Pamplona, the capital of Navarre, has been my primary research site since 2009. An independent kingdom until it was conquered by Castile between 1512 and 1521, Navarre’s civil, royal, and church archives are some of the most complete in Spain. The physical city also speaks to its long history, and its strategic location between Spain, France, and the rest of Europe. Medieval castle walls lurk beneath the main plaza, cannon balls from the War of the Burgs in the 13th century rest now in alleyways underneath hanging laundry, an intersection marks the site where St. Ignatius received his injuries, and bullets from the Napoleonic and Carlist wars still speckle the sides of homes in the Old City. Fortifications which were considered state of the art in the 16th-19th centuries became obsolete with the advent of aerial warfare, and in 1964, the military donated the garrisons to the City of Pamplona. Today, they are open as a public park.
