Korrida i karliści. Wspomnienia Piotra Falkenhagena-Zaleskiego z podroży do Hiszpanii (1843)

Abstract

Among the accounts of travels in Spain in the 1st half of the 19th century, there is a rather unknown memoir of Piotr Falkenhagen-Zaleski, written on the basis of his 1843 experiences. This exceptionally capable and flexible emigrant began his career in international trade, having successfully tried his hand at journalism and politics in the past. He became an employee at the Henry Hall department store in London, and then opened his own company of the same sort, establishing contacts in many European countries. The travel to Spain aimed at securing another contract. It appears that he did not achieve this goal. On the other hand, the stay behind the Pyrenees, mainly in Barcelona and Madrid, and the very travel from France to Spain allowed the Polish traveller to become familiar with two elements of the Spanish (political and cultural) reality through an incident with the Carlists and the corrida spectacle. He put those experiences in an interesting, although brief report from Spain.