The people that passed through Cádiz

The Golden Age of Cádiz

The 18th century is considered the "Golden Age of Cádiz," as the city became the only port to secure a substantial monopoly over Spanish trade from 1717 onward.

Cádiz was transformed into the richest, most cosmopolitan, and most commercial city in Spain. It was a metropolis where people and goods hailing from all four corners of the world crossed paths on their way to new destinations, creating a bubble known as the "Global Emporium."

Last will and testament of Ana de Piña

A Moorish inhabitant of Cádiz left one of the oldest records now found in the Archive. It contains details of the last will and testament of Ana de Piña.

Power of attorney of Juan Clat, also called "Fragela"

Hailing from the city of Damascus, Juan Clat was a wealthy merchant and owned dozens of houses in Cádiz, Rota, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

He built beautiful buildings, including the well-known House of the Four Towers in Cádiz, and spent a substantial fortune on a trust that was set up to finance a house for orphans and widows in the Plaza del Hospital Real in Cádiz. It is called the "Casa de las Viudas" (Widows' House), and the square is now called Plaza Fragela, in memory of the philanthropist.

The power of the Armenian language

By the 17th century, Armenians had become a substantial minority in Cádiz. Although they were persecuted as a minority, they integrated well into their small community. They followed the Brotherhood of Jesus the Nazarene and had their own chapel of worship in the Church of Santa María.

This document is a will belonging to Armenian Zacarías Arguli.

Power of attorney in the 18th century

One of the few surviving documents belonging to Admiral Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta of the Royal Spanish Navy, signed by him while he was living in the city of Cádiz.

Report from Juan Bautista Muñoz, cosmographer-major of the Indies

José de Gálvez y Gallardo, Councilor of State and Governor of the Council of the Indies by Royal Order of King Carlos III, orders Juan Bautista Muñoz to collect the papers from the "Casa de la Contratación" (Procurement House) in Cádiz, to help write the "Historia General de las Indias" (General History of the Indies).

Testimony from Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre

Navy General Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre was born in Seville and, together with another outstanding Navy officer, Jorge Juan y Santacilia, was appointed to the French Geodesic Mission. They were sent to the meridian of Quito (present-day Ecuador) to measure the length of a degree of latitude at the equator.

He was also the founder of the Astronomical Observatory of Cádiz and the Museum of Natural History, which is the present-day National Museum of Natural Sciences. He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy, Prussian Academy, and Paris Academy of Sciences, among others. At the end of his career, he was appointed Lieutenant-General of the Spanish Royal Navy.

Last will and testament of Dionisio Alcalá Galiano

A naval officer of the "Bahama" gunship, he wrote his last will and testament aboard his own ship hours before he lost his life in the Battle of Trafalgar in the south of Cádiz.

Last will and testament of Federico Carlos Gravina y Napoli

Commander of the ship "Príncipe de Asturias" in the Battle of Trafalgar in the south of Cádiz, he was wounded, lost an arm, and died in Cádiz months later in 1806.

An American passport in Cádiz

The Civil Government of Cádiz's passport record dating from the 19th century contains anecdotal documents that detail the passage of travelers through different cities and list the corresponding certified travel documents that allowed them to continue on their journeys.

Proclamation of the Captain General of Andalusia, Rafael Primo de Rivera y Sobremonte, in the "Gloriosa" Revolution

The so-called "Gloriosa" revolution began in Cádiz with the uprising of Admiral Juan Bautista Topete's Armada, anchored in the Port of Cádiz on September 18, 1868.

Enrolment sheet of Alejandro Lerroux y García to the Provincial Institute of Cádiz

Alejandro Lerroux served as Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic on three occasions between 1933 and 1935.

Isaac Peral y Caballero's response to his appointment as an Honorary member of the Cádiz Academy of Fine Arts

Isaac Peral y Caballero invented the first torpedo submarine. Throughout 1889 and 1890, he carried out tests assessing the submersibility of the submarine ship in both the bay of Cádiz and the open sea.

The Cádiz Academy of Fine Arts, "Santa Cecilia," appointed Peral y Caballero an honorary member, which he thanked them for in this signed letter.

Elementary examination of Manuel de Falla y Matheu

Born in Cádiz, Manuel de Falla was to become the greatest and most ingenious composer known to Spain. When he was 11-years old, he took this secondary-school entrance examination and scored a B.

Signature of Juan Ramón Jiménez in a Notarial Protocol of Cádiz

Following his journey from New York to Cádiz on his honeymoon, the poet and Nobel Prize winner complains about the damage done to his luggage in the "Montevideo" steamboat in a letter to a representative of the Transatlantic Company.

Boarding message in the port of Cádiz regarding stateless persons on the Nyassa steamboat

The "stateless" persons mentioned in this document were, in fact, Jews fleeing persecution in Nazi Germany and were boarding the boat en route to the port of Haifa, in Palestine.

Message from a Palestinian citizen to the Spanish Civil Government

Some publications alluding to the Palestinian people were confiscated, as well as stickers related to the "Palestine National Liberation Movement."