Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
C
Caballero, Fernán (Cecilia Böhl
von Faber)
(1796-1877)
Spanish writer
Daughter of a noted German Hispanist and
his Spanish wife, Böhl von Faber was born
in Switzerland and wrote fluently in Ger-
man and French as well as Spanish. Three
times widowed, she was left with a title of
nobility (marquesa de Arco Hermoso) but
very little money. Turning to the writing of
novels she revealed, under the pen name
Fernán Caballero, a talent for romantic
characters, playing out sometimes melodra-
matic plots in picturesque settings. Her best
and undoubtedly most famous work is
La
gaviota
(The sea gull), first published in
1849. Compared by contemporary critics to
authors as varied as Sir Walter Scott and
Charles Dickens, she exhibited traits of both
romanticism and realism. She is most fre-
quently praised, however, for her success in
conveying the lifestyle and character of
Andalusian society in the mid-19th cen-
tury. Like many of her contemporaries—
particularly women—who wrote to support
themselves or their families, she was inevi-
tably affected by the demands of productiv-
ity over artistry. Nonetheless, although her
once great reputation has diminished, her
signature tale of the country girl who rises
to fame as a singer and ends by returning to
her native place has retained its popularity
over many generations. Among her many
other works are
Clemencia
and
La familia de
Alvareda
and the short stories about local
life called
Cuadros de costumbres.
Cabarrús, Francisco conde
de (François Cabarrus)
(1752-1810)
Spanish financier and statesman
Born in Bayonne, France, Cabarrús spent
most of his life in Spain. He was a major
financial adviser to C
HARLES
III and was the
founder and president of the Banco de San
Carlos, which became a significant factor in
Spanish banking operations. He also
launched the Compañía de Comercio de
Filipinas, which was very successful in pro-
moting colonial trade. He was a leading fig-
ure in the promotion of enlightened
despotism and a close friend of progressive
Spanish thinkers such as J
OVELLANOS
and
F
LORIDABLANCA
. A promoter of the Socie-
dad Económica de Amigos del País, he
delivered there the funeral oration for
Charles III in 1788.
In the political intrigues following the
accession of C
HARLES
IV Cabarrús was
charged with fiscal irregularities and
detained for a time, only to be exonerated
and honored by the king with the title of
count. He served the new monarch in a
number of diplomatic assignments but
118
Search WWH ::
Custom Search