Chapter · Spain · Land
Where the world begins
One strait, three widths, and a town with no ground
Pliny begins his description of the earth at the strait in southern Spain, and gives three widths for the same passage. Seventeen centuries later a treaty carves a town out of it and forgets to say where it stops.
Context first
A lesson to read before the others, to set the scene.
- The place
- The era
- The people
The lessons in this chapter
- 1Without any territorial jurisdictionArticle X of Utrecht cedes a town, a castle, a port and some forts, then adds: without any territorial jurisdiction and no open land communication. Three centuries of dispute fit in that silence.10 min
- 2Ready money for provisionsOne article cedes a town, denies it any hinterland, makes it pay cash for food at the neighbour's, then says who may not live there, with an exception for trade.10 min
- 3The preference shall be Spain'sThe treaty that cedes the town already provides that Spain comes first if it is ever sold on. Seventy years later Minorca is handed back in four lines, and the royal title has not changed a word.10 min
How these lessons are written
Each lesson starts from first-hand sources: Wikisource, Gallica, Persée, archives, museums and institutes. A fact without a source does not get written, and every lesson lists its own as direct links.
The rhythm
A lesson is five minutes of cards and four questions. Those questions then come back the next day, then at 3, 7, 21 and 60 days, and that return is what makes it stick. One a day is enough, and you can do several in a row.