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96-541: Antoine de Sartine was born in Barcelona in 1729, the son of Antoine Sartine , a French-born financier who arrived in Spain with the troops of King Philip V of Spain and served as intendente (i.e. governor) of Catalonia from 1726 to 1744. His mother was Catherine White, Countess of Alby (the daughter of Ignatius White , Marquess of Albeville, who served as Secretary of State to James II of England ). The title Count of Alby

192-540: A chef de claque (leader of applause), who judged where the efforts of the claqueurs were needed and initiated the demonstration of approval. This could take several forms. There would be commissaires ("officers/commissioner") who learned the piece by heart and called the attention of their neighbors to its good points between the acts. Rieurs (laughers) laughed loudly at the jokes. Pleureurs (criers), generally women, feigned tears, by holding their handkerchiefs to their eyes. Chatouilleurs (ticklers) kept

288-555: A Maghribian and, ultimately, Subsaharan pool of slaves. The Bank or Taula de canvi de Barcelona , often viewed as the oldest public bank in Europe, was established by the city magistrates in 1401. It originated from necessities of the state, as did the Bank of Venice (1402) and the Bank of Genoa (1407). In the beginning of the Early Modern period, Barcelona lost political primacy, but

384-555: A high-speed rail line with a link to France and the rest of Europe. The name Barcelona comes from the ancient Iberian Baŕkeno , attested in an ancient coin inscription found on the right side of the coin in Iberian script as [REDACTED] , in Ancient Greek sources as Βαρκινών , Barkinṓn ; and in Latin as Barcino , Barcilonum and Barcenona . Other sources suggest that

480-603: A jihadist attack. Amaq News Agency attributed indirect responsibility for the attack to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). During the 2010s, Barcelona became the focus city for the ongoing Catalan independence movement , its consequent standoff between the regional and national government and later protests . In July 2023, Barcelona was announced as the UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture for

576-559: A day) in December to 310 (average 10 hours of sunshine a day) in July. According to Barcelona's City Council, the city's population as of 1 January 2016 was 1,608,746 people, on a land area of 101.4 km (39 sq mi). It is the main component of an administrative area of Greater Barcelona , with a population of 3,218,071 in an area of 636 km (246 sq mi) (density 5,060 inhabitants/km ). The population of

672-568: A fee in order to avoid being booed . Richard Wagner withdrew a staging of his opera Tannhäuser from the Parisian operatic repertory after the claque of the Jockey Club derisively interrupted its initial performances in March 1861. Later Arturo Toscanini and Gustav Mahler discouraged claques, as a part of the development of concert etiquette . Although the practice mostly died out during

768-442: A grid of streets to unite the old city and surrounding villages. There would also be wide streets to allow people to breathe clean air, gardens in the centre of each street block, integration of rich and poor giving both groups access to the same services, and smooth-flowing traffic. Urban quality, egalitarianism, hygiene, sunlight, and efficiency were all major keys for Cerdà's vision. Not everything he imagined would be realized within

864-508: A job." Sartine was also a man of action, with great presence of mind. On one occasion, having to quell a riot on the Place Maubert , he met the crowd at the head of a company of musketeers and had an officer respectfully remove his hat and tell the crowd: "Gentlemen, we come here in the name of the King, but our orders are to shoot at the scoundrels only. I therefore pray the honest people to leave

960-425: A largely industrial city. As part of the preparation for the games, industrial buildings along the sea-front were demolished and 3 km (2 mi) of beach were created. New construction increased the road capacity of the city by 17%, the sewage handling capacity by 27% and the amount of new green areas and beaches by 78%. Between 1990 and 2004, the number of hotel rooms in the city doubled. Perhaps more importantly,

1056-485: A nearby mountain. Barcelona averages 78 rainy days per year (≥ 1 mm), and annual average relative humidity is 72%, ranging from 69% in July to 75% in October. Rainfall totals are highest in late summer and autumn (September–November) and lowest in early and mid-summer (June–August), with a secondary winter minimum (February–March). Sunshine duration is 2,524 hours per year, from 138 (average 4.5 hours of sunshine

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1152-575: A new wave of immigration (particularly from Latin America and from Morocco ) has gathered pace. In 1987, an ETA car bombing at Hipercor killed 21 people. On 17 August 2017, a van was driven into pedestrians on La Rambla , killing 14 and injuring at least 100, one of whom later died. Other attacks took place elsewhere in Catalonia. The Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy , called the attack in Barcelona

1248-602: A typical Mediterranean climate. However, both June and August are wetter than February, which is unusual for the Mediterranean climate. This subtype, labelled as "Portuguese" by the French geographer George Viers after the climate classification of Emmanuel de Martonne and found in the NW Mediterranean area (e.g. Marseille ), can be seen as transitional to the humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ) found in inland areas. Barcelona

1344-460: A unit of Naval Group specialized in conventional and nuclear propulsion ). In these critical times, he fought successfully against insubordination in the Navy, notably by publishing a regulation in 1780 dealing with hygiene on board the vessels of the fleet and with marine crew health issues. Drawing from his police experience, he also used his spy network during the conflict. The budget deficit, which

1440-465: Is 26 °C (79 °F). Generally, the summer or "holiday" season lasts about six months, from May to October. Two months – April and November – are transitional; sometimes the temperature exceeds 20 °C (68 °F), with an average temperature of 18–19 °C (64–66 °F) during the day and 11–13 °C (52–55 °F) at night. December, January and February are the coldest months, with average temperatures around 15 °C (59 °F) during

1536-632: Is a major cultural, economic, and financial centre in southwestern Europe , as well as the main biotech hub in Spain. As a leading world city, Barcelona's influence in global socio-economic affairs qualifies it for global city status (Beta +). Barcelona is a transport hub , with the Port of Barcelona being one of Europe's principal seaports and busiest European passenger port, an international airport, Barcelona–El Prat Airport , which handles over 50 million passengers per year, an extensive motorway network , and

1632-524: Is an organized body of professional applauders in French theatres and opera houses . Members of a claque are called claqueurs . Hiring people to applaud dramatic performances was common in classical times . For example, when the Emperor Nero acted, he had his performance greeted by an encomium chanted by five thousand of his soldiers . This inspired the French poet Jean Daurat (1508–1588) to develop

1728-401: Is densely populated, thus heavily influenced by the urban heat island effect . Areas outside of the urbanized districts can have as much as 2 °C of difference in temperatures throughout the year. Its average annual temperature is 21.2 °C (70.2 °F) during the day and 15.1 °C (59.2 °F) at night. The average annual temperature of the sea is about 20 °C (68 °F). In

1824-498: Is extremely uneven. Half of the municipality or 50.2 km , all of it located on the municipal edge is made up of the ten least densely populated neighbourhoods containing less than 10% of the city's population, the uninhabited Zona Franca industrial area and Montjuïc forest park. Leaving the remaining 90% or slightly below 1.5 million inhabitants living on the remaining 52 km (20 sq mi) at an average density close to 28,500 inhabitants per square kilometre. Of

1920-467: Is found at and around the neighbourhood of la Sagrada Família where four of the city's most densely populated neighbourhoods are located side by side, all with a population density above 50,000 inhabitants per square kilometre. In 1900, almost a third (28.9 percent) of the population were children (aged younger than 14 years). In 2017, this age group constituted only 12.7% of the population. In 2017, people aged between 15 and 24 years made up 9 percent of

2016-547: Is home to two of the most prestigious universities in Spain: the University of Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University . The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean are located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions . In addition, many international sport tournaments have been played here. Barcelona

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2112-630: Is understood almost universally. Catalan is also very commonly spoken in the city: it is understood by 95% of the population, while 72.3% can speak it, 79% can read it, and 53% can write it. Knowledge of Catalan has increased significantly in recent decades thanks to a language immersion educational system. After Catalan and Spanish, the most spoken languages in Barcelona are those from North Africa, such as Amazigh and Arabic , followed by Bengali , Urdu , Panjabi , Mandarin Chinese , Romanian , English, Russian and Quechua , according to data collected by

2208-567: The lettres de cachet to imprison people without trial, attacked by Manuel in his La Police de Paris dévoilée ("The Paris Police Uncovered"), he decided to leave France shortly after the Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, which probably saved his life. His son Charles Marie Antoine de Sartine, born in 1760, who was maître des requêtes from the age of 20 until 1791 and chose to stay in France,

2304-541: The lettres de cachet . Some sources say that there were never more political prisoners at the Bastille and at the fortress of Vincennes than under his tenure. Britannica declares that he once boasted to Louis XV, "Sire, whenever three people speak to one another in the street, one of them will be mine." In parallel with his career as Lieutenant General of Police of Paris, Antoine de Sartine became maître des requêtes in December 1759 and conseiller d'État in 1767. He

2400-404: The 1992 Summer Olympics . The process of urban regeneration has been rapid, and accompanied by a greatly increased international reputation of the city as a tourist destination. The increased cost of housing has led to a slight decline (−16.6%) in the population over the last two decades of the 20th century as many families move out into the suburbs. This decline has been reversed since 2001, as

2496-560: The American Revolutionary War . In the ministry, Sartine surrounded himself with able men, such as the comte de Fleurieu . He modernized and rationalized the French Navy. By seven decrees (September 27, 1776), he gave naval officers the high hand over French ports and naval dockyards, which were put under the direction of the comte de Fleurieu. He also reorganized the corps of naval artillery and marine infantry . In 1775, after

2592-551: The Crown of Aragon , which conquered many overseas possessions and ruled the western Mediterranean Sea with outlying territories in Naples and Sicily and as far as Athens in the 13th century. Barcelona was the leading slave trade centre of the Crown of Aragon up until the 15th century, when it was eclipsed by Valencia . It initially fed from eastern and Balkan slave stock later drawing from

2688-579: The Kingdom of Aragon to form the confederation of the Crown of Aragon , Barcelona, which continued to be the capital of the Principality of Catalonia , became the most important city in the Crown of Aragon and the main economic and administrative centre of the Crown, only to be overtaken by Valencia , wrested from Moorish control by the Catalans, shortly before the dynastic union between the Crown of Castile and

2784-795: The Mediterranean Sea , located on the coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs , bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range. According to tradition, Barcelona was founded by either the Phoenicians or the Carthaginians , who had trading posts along the Catalonian coast. In the Middle Ages Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona . After joining with

2880-523: The Philippines . There is a Japanese community clustered in Bonanova , Les Tres Torres , Pedralbes , and other northern neighbourhoods, and a Japanese international school serves that community. In 2007 most of the inhabitants stated they are Roman Catholic (208 churches). In a 2011 survey conducted by InfoCatólica, 49.5% of Barcelona residents of all ages identified themselves as Catholic . This

2976-697: The Spanish Civil War , the city, and Catalonia in general, were resolutely Republican. Many enterprises and public services were collectivized by the CNT and UGT unions. As the power of the Republican government and the Generalitat diminished, much of the city was under the effective control of anarchist groups. The anarchists lost control of the city to their own allies, the Communists and official government troops, after

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3072-556: The Umayyads in the early 8th century, it was conquered after a siege in 801 by Charlemagne 's son Louis , who made Barcelona the seat of the Carolingian " Hispanic March " ( Marca Hispanica ), a buffer zone ruled by the Count of Barcelona . The Counts of Barcelona became increasingly independent and expanded their territory to include much of modern Catalonia , although in 985, Barcelona

3168-563: The 1980s and 1990s as more people sought a higher quality of life in outlying cities in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. After bottoming out in 2000 with 1,496,266 residents, the city's population began to rise again as younger people started to return, causing a great increase in housing prices. Spanish is the most spoken language in Barcelona (according to the linguistic census held by the Government of Catalonia in 2013) and it

3264-636: The 1990s, and similar to other migrants, many Latin Americans have settled in northern parts of the city. There exists a relatively large Pakistani community in Barcelona with up to twenty thousand nationals. The community consists of significantly more men than women. Many of the Pakistanis are living in Ciutat Vella . First Pakistani migrants came in the 1970s, with increasing numbers in the 1990s. Other significant migrant groups come from Asia as from China and

3360-500: The 2024–2026 term. This means it will be the hub for discussion around global challenges including culture, heritage, urban planning and architecture. In addition to being the capital through 2026, it will also host the UIA World Congress of Architects for that year. The honour is befitting of Barcelona, as its history is peppered with architectural achievement and various iconic styles and influences. From its ancient Roman roots, to

3456-514: The 73 neighbourhoods in the city, 45 had a population density above 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometre with a combined population of 1,313,424 inhabitants living on 38.6 km at an average density of 33,987 inhabitants per square kilometre. The 30 most densely populated neighbourhoods accounted for 57.5% of the city population occupying only 22.7% of the municipality, or in other words, 936,406 people living at an average density of 40,322 inhabitants per square kilometre. The city's highest density

3552-645: The British, but he didn't win over the public and was the victim of numerous puns and epigrams such as this one: I swept Paris with extreme care, And, wishing to sweep the English from the seas, I sold my broom so dearly That I was swept away myself. Sartine lived in retirement in Paris until the start of the French Revolution . Hated by the revolutionary crowds for his tenure as Lieutenant General of Police and his use of

3648-403: The Catalonian coast. In particular, some historians attribute the foundation of the city directly to the historical Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barca , father of Hannibal , who supposedly named the city Barcino after his family in the 3rd century BC, but this theory has been questioned. Archeological evidence in the form of coins from the 3rd century BC have been found on the hills at

3744-531: The Crown of Aragon in 1492. Barcelona became the centre of Catalan separatism , briefly becoming part of France during the 17th century Reapers' War and again in 1812 until 1814 under Napoleon . It was the capital of Revolutionary Catalonia during the Spanish Revolution of 1936 , and the seat of government of the Second Spanish Republic later in the Spanish Civil War , until its capture by

3840-452: The Eixample district, but the iconic octagonal superblocks with chamfered corners for better visibility are his direct brainchild and remain immensely helpful even 170 years later. The district and its ideals were not appreciated at the time. The city council awarded the design of the extension plan to another architect. The Spanish government was the one to step in and impose Cerdà's plan, laying

3936-734: The Gothic and Modernisme movements, Barcelona has thrived through the way it ties together architecture and culture. Barcelona is located on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula , facing the Mediterranean Sea , on a plain approximately 5 km (3 mi) wide limited by the mountain range of Collserola , the Llobregat river to the southwest and the Besòs river to the north. This plain covers an area of 170 km (66 sq mi), of which 101 km (39.0 sq mi) are occupied by

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4032-468: The Republican government. Massive, but peaceful, demonstrations on 11 September 1977 assembled over a million people in the streets of Barcelona to call for the restoration of Catalan autonomy. It was granted less than a month later. The development of Barcelona was promoted by two events in 1986: Spanish accession to the European Community , and particularly Barcelona's designation as host city of

4128-568: The Roman walls have been incorporated into the cathedral. The cathedral, Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Barcelona, is also sometimes called La Seu , which simply means cathedral (and see, among other things) in Catalan. It is said to have been founded in 343. The city was conquered by the Visigoths in the early 5th century, becoming for a few years the capital of all Hispania . After being conquered by

4224-476: The Romans, it was a colony with the surname of Faventia , or, in full, Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino or Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino . Pomponius Mela mentions it among the small towns of the district, probably as it was eclipsed by its neighbour Tarraco (modern Tarragona ), but it may be gathered from later writers that it gradually grew in wealth and consequence, favoured as it

4320-471: The University of Barcelona. Barcelona is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe. For the year 2008 the city council calculated the population to 1,621,090 living in the 102.2 km sized municipality, giving the city an average population density of 15,926 inhabitants per square kilometre with Eixample being the most populated district. In the case of Barcelona though, the land distribution

4416-585: The aborted attempt by his predecessor to create a Royal Marine School in Le Havre , he re-established the Companies of Marine Guards, naval schools training officers and whose access was strictly limited to children of the aristocracy . As conflict with Britain was looming on the horizon, he increased shipbuilding budgets fourfold, enabling large scale shipbuilding when France entered the American War of Independence in

4512-400: The age of 72 without having returned to France. Barcelona Barcelona ( / ˌ b ɑːr s ə ˈ l oʊ n ə / BAR -sə- LOH -nə ; Catalan: [bəɾsəˈlonə] ; Spanish: [baɾθeˈlona] ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain . It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia , as well as

4608-456: The attacks of the ecclesiastical party. Antoine de Sartine was close to the party of the minister Choiseul , who had been disgraced by Louis XV in 1770 and ordered to retire to his estate. After the king's death in May 1774, Choiseul was allowed to return to Paris and his party regained favor at court. Thus, on August 24 of the same year, Sartine was appointed Secretary of State for the Navy (with

4704-480: The audience in a good humor, while bisseurs (encore-ers) simply clapped and cried " Bis! Bis! " to request encores . The practice spread to Italy (famously at La Scala , Milan ), Vienna , London ( Covent Garden ) and New York (the Metropolitan Opera ). Claques were also used as a form of extortion , as singers were commonly contacted by the chef de claque before their debut and forced to pay

4800-458: The beginning of 1778. In the space of only one year, nine ships-of-the-line were built in the French shipyards. Sartine also initiated the building of the long breakwater which protects the port of Cherbourg and commissioned the construction of dry docks in Brest , Rochefort , Lorient , and Toulon . Particularly interested in foundries , he created the naval foundry of Indret near Nantes (now

4896-661: The building of a new grain market , the Halle au blé , built between 1765 and 1768, a modern and airy building much admired at the time which is still standing by Les Halles today and currently known as the Bourse du Commerce . Street cleaning and lighting were also improved. He set up a brigade of street sweepers and had the first public toilets installed in the streets of Paris. In 1766, after launching an invention contest, he improved street lighting by installing new réverbère lanterns. These were oil lamps with reflectors which were hung above

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4992-532: The center of streets and produced a more abundant and stable light than the candle lanterns that had been used for centuries before. The same year, he founded the Royal Free Drawing School (now the National School of Decorative Arts ) which taught drawing skills, free-of-charge, to the sons of families from the lowest classes of society. The aim was both to train artisans and artists so as to improve

5088-496: The city and abroad, including as far away as in America and in India. Such was his reputation that foreign governments often required his help in searching for fugitives. Once, a minister of Maria Theresa wrote to Sartine asking him to arrest a famous Austrian thief who was thought to be hiding in Paris. Sartine replied to the minister that the thief was actually in Vienna, and gave the minister

5184-696: The city is Barna . Barça is only applied to the local football club FC Barcelona , not to the city. Another common abbreviation is 'BCN', which is also the IATA airport code of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport . The city is referred to as the Ciutat Comtal in Catalan and Ciudad Condal in Spanish (i.e., "Comital City" or "City of Counts"), owing to its past as the seat of the Count of Barcelona . The origin of

5280-422: The city itself. It is 120 km (75 mi) south of the Pyrenees and the Catalan border with France. Tibidabo , 512 m (1,680 ft) high, offers striking views over the city and is topped by the 288.4 m (946.2 ft) Torre de Collserola , a telecommunications tower that is visible from most of the city. Barcelona is peppered with small hills, most of them urbanized, that gave their name to

5376-427: The city may have been named after the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca , who was supposed to have founded the city in the 3rd century BC, but there is no evidence its name in antiquity, Barcino , was connected with the Barcid family of Hamilcar. During the Middle Ages , the city was variously known as Barchinona , Barçalona , Barchelonaa , and Barchenona . An abbreviated form sometimes used by locals for

5472-432: The city, he opened official gambling houses watched over by his agents and taxed by the Treasury. His services, in particular the secret police , were the best informed in Europe and served as a model in other countries. All the governments of Europe, Catherine II of Russia , Maria Theresa of Austria , the Pope, consulted him on the best way to organize police services in their states. He had agents and spies everywhere in

5568-457: The city, notably sexual scandals, and he sent daily reports to the king containing saucy and intimate details about courtiers, clerics, and private citizens, which were said to amuse the king and relieve him from the boredom of court life. Furthermore, his political police was known for its efficiency in detecting agitators, dissenters, anticlerical propagandists, and other people perceived as trouble makers, who were imprisoned without trial through

5664-411: The coldest month, January, the temperature typically ranges from 12 to 18 °C (54 to 64 °F) during the day, 6 to 12 °C (43 to 54 °F) at night and the average sea temperature is 13 °C (55 °F). In the warmest month, August, the typical temperature ranges from 27 to 31 °C (81 to 88 °F) during the day, about 23 °C (73 °F) at night and the average sea temperature

5760-417: The day and 9 °C (48 °F) at night. Large fluctuations in temperature are rare, particularly in the summer months. Because of the proximity to the warm sea plus the urban heat island , frosts are very rare in the city of Barcelona. Snow is also very infrequent in the city of Barcelona, but light snowfalls can occur yearly in the nearby Collserola mountains, such as in the Fabra Observatory located in

5856-404: The earliest settlement at the site of present-day Barcelona is unclear. The ruins of an early settlement have been found, including different tombs and dwellings dating to earlier than 5000 BC. In Greek mythology, the founding of Barcelona had been attributed to the mythological Hercules . According to tradition, Barcelona was founded by Punic ( Phoenician ) settlers, who had trading posts along

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5952-420: The economy managed to achieve a balance between production capacity and imports. In the context of the wider early recovery of Catalonia from the 17th-century crisis in the second half of the century, increasing maritime activity since 1675 doubled traffic in the port of Barcelona compared to figures from the beginning of the 17th century. In the late 17th and early 18th century, Barcelona repeatedly endured

6048-399: The effects of war, including the 1691 bombing, the sieges of 1697, 1704, 1705, 1706, and the 1713 blockade and ensuing 1714 siege and assault. In the 18th century, the population grew from 30,000 to about 100,000 inhabitants, as the city became one of the key mercantile centres in the Western Mediterranean, with inland influence up to Zaragoza , and to the south up to Alicante . A fortress

6144-432: The fascists in 1939. After the Spanish transition to democracy in the 1970s, Barcelona once again became the capital of an autonomous Catalonia. Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner , which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites . The city

6240-412: The foot of Montjuïc with the name Bárkeno written in an ancient script in the Iberian language . Thus, we can conclude that the Laietani , an ancient Iberian (pre-Roman) people of the Iberian peninsula, who inhabited the area occupied by the city of Barcelona around 3–2 BC , called the area Bàrkeno, which means "The Place of the Plains" (Barrke = plains/terrace). In about 15 BC, the Romans redrew

6336-484: The fortress is a museum and Montjuïc is home to several sporting and cultural venues, as well as Barcelona's biggest park and gardens . The city borders on the municipalities of Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Adrià de Besòs to the north; the Mediterranean Sea to the east; El Prat de Llobregat and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat to the south; and Sant Feliu de Llobregat , Sant Just Desvern , Esplugues de Llobregat , Sant Cugat del Vallès , and Montcada i Reixac to

6432-507: The granddaughter of Charles Colabeau. By then, he was in favor at the court of Versailles , and so on 21 November 1759, he was appointed Lieutenant General of Police of Paris (i.e. head of the Paris Police ). He entered office in December of that year after buying the office of Lieutenant General of Police from his predecessor Bertin for the sum of 175,000 livres (approx. US$ 850,000 in 2006), which his friend Malesherbes advanced him. As Lieutenant General of Police, Antoine de Sartine

6528-555: The groundwork for many more tensions between the Spanish and Catalan administrations. Regardless, some of the upper class citizens of Barcelona were excited by the new plan and began a race to build "the biggest, tallest, most attractive house" in the district. Their interest and money fueled the rich diversity that we now see in the district's architecture. In the end, Cerdà's ideas would have a lasting impact on Barcelona's development, earning it international recognition for its highly efficient approach to urban planning and design. During

6624-402: The honorific rank of Minister of State in 1775) and left his office of Lieutenant General of Police to his protégé Lenoir . Antoine de Sartine inherited a strong French Navy , resurrected by Choiseul after the disasters of the Seven Years' War (in which France had lost Canada , Louisiana , and India ); a resurrected French Navy which would later play a major role in France's victory in

6720-417: The king dismissed Sartine on 14 October 1780 and replaced him with the marquis de Castries . Sartine, however, was dismissed with honors: he received a reward of 150,000 livres (approx. US$ 700,000) for his services and he was granted a 70,000 livres yearly pension. Antoine de Sartine tried to justify his actions as minister in a vitriolic pamphlet against Necker, whom he accused of having "sold himself" to

6816-421: The modern claque. Buying a number of tickets for a performance of one of his plays, he gave them away in return for a promise of applause. In 1820 claques underwent serious systematization when an agency in Paris opened to manage and supply claqueurs. By 1830 the claque had become an institution. The manager of a theatre or opera house could send an order for any number of claqueurs. These usually operated under

6912-467: The neighbourhoods built upon them, such as Carmel (267 m or 876 ft), Putxet (es) (181 m or 594 ft) and Rovira (261 m or 856 ft). The escarpment of Montjuïc (173 m or 568 ft), situated to the southeast, overlooks the harbour and is topped by Montjuïc Castle , a fortress built in the 17–18th centuries to control the city as a replacement for the Ciutadella. Today,

7008-413: The outside perception of the city was changed making, by 2012, Barcelona the 12th most popular city destination in the world and the 5th amongst European cities. The death of Franco in 1975 brought on a period of democratization throughout Spain. Pressure for change was particularly strong in Barcelona, which considered that it had been punished during nearly forty years of Francoism for its support of

7104-458: The population; those aged between 25 and 44 years made up 30.6 percent of the population; while those aged between 45 and 64 years formed 56.9% of all Barcelonans. In 1900, people aged 65 and older made up just 6.5 percent of the population. In 2017, this age group made up 21.5 percent of the population. In 2016, about 59% of the inhabitants of the city were born in Catalonia and 18.5% coming from

7200-497: The quality of the Parisian luxury goods industries and handicrafts, but also to teach poor youths a trade and keep them from roaming the streets and disturbing public order. For the first time in history, he conducted a survey of the quarries beneath the city, many of which threatened the foundations of buildings. He also ordered fourteen public fountains restored and organized drowning assistance services. Under his tenure, public order

7296-502: The rest of the country. In addition to that, 22.5% of the population was born outside of Spain, a proportion which has more than doubled since 2001 and more than quintupled since 1996 when it was 8.6% and 3.9% respectively. The most important region of origin of migrants is Europe, with many coming from Italy (26,676) or France (13,506). Moreover, many migrants come from Latin American nations such as Bolivia , Ecuador or Colombia . Since

7392-501: The rise and any outbreaks of disease would devastate the population. To solve the issue, a civil engineer named Ildefons Cerdà proposed a plan for a new district known as the Eixample . The citizens of Barcelona had begun to demolish the medieval wall surrounding and constricting the city. Cerdà thought it best to transform the land outside the walls into an area characterized by a scientific approach to urbanization. His proposal consisted of

7488-511: The second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within city limits, its urban area extends to numerous neighbouring municipalities within the province of Barcelona and is home to around 5.3 million people, making it the fifth most populous urban area of the European Union after Paris , the Ruhr area, Madrid and Milan . It is one of the largest metropolises on

7584-407: The square." The crowd disbanded without a gunshot. Although admired by his contemporaries, he was also criticized for using his highly efficient secret police to spy not only on criminals but also on ordinary citizens. His services opened private letters sent through the mail, which was a frequent practice in Europe at the time, and spied on families. Sartine was thus aware of all sorts of scandals in

7680-448: The street address where the thief was hiding, as well as a description of the thief's disguise. Sartine personally analyzed an enormous correspondence and received his subordinates and commissioners of police anytime of day and night. He was the first to use repentant thieves and reprieved convicts as informants and agents. To courtiers who found this shocking, he used to say: "Pray tell me the name of honest people who would like to do such

7776-461: The street fighting of the Barcelona May Days . The fall of the city on 26 January 1939, caused a mass exodus of civilians who fled to the French border. The resistance of Barcelona to Franco 's coup d'état was to have lasting effects after the defeat of the Republican government. The autonomous institutions of Catalonia were abolished, and the use of the Catalan language in public life

7872-545: The town as a castrum (Roman military camp) centred on the " Mons Taber ", a little hill near the Generalitat (Catalan Government) and city hall buildings. The Roman Forum, at the crossing of the Cardo Maximus and Decumanus Maximus , was approximately placed where current Plaça de Sant Jaume is. Thus, the political centre of the city, Catalonia , and its domains has remained in the same place for over 2,000 years. Under

7968-401: The urban area was 4,840,000. It is the central nucleus of the Barcelona metropolitan area , which relies on a population of 5,474,482. In 1900, Barcelona had a population of 533,000, which grew steadily but slowly until 1950, when it started absorbing a high number of people from other less-industrialized parts of Spain. Barcelona's population peaked in 1979 at 1,906,998, and fell throughout

8064-472: The west. The municipality includes two small sparsely-inhabited exclaves to the north-west. According to the Köppen climate classification , Barcelona has a hot summer Mediterranean climate ( Csa ), with mild winters and warm to hot summers, while the rainiest seasons are autumn and spring. The rainfall pattern is characterized by a short (3 months) dry season in summer, as well as less winter rainfall than in

8160-437: Was sacked by the army of Almanzor . The sack was so traumatic that most of Barcelona's population was either killed or enslaved. In 1137, Aragon and the County of Barcelona merged in dynastic union by the marriage of Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronilla of Aragon , their titles finally borne by only one person when their son Alfonso II of Aragon ascended to the throne in 1162. His territories were later to be known as

8256-526: Was aggravated by France's participation in the War of American Independence, led to conflict between the finance minister , Necker , who sought to limit expenditures, and Sartine, who wanted to expand the French Navy even further. Necker accused Sartine of exceeding the budget allocated to the Navy by 20 million livres (approx. US$ 100 million in 2006). Necker complained sharply to King Louis XVI that this overrun threatened an already almost bankrupt State. Eventually,

8352-409: Was apparently inherited from his mother, a secondary title to that of Marquis of Albeville, granted to Ignatius White , his father Dominick White, and their descendants, by Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , in 1679. After the death of his mother, Antoine de Sartine was sent to France and put under the guidance of Charles Colabeau, businessman and friend of his father. He studied law in Paris. In 1752 he

8448-591: Was arrested in 1794, sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Tribunal , and guillotined on June 17 of that year along with his 19-year-old wife and his mother-in-law the comtesse de Sainte-Amaranthe. Sartine took refuge in Barcelona , where he had spent his childhood. There, he was active among émigré circles. Around 1797 he retired to Tarragona , where he was a member of the enlightened circle of Archbishop Francesc Armanyà . He died in Tarragona in 1801 at

8544-486: Was built at Montjuïc that overlooked the harbour. Much of Barcelona was negatively affected by the Napoleonic wars , but the start of industrialization saw the fortunes of the province improve. In the mid-1850s, Barcelona was struggling with population density as it became an industrial, port city and European capital. The city's density was at 856 people per hectare, more than double that of Paris. Mortality rates were on

8640-546: Was granted letters of naturalization . The same year, at the age of 23, he became Councilor (i.e. judge) at the Châtelet of Paris , the city's civil and criminal court. In 1755 he bought the office of Criminal Lieutenant, i.e. head, or chief judge, of the Châtelet's criminal branch. As a result of buying this office, he was ennobled and entered the prestigious aristocracy . Eventually, in 1759, he married Marie-Anne Hardy du Plessis,

8736-557: Was suppressed. Barcelona remained the second largest city in Spain, at the heart of a region which was relatively industrialized and prosperous, despite the devastation of the civil war. The result was a large-scale immigration from poorer regions of Spain (particularly Andalusia , Murcia and Galicia ), which in turn led to rapid urbanization. In 1992, Barcelona hosted the Summer Olympics . The after-effects of this are credited with driving major changes in what had, up until then, been

8832-641: Was the director of the Library from 1763 to 1774, succeeding his friend Malesherbes . As such, he was not only in charge of managing the Royal Library (now the National Library of France ), but he was also the chief censor in the kingdom, responsible for controlling the book trade and the press. Like his friend Malesherbes, he was a liberal and supported the philosophers of The Enlightenment , in particular Diderot and his Encyclopédie , which he protected against

8928-451: Was the first time that more than half of respondents did not identify themselves as Catholic Christians. The numbers reflect a broader trend in Spain whereby the numbers of self-identified Catholics have declined. In 2019, a survey by Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas showed that 53.2% of residents in Barcelona identified themselves as Catholic (9.9% practising Catholics, 43.3% non-practising Catholics). Claque A claque

9024-584: Was the real administrator of Paris for 15 years, invested with more powers than the Provost of the Merchants (head of the Paris municipality). Like his predecessors, he was in charge not only of public order, but also of street cleaning and maintenance, food supply, and public health and hygiene. A skilled administrator, he improved the city's food supply. Along with the Provost of the Merchants de Viarmes , he commissioned

9120-506: Was well maintained in the French capital. He took great care in the recruitment of police commissioners ( commissaires de police ) to assist him. He is said to have fulfilled his office with justice, humanity, firmness, and vigilance, and was highly respected by everyone. Among other measures, he subjected the night watchmen to military discipline; he put an end to the abuse of the claque in theatres; he banned gatherings of horn blowers in pubs. In order to suppress underground gambling dives in

9216-630: Was with a beautiful situation and an excellent harbour. It enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens. The city minted its own coins; some from the era of Galba survive. Important Roman vestiges are displayed in Plaça del Rei underground, as a part of the Barcelona City History Museum (MUHBA); the typically Roman grid plan is still visible today in the layout of the historical centre, the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter). Some remaining fragments of

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