The Portuguese poet, humanist, and writer Francisco Botelho de Morais e Vasconcelos (1670-1747) must have thought it wiser to hide his support for the Austrian cause during the War of the Spanish Succession. To conceal any evidence, he removed about 200 octaves, about twenty pages of sensitive political and biographical information from the epic poem. The New World (1701), which features Christopher Columbus.

In 1888, during the World Expo, the people of Barcelona had to look up. On the one hand, the monument to Columbus was built, a project by the architect Gaietà Buïgas y Monravà, and, on the other, a hot air balloon was tethered to the Parc de la Ciutadella, which allowed one of the first aerial photographs of the city to be taken. What most impressed those who strolled through the Portal de la Pau about Columbus was the scaffolding, and the press made fun of it: "Finally, Columbus has reached the top of his pedestal. But, as they have not yet removed the scaffolding, it does not give the impression wanted. A stranger exclaims at the sight of him: "Poor Mr. Christopher, they have him in a cage!"', L'Esquetlla de la Torratxa wrote. The photographer Antoni Esplugas dedicated photographic series to the two attractions, with dozens of images. Esplugas' view of this Barcelona in full urban, social and political transformation is intertwined with that of other photographers of the second half of the 19th century in the exhibition La ciutat davant la càmera. Imaginaris urbans al segle XIX, which can be seen at the Barcelona's Photographic Archive (AFB) until October 23. In 1888 the increase in the number of photographs taken of the city was brutal and left testimonies of some ephemeral buildings, such as the spectacular Hotel Internacional, which can be seen at the AFB

Historical events are always complex, and the context of the time and its cultural values must be taken into account in order to understand them from today's perspective. Even so, there are values and contexts that have no justification today and, therefore, are a stain on the countries that were the protagonists of events that today may seem reprehensible to us. No one can now accept, for example, slavery or the Inquisition. The same happens with the colonising processes of the 19th century, which in part continue to affect some continents, especially Africa, and, of course, with the "conquest" or colonisation of America by the Spanish Empire – and others. These in large part meant the extinction and deculturation of the original populations, either by systematic and violent persecution, or the diseases they brought, which killed millions of people.