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In 1789, a dynamic was ignited in France that altered the structures of the Ancien Régime, initiating the cycle of bourgeois revolutions that during the 19th century would be associated with the imposition of liberalism. The French Revolution was largely based on the ideas of the Enlightenment, with the predominance of reason, science and technical knowledge. In Spain, these Enlightenment ideas had inspired reformist policies on the part of the absolute monarchy, designed precisely to prevent revolutionary outbreaks such as the one that eventually occurred in France.

The French Revolution therefore provoked a defensive reaction from monarchies such as Spain’s, which gradually abandoned these Enlightenment policies. In France, meanwhile, events were accelerating: resistance and civil war, changes in the system of government, internal conflicts, the decapitation of the kings, different leaderships and betrayals… accompanied these convulsive times, which, however, also saw the development of ideas that heralded a new framework: the loss of privileges of the ruling classes, the extension of rights to other social classes, rational administration, the modernising ideas of the Enlightenment… Many French thought that these advances were universal, that they could only be developed on a global scale: therefore, in order to survive, the Revolution needed to spread to other countries.

Thus, France set in motion a powerful war machine that pitted it against many countries in Europe (for example, it fought the so-called Convention War with Spain). One of its generals, Napoleon Bonaparte, took advantage of the prestige he had gained in military campaigns and, with great political skill, took control of the state, eventually proclaiming himself emperor. The Empire recovered forms of monarchy and apparently betrayed the revolutionary spirit, but it contributed effectively to the spread of those principles associated with progress and consecrated to liberty and equality. The problem was that imposing these principles by force of arms was not exactly the best way.

In the early years of the 19th century, Spain was in a situation of economic, social and political crisis. Napoleon took advantage of the weakness of the institutions and the internal division among the powerful classes (and even the royal family itself) to turn what was a pass to allow his troops to go and conquer Portugal into a full-fledged invasion. In many places, Juntas were set up to organise the defence, the people rebelled, there were all kinds of responses…

Without going into too much detail, these paragraphs provide background information and explain what it was that led the French troops to stand in front of the walls of Saragossa. In what other cities or places was there resistance to the presence of French troops? Was there any kind of centralised organisation?

Many enlightened and liberal-minded people shared the principles of the French Revolution and the civil rights and liberties that these principles claimed to defend… but the brutality and arbitrariness of the Napoleonic troops could not leave them indifferent and there were many who, in spite of everything, stood up to the invaders. People of very different ideas and conditions took part in this resistance. All of them “patriots” as defenders of their country and their landscape, with a much richer concept of “homeland” than is sometimes given to understand: the idea of “patriot” as defender of the monarchy, religion, traditions and order understood in the absolutist way, against the evil represented by the enemy… was unfortunately the idea that prevailed with the return of Ferdinand VII after the withdrawal of Napoleon’s troops. The repression of this absolutist king affected many liberals who had fought against the French and who were now accused of being “Frenchified”.

Look up information about the Constitution of 1812 – in which city was it adopted, how would you define it: democratic, liberal or absolutist, for how many years was it in force, and did it influence any other constitutions? Choose a point that stands out for you.

It is true that there were many “Francophiles” in places (especially cities) and at times when the French imposed themselves and installed their administration. From those who did business with this foreign presence to those who sincerely believed in those revolutionary principles of progress and modernity, to those who accepted the fait accompli with resignation as a means of survival. It was not easy to coexist with all this. Our genius Francisco de Goya, who had liberal ideas, did not take a dim view of French intervention in Spanish politics… until he became aware of the barbarities that had occurred, which he so heartbreakingly captured in his series of engravings “The Disasters of War”. Later, after the arrival of Ferdinand VII, he painted his famous pictures of the 2nd and 3rd of May as “atonement”. Frenchified? liberal? patriot in his own way and on his own patch? simply human? what do you think?

If you live in Saragossa, we propose an activity: Identify these places on a map of the city, find out how they are related to the Sites, and design the itinerary of a walk for a Sunday morning, a spring afternoon… or any other time.

• Portillo Square
• Gate of El Carmen
• Sitios Square
• New Tower (San Felipe Square)
• Stone Bridge

1: Monument and church where several heroines are buried; 2: witness of important military actions, it is an important place of memory; 3: monument to the Sieges; 4: (no longer exists) it was the place from where the actions of the besiegers were monitored and the population was alerted; 5: cross in memory of Boggiero, Sas and Warsage.

There are even more sites, maybe you can try to extend the tour….

If you don’t live in Saragossa, you can look for information about aspects of the War of Independence (what happened, if there was any conflict, etc.) in your town, in your region, in a nearby place…

In the midst of the turmoil in Saragossa, on 24 May, the Captain General of Aragon, Guillelmi, was captured, accused of appeasing the French who were approaching the city. A group of farmers from the Arrabal and San Pablo, led by Tío Jorge and Mariano Cerezo, asked General José de Palafox to take charge of the situation. Faced with a power vacuum, with the central institutions collapsed, he convened the Cortes of Aragon (which had not met for over a hundred years) and gave military command of the main Aragonese towns to people he trusted. In mid-June, General Lefebvre’s troops from Pamplona overcame resistance in Tudela, Mallén and Alagón and reached the gates of Saragossa.

Here we find Agustina Zaragoza in action. Her and many more people, of course. Look in the recommended resource (at the beginning of these proposals) for the tool “The heroes of the Sieges”, read these biographies and select the character who has most interested you (apart from Agustina, whose biography there, by the way, contains some errors). Reason your choice.

If you have consulted the resource we recommend, you will be able to link each “heroine” of the Sites with a characteristic of the other column:

• María Agustín                                                           a- Turned her palace into a hospital
• Casta Álvarez                                                           b- She stood out in the defence of the convent of San José
• María de la Consolación Azlor                            c- Managed the hospital of Nuestra Señora de Gracia
• María Rafols                                                             d- She belonged to the parish of San Pablo
• Manuela Sancho                                                     e- She fought in the Puerta de Sancho area

Solutions: 1-d, 2-e, 3-a, 4-c, 5-b

In José Luis Cano’s book Las sitiadas, which we cite among the references, he mentions other women who played an important role in the events of 1808 and 1809 in Saragossa: Josefa Amar (whom we already know from other sources), María Blánquez, Josefa Buil, Juliana Larena, María Lostal, Benita Portolés and María Manuela Pignatelli (Duchess of Villahermosa), who, among many others (Catalina de Mondragón, Josefa Vicente, etc.), deserve to be remembered and recognised.

Places of memory, historical recreation, street names… the Sieges of Saragossa evoke many things and are projected into our present.

What strikes you about Agustina’s image? It is an element of debate, because the boundaries between a sexualised and dominant woman (“survivor in a man’s world”), subject and object… are not so clear, and there is room for very different opinions.

Fiction is fine: it entertains us, it enriches our experiences, and we can appreciate it in context. The problem is when fantasies are given the status of truth, when fiction intervenes in such a way that it contaminates reality. When the heroic idea is too worn out, there are those who confuse “humanising” with other things. And then, for example, the second Augustina can come into play.

The heroine is exalted and glorified. But the woman, prey to sensationalism, is sold as promiscuous. The writer Ángeles de Irisarri has spoken of a white and a black legend about Agustina: “she had not yet come down from the bastion of El Portillo and already people were saying things [such as] that she was pregnant (…). It was also said that she was in a carriage with a bunch of prostitutes, like a madam…”.

The newspaper ABC opens a content of 29 May 2017 with this headline: “La azarosa poligamia de Agustina de Aragón” (Agustina of Aragón’s hazardous polygamy). The news item continues: “Heroine in the Saragossa resistance against Napoleon’s troops, she was married to two men at the same time, left both and married a third, all of them military men”.

Apart from the fact that this is a lie, and beyond the importance of her affective and sexual life for every human being… there are other things that should draw our attention to Agustina of Aragon. Can you think of what these things might be?

For example, she did a lot more than light a fuse, she was a professional who earned her living in a profession linked to the military world. She raised a family, she overcame adversity…

Agustina Zaragoza, a Catalan woman eternally linked to Aragon and a cosmopolitan woman who lived and made many places her own… is an image, an impulse, a tenacity. Hundreds, thousands of women could line up under her effigy, women who in extreme situations, in situations of threat and aggression, rise up and stand up. But also those who suffer in silence from mistreatment or neglect.