Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
For hundreds of years the prestige of
Santiago de Compostela was a source of
pride to the Spanish nation, for St. James,
whose remains were believed to be in their
homeland, was the only one of the apostles
to be buried in western Europe. Pilgrims
made their way from many lands to pray
for miraculous cures and divine blessings at
the shrine. At least four distinct routes from
various parts of Europe were known as pil-
grimage roads to Santiago, the one that led
from southern France across the Pyrenees
being the most heavily traveled. The city,
with its thousands of residents, was cen-
tered on the cathedral, which was frequently
adorned and extended to accommodate wor-
shippers. But there were also numerous
lodging and dining houses as well as many
workshops and vendors of relics and pious
souvenirs clustered in the heart of the city.
During the reign of I
SABELLA
I and F
ERDI
-
NAND
V a university was established, and
government buildings and aristocratic
townhouses added to the impressiveness of
the city. The premier military order of
Spain, the Knights of Santiago, took their
name and fame from the shrine, which
throughout the R
ECONQUISTA
was seen as
playing an essential role in the expulsion of
the Muslim invaders through the spiritual
energies that it focused.
During the early modern period Santiago
de Compostela became less of an interna-
tional gathering place, as the unity of Chris-
tendom was shattered during the
Reformation and the rivalries within the
emerging European state system fed
national antagonisms. The pilgrimage route
from France still drew pilgrims, but the
shrine itself became more intensely identi-
fied with Spain and the emotional loyalties
of the Spanish people. By the early 21st
century, as the population of the city
approached 100,000 and political and eco-
nomic factors affected its viability, there
was still a significant flow of visitors,
whether drawn by purely religious zeal or
by touristic curiosity. Many foreigners
committed to the long trek on foot across
the mountains, often sleeping at humble
youth hostels, to maintain a sense of per-
sonal discipline and a dedication to strenu-
ous simplicity.
Santiago de Cuba, Battle of
(1898)
This climactic action of the S
PANISH
-A
MERI
-
CAN
W
AR
took place at the city that had
been the first colonial capital of C
UBA
(founded by D
IEGO
V
ELÁZQUEZ
DE
C
UÉLLAR
in 1514) and remained the major commer-
cial and administrative center for the south-
eastern part of the island. After landing
nearly 20,000 troops a few weeks earlier
and advancing in conjunction with ongoing
attacks by Cuban rebels, the U.S. forces
arrived at Santiago on July 1, 1898.
Although Spain had a large military pres-
ence in Cuba, many of her troops were tied
down by action of the
guerrilleros
and
exhausted by the seemingly endless strug-
gle waged against them in this tropical cli-
mate. The few battles fought by Spanish
soldiers against the advancing Americans
were vigorously conducted but doomed by
inferiority of numbers and firepower. These
defensive actions culminated in the Battle
for San Juan Hill in which the future Amer-
ican president Theodore Roosevelt gained
his military laurels. The senior American
commander, General William Shafter,
immediately demanded the surrender of the
city but was rebuffed by his Spanish antago-
nists, Linares and Toral. In the meantime
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