Victus: The Fall of Barcelona

The Characters in VICTUS

ALEMANY, FRANCESC: Catalan nobleman who in 1713 argued against defending Barcelona. He did, however, agree to fight, accepting the result of the vote. Died in combat.

AMELIS: Fictional character.

ANFÁN: Fictional character.

BALLESTER, ESTEVE: Miquelet officer. According to the chronicles of the time, he was captured by the Bourbons during a skirmish at Beceite and subsequently rescued by his men in an epic counterattack. Although Ballester is a minor figure in historical terms, in Victus, Zuviría dedicates a large number of pages to him, perhaps because he came to consider him a representative of Catalan peasantry taking up arms.

BARDONENCHE, ANTOINE DE: French captain descended from a noble family. Took part in the siege of Barcelona as a member of the French army. According to Castellví’s Crónicas, he was involved in a rather frivolous and strange episode (which Zuviría does not include): In the early stages of the siege, he entered the city as a “guest,” of his own initiative, drawn by the beauties of its architecture. Despite their initial astonishment, the Barcelonans obliged him, and Zuviría was given the task of walking him around the city. He was soon returned, safe and sound, to the Bourbon lines, where the duke of Pópuli reprimanded him for his extravagance, but with no further consequences. Most likely, Waltraud Spöring decided to suppress the pages in question, like so many others, before sending the book to be printed.

BASSONS, MARIÀ: Barcelonan professor of law. He enlisted in the city’s militia and took part in its defense as captain to his own students. Died in combat in the battle of Santa Clara (Saint Clara) in August 1714.

BASTIDA, JORDI: Catalan soldier who defended Benasque in 1709. He was in Barcelona during the siege and met a valiant death defending the Santa Clara bastion in August.

BATLLE, BALDIRI: Catalan nobleman. He voted against the decision to defend the city from the Bourbon troops. He accepted the results of the vote, which went against his position. He died defending the city.

BEAST, THE: See Louis XIV.

BERENGUER, ANTONI: Catalan military deputy. Led the disastrous expedition that sought to raise recruits to attack the Bourbon rear immediately afterward. His incompetence led to his arrest upon his return, and to facing justice, albeit with no severe consequences.

BERWICK, JAMES FITZ-JAMES (JIMMY), DUKE OF: French marshal, bastard son of King James of England. Educated in France, where he rose in the social hierarchy thanks to his merits and despite his illegitimacy. The winner of the Battle of Almansa, he stormed Barcelona in 1714, having taken over from the duke of Pópuli. Died in 1734 in mysterious circumstances, during the siege of Philippsburg, in Germany.

BUSQUETS, JAUME: Miquelet leader. His only mention in the histories is by Castellví, according to whom he tried in vain to take the town of Bourbon-controlled Mataró.

CASANOVA, RAFAEL: Catalan lawyer. In 1713 he took over political control of the besieged city of Barcelona. Wounded on September 11, 1714. Survived the period of Bourbon repression and resumed the practice of law.

CASTELLVÍ, FRANCESC DE: Minor Catalan noble who fought in Barcelona at the rank of captain. After 1714 he had to seek exile in Vienna, throwing himself upon the clemency of Emperor Charles. Lived a precarious life, devoting himself to writing the great chronicle of the War of Succession and the siege of Barcelona, his monumental Narraciones históricas (Historical narratives). He died without having managed to secure their publication. The original was not recovered until the nineteenth century.

CHARLES III: Austrian pretender to the Spanish throne. From 1705 to 1709, while engaged in his fight for the Spanish crown, he kept his court at Barcelona. In 1711, upon the death of his brother, he left for Vienna to be crowned emperor of the Germanic Holy Roman Empire, abandoning Catalonia to her fate.

CIGALET: Official executioner of the city of Barcelona. During the siege, he was caught looting one of the bombed houses and immediately condemned to death. As it happened, the sentence was carried out by his assistant and future son-in-law, who would take over his position.

COSTA, FRANCESC: Catalan artillery officer whose competence in arms was praised even by his adversaries. Had under his command a large group of Mallorcans, considered the best artillery soldiers of their day. Following the fall of Barcelona, Marshal Berwick offered Costa a position in the French army at a very high salary. Costa fled.

DALMAU, SEBASTIÀ: Member of an affluent Barcelona family who put himself at the service of the Generalitat after the Allies left the peninsula. The Dalmau family depleted their fortune in defense of the city, paying out of their own coffers for the maintenance of an entire regiment. Sebastià took part in the defense, suffered from the repression, and ended his days in Austria, serving Emperor Charles at the rank of lieutenant colonel.

DESVALLS, MANUEL: Governor of Cardona. After September 11, he went into exile in Vienna, like so many other notable pro-Austrians. Desvalls would live to a hundred. The fight in the interior of Catalonia was led by his brother Antoni.

DIAGO, FRANCISCO: Miner of Aragonés origin, a member of the brigade who managed to find the principal Bourbon mine that stretched beneath the walls of Barcelona.

DUCROIX, ARMAND: Fictional character.

DUCROIX, ZENO: Fictional character.

DUPUY: Cousin to Sébastien Vauban, who, like him, devoted himself to military engineering. Dupuy took part in the final stages of the siege of Barcelona and was seriously wounded at the battle of the bastion of Santa Clara. Over the course of his military career, he received as many as sixteen wounds in combat.

DUVERGER: Senior French officer killed in the fighting at the siege of Barcelona.

FERRER, EMMANUEL: Minor Catalan noble who distinguished himself as a councilor in the management of the city of Barcelona. During the 1713 debates, he was the spokesman for those in favor of resisting the Bourbon troops.

FORGOTTEN, MONSIEUR: Although Zuviría refers to Forgotten as “a cousin of the Duc d’Orléans,” historians have not been able to agree on which historical figure this might refer to. Some studies of the Zuvirian work have put forward the theory that Forgotten did not really exist but was a synthesis of a number of different characters. Thus Zuviría dramatizes all the contempt he felt for the aristocratic commanders who waged war without any technical knowledge and for their own personal gain.

FIVALLER, CARLES DE: Old Catalan deputy who embodied Catalonia’s parliamentary tradition. During the 1713 debates, and contrary to every prediction, he declared himself an ardent supporter of the proposal to attempt a defense of the city, which swayed a large proportion of the votes.

GALWAY, HENRY MASSUE DE RUVIGNY, COUNT OF: English soldier and nobleman of French origin, sent in 1704 to Portugal to command the Allied armies. Defeated by Berwick in 1707 at the decisive Battle of Almansa.

IN-A-TRICE: See Stanhope, James.

JIMMY: See Berwick.

JOSEPH I: Austrian emperor, brother to the pretender, Charles III of Spain. Upon Joseph’s death in 1711, Charles left Spain to declare himself the new emperor, which provoked a switch in alliances that led to Catalonia’s abandonment by the Allies.

LA MOTTE: French lieutenant colonel injured in the battle for Santa Clara. La Motte was the officer who finally succeeded in persuading Berwick to suspend the attack, even if this was a humiliation for the Army of the Two Crowns.

LITTLE PHILIP: See Philip V.

LOUIS XIV: King of France, nicknamed the Sun King. As the king of France, he launched an imperialist policy that would lead to the Spanish War of Succession. Despite the creation of Versailles and the magnificence of his court, by the end of his kingdom, the country had fallen into ruin. In 1714 the fall of Barcelona was celebrated with a Te Deum in Paris.

MARLBOROUGH: English soldier and aristocrat who, during the War of Succession, managed to defeat the French troops at Blenheim, Schellenberg, and Malplaquet, successively. However, he was accused of embezzling public funds and prolonging the war unnecessarily for his own personal gain, and in 1711 was stripped of his positions. Marlborough was a relative of Berwick, with whom he maintained a private correspondence despite the fact that they were fighting on opposing sides throughout the war.

MASSUE DE RUVIGNY, HENRY: See Galway.

MATEU, JOSEP: Barcelonan miner who was a member of the brigade that managed to find the Bourbon mine stretching beneath the walls of Barcelona just before it was set to explode.

MINAS, MARQUIS DAS: Portuguese general who led his country’s troops that took part in the Battle of Almansa. Das Minas was a veteran commander, aged over sixty. Although the role played by the Portuguese battalions at Almansa was subsequently heavily criticized by their English allies, there is no evidence to support their accusations.

MOLINA, FRANCESC: Barcelonan of Italian origin who led Barcelona’s mining brigades. During the siege, he led the anti-mine work and found the principal Bourbon mine just as it was about to be blown.

MORAGUES, JOSEP: Catalan leader who fought the Bourbons outside the besieged city of Barcelona. At the end of the war, he was captured and executed. His skull was kept on display for over a decade on one of the gates into the city, as a warning against future rebellions. In the nineteenth century, the character of Moragues was retrieved by the Spanish romantic movement, who converted him into a mythic figure in the story of Catalan liberties.

NAN: Fictional character.

ORLÉANS, DUC D’: French aristocrat and soldier who took part in several episodes in the War of Spanish Succession, in Italy as well as in Spain. In 1708 he led the siege of Tortosa, a strategic location in the south of Catalonia. Following the death of Louis XIV, he succeeded him as regent, scandalizing Europe with his private orgies and parties.

ORTIZ: Pro-Austrian colonel who played a significant role in the battle of Santa Clara when his troops contributed toward surrounding the Bourbon vanguard.

PALLARÈS, DÍDAC: Barcelona citizen who was a member of the Coronela, or the city’s militia. During the siege, three of his sons, who were also members of that militia, died or were seriously injured.

PERET: Fictional character.

PHILIP V: Duc d’Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV of France, and Bourbon pretender to the Spanish throne following the death of Carlos II. After the retreat of the Allied troops, he considered Catalan resistance a seditious rebellion and decided to deal with the “rebels” with particular viciousness. From a very early age, Philip had shown symptoms of severe mental imbalance. In the final phase of his life, the symptoms of dementia became more acute, to the point where he grew his nails over ten inches long, dressed in rags, and slept in open coffins.

PORKY: Fictional character.

POLASTRON: Senior French officer killed in combat at the siege of Barcelona.

PÓPULI, RESTAINO CANTELMO STUART, DUKE OF: Italian nobleman serving Philip V. Pópuli felt personal ill will toward the Barcelonans because, he claimed, they had mistreated his wife during the disturbances of 1705. In 1713 Philip placed under his command the Franco-Spanish troops who were to begin the occupation of Catalonia. Faced with unexpected resistance from Barcelona, Pópuli laid siege to it. His inability to take the city led to his replacement by Berwick nine months later.

POU, JOSEP: Doctor from Vic who made an offer to the Bourbon troops of the city’s surrender, without the Catalan government’s knowledge.

ROGER, LLUÍS: Catalan nobleman who voted against Barcelona taking up arms against Philip V. He accepted the result of the final vote, which went in the opposite direction, and took part in the city’s defense. Died in combat.

SAAVEDRA Y PORTUGAL, GREGORIO DE: Pro-Austrian who appears at the most critical moments in the story of the siege, such as the battle of Santa Clara. During the final days of the siege, Zuviría was carrying out anti-mine work. This might explain why he does not mention that it was Saavedra tasked with answering the final Bourbon ultimatum to surrender. When the marquis of Tserclaes approached the walls to learn the city’s reply, Saavedra said: “The commons have met and have decided as follows: not to listen to any proposals from the enemy. Has Your Excellence anything to say?” “No.” “Well then, withdraw, because the fight will go on.”

SALA, BENET: Bishop of Barcelona who, in the 1713 debates, intervened behind the scenes for the pro-surrender position but without success. Despite his efforts, at the end of the war, he would face reprisals from the Bourbon regime.

SANT JOAN, NICOLAU DE: Catalan politician who, during the 1713 debates, led the group in favor of surrendering the city.

SANTA CRUZ (FATHER AND SON): Soldiers who held the command of the engineering corps of the besieged city of Barcelona. They deserted and offered their services to the Bourbon leadership, but the offer was not accepted, and father and son were evacuated to Alicante, suggesting that their posts were purely nominal.

SAUVEBOEUF: French soldier killed in combat during the attacks on Barcelona.

SHITSON: Foreign officer, name unknown, who took part with the Catalan troops in the ill-fated expedition by the military deputy. Castellví tells us only that he was an officer repudiated by his former superiors, and that in his flight, the deputy left the troops in his charge.

STANHOPE, JAMES: English aristocrat and soldier who, in 1710, was sent to Spain as commander of the English military force tasked with bringing an end to the war. His performance was heavily criticized, both politically and militarily, and in 1710 he was taken prisoner along with most of his troops. Stanhope would marry the daughter of the governor of Madras and enter a career in politics, and such an unfortunate one that his role as finance minister would coincide with the crisis that came to be known the South Sea Bubble, which ruined the English economy.

STRETCH: Fictional character.

TIMOR, JAUME: Catalan commander who, in 1714, played a significant role in the battle for Santa Clara, managing to prevent the defenders from abandoning the bastion when the situation was at its most desperate.

TOMEU: Colonel who, together with Colonel Ortiz, outflanked the vanguard of the Bourbon trench, a maneuver that completed the Franco-Spanish defeat during the battle of Santa Clara.

VALÈNCIA, ANTONI: Barcelonan nobleman. In 1713 he voted against shutting the city’s gates and resisting the Bourbon attack. He died defending the city.

VAN COEHOORN, MENO: Dutch military engineer who developed theories of siege warfare completely opposed to the Vaubanian model. Coehoorn was a contemporary of Vauban’s, and they even confronted each other directly in the siege of Namur. Vaubanian, who had been leading the besieging army, received the surrender directly from Coehoorn himself.

VAN VERBOOM, JORIS PROSPERUS: Military engineer of Dutch origin who served the Spanish Bourbons. In 1710 he was wounded in battle and captured by the pro-Austrian troops. He spent two years as a prisoner in Barcelona, where he studied the city’s defenses. In 1714 he was indeed the man appointed to design the attack trench that would take the city by storm. Subsequently, he built the Citadel in the interior of the city, as a means to subdue the citizens.

VAUBAN, CHARLOTTE: Elder daughter of Sébastien Vauban.

VAUBAN, JEANNE: Younger daughter of Sébastien Vauban. Married a member of the French nobility who, shortly after the wedding, went mad in his search for the philosopher’s stone, although some years later, surprisingly, recovered his wits.

VAUBAN, SÉBASTIEN LE PRESTE: French engineer, marquis, and marshal known for his innovations in the art of fortification and siege warfare including the development of new methods of siege and attack.

VENDÔME: French marshal sent to Spain by Louis XIV to provide military aid to his grandson, Philip. In 1710 he took part in the battles of Brihuega and Villaviciosa, whose results were inconclusive. He died in 1712, in Vinaroz, of indigestion from eating prawns.

VILLARROEL, ANTONIO DE: Spanish soldier who, at the start of the war, served in the Bourbon army. In 1708 he played a notable part in the attack on the strategically important city of Tortosa. In 1710, however, he switched sides and joined the pro-Austrian army at a general’s rank. Villarroel’s cavalry was decisive in the Battle of Villaviciosa for avoiding defeat. In 1713 he was appointed the commander of Barcelona by the Catalan government. A few days before the attack in 1714, he resigned from his post, believing that resisting to the end would be tantamount to a massacre. Despite this, rather than setting sail, he decided at the last moment to remain in the city. During the fighting of September 11, he was gravely injured, and soon afterward, though this went against terms of the capitulation, he was arrested and imprisoned. He was made to suffer terribly in prison and was not freed until shortly before his death.

VON STARHEMBERG, GUIDO RUDIGER: Austrian soldier sent to Spain by the emperor to help his son Charles, who was pretender to the Spanish throne. Starhemberg was a more than competent soldier, though unable to achieve any genuinely decisive victories for the Austrian forces. In 1713 he was Charles III’s viceroy in Catalonia. Following the Treaty of Evacuation, which forced the evacuation of all Allied troops still on Spanish soil, he attempted to bring about the handing over of Barcelona to the Bourbon forces but, faced with strong popular opposition, decided to set sail with his troops and leave the Barcelonans to their fate.

WALTRAUD: Fictional character.

DE ZÚÑIGA, DIEGO: Fictional character.

ZUVIRÍA, MARTÍ: Aide-de-camp to General de Villarroel. In his Narraciones históricas, Castellví refers to Zuviría as fulfilling roles as diverse as translator from the French, adjutant to General Villarroel, and taking part in missions outside Barcelona during the siege. It is known that he managed to escape to Vienna, where he shows up on the list of expatriate pro-Austrians.