History

The Siege of Tarragona had forced surviving civilians to swell into the upper city, María de Pineda y Ruiz had bundled what items she could along with her ailing mother and sisters toward the sanctuary of the Cathedral itself. A woman who had lost her lover to the war long before they could discuss the matter of matrimony, María had only her family — what with her father and brothers met beneath the destruction of the war itself, the women were forced to depend upon the safety of the city. Of course, it was described in the history books as a horrendous mess of blood and violence as the French broke the siege and made their way from the lower alleys to the upper streets in a flurry of rape, murder and torment.

A pregnancy that had grown swollen and large beneath her secondhand skirts, rolled forward in the haze of emergency, a shift that left the oldest daughter useless to the defence of her much beloved sisters. Largely the intruders allowed the pregnant woman and the elderly mother to live, but not without their scars both internally and physically as they watched their kin drawn down to join the great number who passed from that world to the next — and in the early hours of the day in which the city grew dull with the aftermath of such horrendous death, Maríá’s baby finally came in a torrent of cries that echoed from wall to wall within the sanctuary of the Catedral Basílica de Tarragona Metropolitana i Primada that had taken the first to arrive into the cradle of its safety before being escorted to safety by the hand of Father Pedro Huya. The first thing Jesús felt was the movement of the earth beneath him as explosions and gunfire rocked the city to its core.

With little hope to rebuild, María chased what line of hope she could find in the arms of a merchant who took pity on the chaos he had witnessed and signed the marriage contract so he may take the mother, the daughter and the infant into his safety. With the freedom that came by his trade, Pablo de Torres y Navia took his family to the refuge that housed many who had escaped the Napoleonic occupation of Catalonia, Palma de Mallorca.

Though the marriage had not begun in lovestruck realms, the union quickly blossomed on a foundation of trust, gratitude and eventually something akin to love itself. Pablo the merchant (who owned his own ship that worked on the trade routes between the Western Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean), even adopted Jesús, signing his name to his person as Jesús Javier Salvador Pedro Juan de Torres y Pineda. As each year brought another numbered sibling, Jesús came to know Palma intimately, from the imposing Catedral de Santa María de Palma de Mallorca to the old city drenched in the shadows of a Moorish past, Jesús’ upbringing had been happy compared to some — and when the time came to make good on his place in life, he was made an apprentice to his stepfather on the ship itself known colloquially as ‘Cocollona’, sailing from one side of the Mediterranean to the other whilst seeing the sights known only to the few who were ever given the opportunity to travel.

With a new family to care for, and with the death of María’s mother who had long since grown exhausted by the loss of her other beloved daughters, María thought to make one last trip across the short sea back to Tarragona in order to pay her respects to the sisters she had lost in that first fateful siege. With Jesús in tow, Pablo gave them passage, and there they came face to face with a city haunted. Though María couldn’t have stayed for too long, Jesús felt enamoured with the place, and as such introduced himself again in a strange but welcome reunion with the very man who had saved them, Father Pedro Huya.

Father Pedro Huya was eager to do what he could, and with what little power he had he made sure that Jesús was well kept and educated whilst acting as his guardian, for though the boy had little natural motivation to enrich his understanding of theology or the church at large, Father Pedro Huya felt as if he had been sent for a reason, and as such over the years he imbued his life with money, knowledge and all that he could offer — he even supported an application for Jesús to attend the Universitas Complutensis of Madrid to study, a degree that later divided into a particular fashion for archeology, that well suited Tarragona and the constant work of unearthing Roman ruins.

He enjoyed teaching for the most part, but Tarragona was no such place for further education due to the reprisals that had taken the city by storm after the War of the Spanish Succession — still, Jesús was a hard worker, and with some effort he paid back all he could in terms of support, love and financial means to Father Pedro Huya. Mostly he worked on the uncovering of the amphitheatre, spreading his time between work centric meetings in Madrid, Tarragona itself and Palma when visiting his mother.

Father Pedro Huya had greater ideas for his quasi-guardian , and wrote to his contacts in London. By the promise of sanctuary and the reinforcement of the holy man’s good name, he was honoured with a scholarship and a place to study alongside a teaching position for Undergraduates at the newly established King’s College. Quite honoured, Jesús jumped at the opportunity, and told his mother that all would be swell as his stepfather took the time to sail him on his own ship toward London itself.

In the fall of 1866, London was quite the bustling place. Studying part time in the hope to gain funding for a trip further afield, Jesús settled in quite easily whilst playing the teacher who centred his lectures around History concerning the Roman Empire and with hints to archeology in the hope that someone would take him up on the opportunity. Whilst there he sat in on various topics only to expand his understanding, he became fluent in English (though sometimes he hesitated over the dialects and slang) and within a year he felt London to be his home at long last. It was not till the winter that a letter arrived concerning his Madre, it was said that she had fallen sick quickly and passed not long after his own letter had arrived at their door, a part of him longed to return to Palma in order to pay his respects, but the condition of his studies and teaching refused him the opportunity.

London had quickly become his home away from home, for though it differed in wild comparison against his beloved Tarragona, it was easy to find a way to enjoy one’s days. Whilst working for an Archeologist as something akin to a secretary in an office, he also put together many finely detailed proposals for scholarships so he could go on a research trip of his own — his idea revolved around the partly exposed Ancient Tarraco, to unearth all that was left to be uncovered and to put some glory on the city that had nursed all of those family members whom he had never been so fortunate to meet.

With the news of Father Pedro Huya’s death, Jesús became obsessed with the idea of his return, and with some further connections made through his associates, he managed to secure a grant of his own. Though Spain was still enraptured with in-fighting and chaos, Jesús booked passage and travelled along the coast of France before landing in Bilbao where he could transition to a public coach to take him back home. With a home and enough work to keep him occupied, one could assume that it was the happier time of his life, especially when he met the alluring Amira — a daughter of Islamic refugees, a woman who had enamoured him mind, body and soul. Of course, a marriage between a Catholic man and a Muslim woman couldn’t have been an easy proposition, so it took time… time that neither had by the time she fell pregnant with his illegitimate child. But Jesús was honourable, and promised to make her his wife as soon as he could, but five months after the daughter had been born (named Farah Isabella María) there had been no wedding certificate.

Amira’s death had been sudden and without explanation, and as if to avoid the weight of grief and shame her family quickly moved from Tarragona. As his own birth had been marked with violence and bloodshed, so was Farah’s as the second Carlist War came into play. Refusing to sign up to fight alongside his rowdy half-brothers, Jesús secured safe passage back to London with his research, findings and infant daughter — leaving behind a lump sum of money to go towards the Cathedral and a memorial for that blessed Father Pedro Huya.

As if he had never left, and in some sense of congratulating him for his hard work, Jesús was offered a firm position as a Professor of History at the London College of London, a role which he took without hesitation in order to provide for a child, and to make a life for himself. With a steady profession and his own research taking priority, he has very little time or heart to indulge in matters of the heart, if only because the idea of replacing his late wife seems quite outlandish and beyond his interest. Time will tell if he can escape the ghosts of his past.


TIMELINE

1844 Born in Tarragona, Spain when his family fled Barcelona during the Jámanica against Barcelona led by General Espartero. His parents are María de Pineda y Ruiz, she explains that his father died during the Jámanica
1845 His mother marries Pablo de Torres y Navia whilst at port, and adopts Jesús formally as his own
1846 His aunts are killed (see, the most violent siege in Spanish history) during the Siege, his mother and grandmother are given mercy and granted sanctuary in the Catedral Basílica de Tarragona Metropolitana i Primada before Pablo escorts María and Jesús to the refuge of Palma de Mallorca
1853 Begins an apprenticeship under his stepfather’s merchant business, which travels between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean
1855 His grandmother dies in Palma, Mallorca
1856 María and Jesús return to Tarragona, she turns back to her new family after paying her respects to her deceased sisters but Jesús finds himself enamoured, and stays beneath the patronage of Father Pedro Huya, he is introduced to Huya’s friend’s ward, Rafael de la Cruz
1861 Huya supports Jesús’ education in which he attends Universitas Complutensis of Madrid
1864 Graduates with a degree in archeology and history, with a minor degree in teaching. He returned to Tarragona to work part time in the field and the local schools
1865 He begins the slow work of uncovering and protecting the Tarragona amphitheater, travelling between the city, Madrid (for meetings) and Palma de Mallorca to visit his family
1866 Father Pedro Huya sends Jesús to London for schooling by his own support at the University College of London, his stepfather escorts him by his ship
1869 He graduates with a Masters degree in Archeology, he begins work as Professor Rhodes’ secretary who, whilst he tries to secure a scholarship of his own, he meets his daughter Zelda
1871 Father Pedro Huya dies, and his successor writes to Jesús with the announcement
1873 With connections of his own, and after great patience, he is afforded a scholarship to return to Tarragona to work on the excavations of Tarraco, the Ancient City, that was once Tarragona, by the funding of the British Government
1874 His mother dies in Palma, Mallorca
1878 Meets Amira, daughter of Islamic refugees who have been displaced during the Third Carlist War and financial disaster of Egypt. They fall in love quickly and she gives birth to a daughter, they call her Farah Isabella Maríá but she falls sick soon after, leaving him with an illegitimate babe to look after
1879 His half-brothers arrive on the mainland to protest against the Election in a major nationalist movement, Jesús refuses to join in and is seen as something of a black sheep of the family as he plays in the mud. Before leaving for his own sake, he gives away much of his own money as he can to the Cathedral, asking for a memorial to Father Pedro Huya in his stead
1880 He reaches London in the New Year with his daughter, and is offered the role (quite gracefully) to teach at the University College of London as the Professor of History, he moves into a terraced house on Clerkenwell Road