Romantic Spain: A Record of Personal Experiences (Vol. II)

In Short

John Augustus O'Shea’s Romantic Spain: A Record of Personal Experiences (Vol. II) is a vivid, first-hand account of travel and military reporting across Spain and North Africa during the Carlist conflicts of the 1870s. O'Shea wanders from the bodegas of Puerto and the naval yards of Cadiz to the British garrison at Gibraltar, across the Strait to Tangier, and straight into the Carlist strongholds of the Basque country. Combining sharp political observation, gritty wartime reporting, and colorful social sketches, the book endures as a wonderfully human portrait of a country caught between medieval loyalties, imperial legacies, and modern warfare.

The Story

The volume opens in Southern Spain, where O'Shea explores Puerto and Cadiz, balancing lightweight observations on local wine and women with a serious journalistic mission. He investigates the scandal surrounding the Spanish steamer Murillo, suspected of running down an English ship off Dungeness with heavy loss of life, noting with quiet frustration how local authorities shield the vessel to protect national honor.

Moving southward to Gibraltar, O'Shea captures the unique atmosphere of the British garrison rock. He observes the bustling military routines, the mix of global ethnicities, and the stark contrast between British administrative order and the surrounding Spanish countryside. Driven by curiosity and historical memory, he crosses the Strait of Gibraltar to Tangier, reflecting on the brief period when the North African city belonged to the British Crown. In Morocco, he observes local customs, inspects photos of harem life, notes the disabilities of the Jewish community, and watches the rapid pace of traditional life, from wedding processions to swift burials.

Returning to the mainland, O'Shea journeys north toward the heart of the Carlist rebellion. In France and along the border, he meets an array of colorful figures: former Pontifical Zouaves, idealists, foreign adventurers, and arm-chair royalists. He crosses into insurgent territory in the Basque countryside, where he finds the serene, fertile valley of Vera torn apart by civil strife. He witnesses the reality of the Basque resistance, observing the incongruously equipped soldiers—wearing traditional hempen sandals alongside broad metal cuirasses taken as spoils of war.

O'Shea reaches the Carlist headquarters and observes Don Carlos himself, detailing an interview between the Pretender and an Irish soldier, while analyzing the royalist leader's political manifestos. He finds a movement driven by deep religious conservatism, local Basque privileges, and strict moral decrees enforced by regional war committees. Traversing the borderlands near San Sebastian and Hendaye, O'Shea gets caught in the vicinity of active battles, listening to distant artillery roars while official passes and border guards block his path. He visits political prisoners locked in the citadel of San Sebastian, slips past carabineros with local Basque guides, and watches skirmishes unfold along hilltops. The narrative draws to a close amidst the fading thunder of mountain battles and quiet personal reflections on the absurdity, tragedy, and romantic illusion of perpetual war.

How It Unfolds

The Southern Ports O'Shea investigates the Murillo shipping scandal at Cadiz while sampling the local life and wine of Puerto. He reflects on the stoicism of shipwreck survivors and the official secrecy surrounding the investigation.

Inside the Fortress Arriving at Gibraltar, O'Shea wanders through a dense, bustling garrison town filled with British soldiers, Moorish traders, and parade ground music. He surveys the heavily fortified rock, taking stock of its history and strategic Woolwich armaments.

Excursion to Africa Crossing the Strait, the author explores Tangier's bazaars, streets, and domestic customs. He documents local religious practices, wedding traditions, and the distinct attire of Jewish, Moorish, and African residents.

Into insurgent territory Heading north toward the French border, O'Shea encounters a collection of Carlist sympathizers, foreign veterans, and exiled soldiers. He crosses into northern Spain to observe the royalist forces in the Basque region.

In the presence of the Pretender O'Shea witnesses Don Carlos reviewing his troops in the valley of Vera, recording conversations between the prince and foreign recruits. He analyzes the Carlist political manifestos and the strict religious ordinances imposed on Alava.

Under fire on the border Stationed near the frontier at Hendaye and San Sebastian, O'Shea attempts to cover active engagements while navigating military blockades. He visits held prisoners in the citadel and observes sudden hilltop skirmishes between regulars and local partisans.

The People

• John Augustus O'Shea – The narrator and special correspondent. Warm, inquisitive, and seasoned, he seeks out truth behind official narratives, whether investigating maritime disasters in Cadiz or tracking partisan warfare in the Basque mountains.
• Don Carlos – The royalist Pretender to the Spanish throne. He presents himself as a champion of legitimate right, religion, and regional traditionalism, seeking to inspire foreign veterans and local peasants alike to win back his crown.
• Mr. Smith Sheehan – An agile former officer of the Pontifical Zouaves and son of a Cork politician. Driven by ideological zeal and a desire for adventure, he serves among the Carlist levies, bringing disciplined European combat experience to the guerrilleros.
• Barbarossa – A doctrinaire Carlist and inveterate gambler living in St. Jean de Luz. He adopts a grand air of revolutionary mystery and Carlist allegiance primarily because it is fashionable, despite being physically unfit for the field.
• Stuart and Travers – British captives locked in the citadel cell at San Sebastian after their vessel's capture. Despite their shared imprisonment, their longstanding personal feud persists, though both maintain a lighthearted composure in front of the visiting journalist.

In Its Own Voice

"From wine to women is an easy transition. Both are benedictions from on high, and I have no patience with the foul churl who cannot enjoy the one with proper continence, and rise the better and more chivalrous from the society of the other."

O'Shea frames his leisure hours in Puerto with characteristic nineteenth-century gallantry and relaxed moralizing.

"The tooth is hollow, but the hollow is plugged with the best Woolwich stuffing, and potentially it can bite and grind and macerate, for all the peaceful gardens and frescades of the Alameda that circle its base like a belt of faded embroidery."

Observing Gibraltar from the water, O'Shea contrasts the rock's pleasant botanical gardens with its brutal underlying military engineering.

"Though the peasants laugh and sing, and the labourers dig, and there are outer tokens of peace, there is no peace in the valley or town..."

Surveying the seemingly idyllic, mountain-ringed village of Vera, O'Shea captures the tragic tension of a country quietly consumed by civil war.

What It's Really About

Beneath its lively travelogue exterior, the book examines the tragic contradictions of late nineteenth-century Spain. O'Shea explores the clash between traditional religious absolutism and emerging modern governance. Through his observations of the Carlist rebellion, he asks whether a nation can progress by clinging to medieval privileges (fueros) and divine right, or if such movements are merely fueled by romantic nostalgia and fanatical regionalism.

He also weighs the hypocrisies of foreign intervention and military adventurism. By contrasting the quiet, everyday routines of peasants with the sudden, senseless violence of artillery skirmishes, O'Shea reveals how civil conflict fractures communities, turning idyllic mountain valleys into battlefields while opportunistic bystanders play at war from safe border towns.

Why Read It Today

Romantic Spain (Vol. II) offers a remarkably vivid, human-centered window into a forgotten chapter of European history. Readers who enjoy classic travel writing, historical journalism, and sharp social commentary will find O'Shea an irresistible companion. His prose possesses a muscular, rhythmic warmth that brings every marketplace, military post, and mountain pass into sharp focus.

The reader must navigate some nineteenth-century baggage—including period attitudes toward race, ethnic stereotypes, and occasional literary references that reflect the assumptions of his era. Modern readers may also find the dense political context of the Carlist Wars somewhat obscure at first glance. Yet these friction points are far outweighed by O'Shea's sheer observational talent, self-deprecating humor, and genuine empathy for the everyday people caught in the crossfire of history. It remains a striking, highly readable record of a land torn between its past and its future.