A leading Spanish historian has said the well-known slaveholding families of Catalonia represent only “the tip of the iceberg,” arguing that far more individuals, businesses and institutions in the region profited from the transatlantic slave trade than has traditionally been acknowledged.
The remarks come amid growing calls for Spain to confront its colonial past and the enduring legacy of slavery. In an interview with EL PAÍS, historian Martín Rodrigo Alharilla, a professor at Pompeu Fabra University and one of Spain’s foremost experts on slavery and colonial history, said his research has uncovered extensive evidence showing how fortunes were built in Catalonia during the 18th and 19th centuries through the trafficking and exploitation of enslaved Africans.
Rodrigo Alharilla has spent years documenting the links between Barcelona’s urban landscape and the slave trade. During a walking tour of the city, he identified numerous buildings, monuments and commercial properties once owned by slave traders or financed with wealth generated through slavery. According to the historian, these physical landmarks reveal how deeply the trade influenced Catalonia’s economic development.
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His research project, España Esclavista (Slaveholding Spain), has so far identified more than 220 locations connected to Spain’s slave-trading past. The initiative maps buildings, businesses and institutions linked to merchants, shipowners and investors who profited from the forced labour of thousands of Africans transported across the Atlantic. Rodrigo Alharilla argues that famous slaveholding dynasties, including the families of the Marquis of Comillas, Joan Güell, Vidal-Quadras and Miquel Biada, are only the most visible examples of a much larger economic system.
“The best-known slaveholding families in Catalonia are only the tip of the iceberg,” he said, stressing that slavery was not the work of a handful of individuals but a broad economic structure that generated enormous wealth for many sectors of Spanish society. The historian said his objective is not to single out descendants of those families but to encourage a broader understanding of how slavery shaped Spain’s economic development. He believes the country’s prosperity during parts of the nineteenth century cannot be fully understood without recognising the role of colonial exploitation and forced labour.
Rodrigo Alharilla also criticised what he sees as Spain’s limited engagement with its colonial history. He pointed to countries such as the Netherlands and France, where governments have formally acknowledged or apologised for their involvement in slavery, and called for Spain to undertake similar efforts through education, public recognition and support for further historical research. Among the measures he advocates are incorporating the history of slavery into school curricula, funding academic research and museum exhibitions, supporting public debate and considering symbolic reparative actions by institutions that historically benefited from the slave trade. He also said discussions about slavery remain relevant today because of their connection to contemporary issues such as racism, inequality and social exclusion.
The interview follows a United Nations resolution adopted earlier this year describing the transatlantic slave trade and the enslavement of Africans as one of history’s gravest crimes against humanity. Rodrigo Alharilla suggested the resolution adds momentum to international efforts to reassess the legacy of slavery and encourages countries with colonial histories to engage more openly with their past.
