Barcelona

"After my parents died, he decided I must become a fine lady, perhaps serve at court, so he put me in a convent school in Barcelona."

- Esmeralda to Jack Sparrow, talking about Don Rafael

Barcelona was a port-city on the north-east coast of Spain.

History
"After I had learned all they thought proper for a woman to know, I ran away from the school and found him. I was fifteen." "He didn't try to take you back to Barcelona?"

- Esmeralda and Jack Sparrow, talking about Don Rafael

Barcelona was the capital of the Visigothic empire for the period between 416 and 712. The city was taken over by the Moors and later by the Arabs. In 780 Charles the Great sent his son, Louis, to Barcelona to subdue the city. After a long siege, Louis took over Barcelona and it became the capital of the Spanish. After the death of Charles the Great, Barcelona fell into the hands of the Arabs again and Barcelona started to flourish as a commercial town under the reign of several independent kings. The region was later united with Aragón kingdom in 1150. The following years saw the construction of several magnificent gothic buildings, palaces and other monuments. Barcelona acted as the focal point for the exchange of scholarship and scientific knowledge between the European and Muslim worlds and the arts flourished under the great patronage. In 1492 the catholic monarchs captured the last Moorish region of Granada. It was also the time Columbus discovered America for which he was received by the monarchs in the Royal Palace in Barcelona. In the 16th century, Barcelona declined in importance with cities like Madrid growing. Madrid was later made the capital of the Spanish empire.

Behind the scenes
Óscar Jaenada, who portrayed The Spaniard in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, was born in Barcelona.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom