness record of Spain’s turbulent first third of the century, with the promise of fuller posthumous memoirs. It then paints Cádiz at the century’s start: newly prosperous after the Peace of Amiens, immaculate and lively, elegant in dress and manners yet thin in intellectual life; a feeble local press is offset by a youthful literary academy (1805–1808) that includes José Joaquín de Mora. The author sketches local politics and two contrasting governors—Morla, stern and capricious but efficient in epidemics, and Solano, gallant, theatrical, fond of public festivities and civic improvements—before noting Cádiz’s later decline after the Independence War and the loss of America. Next come the Trafalgar pages: the British fleet off Cádiz, the combined fleet under Villeneuve, the narrator’s father urging the fleet not to sail, the sudden departure observed from Chiclana, the signal of “combat in sight,” a ship’s explosion at dusk, and the devastating storm that followed. Cádiz rallies to care for the wounded under Solano’s direction; Gravina is gravely hurt, Valdés is saved in extremis, and harrowing individual wounds and rescues abound, while captured ships are wrecked, retaken, or brought into port (notably the Santa Ana with Álava). The narrator finally learns of his father’s death, and reflects on poems, sermons, and the navy’s later decline and partial revival. The section closes by launching a new sketch: Madrid under Carlos IV—ugly, dirty, and poorly built by comparison, with modest interiors, uneven wealth, many carriages, and two shabby theaters—framing the social texture the memoir will keep exploring. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Alcalá Galiano, Antonio, 1789-1865 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | ltf90021507 |
| Title | Recuerdos de un anciano |
| Original Publication | Madrid: Imprenta Central a cargo de Víctor Saiz, 1878. |
| Credits | Ramón Pajares Box. (This book was produced from images generously made available by Junta de Andalucía / Biblioteca Digital de Andalucía, Spain.) |
| Language | Spanish |
| LoC Class | DP: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Spain, Portugal |
| Subject | Spain -- History -- Napoleonic Conquest, 1808-1813 |
| Subject | Spain -- History -- Charles IV, 1788-1808 |
| Subject | Spain -- History -- Ferdinand VII, 1813-1833 |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77703 |
| Release Date | Jan 16, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 674 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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