Museum director gives lecture on the Battle of La Barrosa in Chiclana

Museum director, Clive Finlayson, delivered an invited lecture entitled “La Barrosa, Gibraltar y La Contingencia Historica” to a packed forum at the Centro de Interpretación del Vino y la Sal in Chiclana, on Wednesday 22^nd November. The event was organized by the Asociación Pro Fundación Batalla de La Barrosa and was presided by the Mayor of Chiclana, José María Román Guerrero.

In his lecture, Professor Finlayson gave an account of the events surrounding the Battle of La Barrosa, which took place near Chiclana on the 5^th March, 1811. The battle was an episode during the Peninsular War and was an attempt to relieve Cádiz from Napoleon’s blockade. Professor Finlayson highlighted the role played by British troops, including contingents sent out from Gibraltar and which played a key role in the battle. He then extended the lecture to cover a broad time frame, beginning with the capture of Gibraltar in 1704, through the sieges of 1727 and 1779-83 (the Great Siege), the Battle of Trafalgar, events leading up to the battle itself. He used these events to highlight the role of historical contingency, considering how the outcome might have been had these events taken a different turn. From there the lecture moved onto outcomes, through to the early days of the 20^th Century.

Commenting on the event, Minister for Heritage, Professor John Cortes, who was co-host of the event but could not attend on the night due to Parliamentary duties, said “I am delighted that the links with Chiclana are being renewed, with the possibility of exciting collaborative projects in the future. We have a lot in common, not just elements of a shared military history but also a shared history of science and exploration, with such characters as Abel Chapman, Walter Buck and Willoughby Verner, as well as a very direct connection in the study of bird migration in the region.”