Cadiz, Spain

Cadiz, Spain is mentioned several times throughout the novel North and South as the place where Margaret’s brother, Frederick, lives. This is included in the story because Frederick was never to step foot in England again for speaking against his superiors in the England Navy while he was at sea. Therefore, he chose to reside in Southern America and then finally to Spain for his safety, for if he returned to England it was said he may be hanged. In Spain, Frederick converted to a different religion, from Christian to Roman Catholic, and found the woman which he was to marry, Dolores. In the novel, lawyer Henry Lennox attempts to help Frederick move away from Spain to reunite him with his family in England by finding reliable witnesses to attest for his innocence when he went against the English Navy, but all their efforts did not work. By the end of the novel Frederick married Dolores and, since he was unable to return safely to England even with the help of Henry Lennox, he settled with his wife in Cadiz.

In the late 1700s Spain declared war against Britain, and in 1804 Spain became an ally of France making them both enemies of Britain. However, in 1805 Spanish and French ships were ordered out of Cadiz to fight Britain in which the British won. In contrast, Spain and Britain signed agreements about slavery and updated them a couple of times in the early-mid 1800s. Basically, throughout the 18th and 19th centuries Britain and Spain had many interactions with each other, both as allies and as enemies. Therefore, one would imagine that the British most likely had mixed feelings about those from Spain in the 1840s-1850s.

 In 1851, Spain declared its state religion to be Catholicism and religious freedom was not allowed to be practiced. In contrast, the religion of the Church of England at this time was Christianity, in which other religions were also not to be practiced. Mr. Hale was a priest at the Church of England, so his family was raised in Christianity. However, Margaret says that Frederick had been away from England for six or seven years and Frederick reveals to her that he is now a Roman Catholic. Therefore knowing the history of religions for these countries in that time, it makes sense, especially while Frederick was in Spain and planned to remain in Spain, that he decided to convert from Christianity to Roman Catholicism and why Mr. Hale and Margaret were so disappointed in Frederick’s new religion. These countries each practiced different religions and did not like or allow for others to be practiced. Additionally, since Dolores is native to Spain and her religion is also Roman Catholicism, and Frederick was to marry her, it makes sense that Frederick would convert religions.

Photos:

 https://awayandfar.com/15-best-things-to-do-in-cadiz-spain/ 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A1diz

Textual information: 

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/story-of-england/victorian/religion/ 

http://countrystudies.us/spain/44.htm

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/spain-declares-war-against-great-britain

http://www.fsmitha.com/time/ce19-1.htm