Antoni Roca-Rosell

Narcís Monturiol (1819–1885) played an essential role in the history of submarine navigation. He was a person of strong convictions and fought for democracy at a time of changes and political convulsions in the Spanish society. Utopian republican and socialist, he spread the Communist ideas of Étienne Cabet in Catalonia, organizing the Cabetians around the weekly, La Fraternidad (1847–1848). He also became the leader of the Icarian community in Barcelona. Frequently persecuted because of his political beliefs, he was often forced to seek refuge in Cadaqués, and it was there that he conceived his project of a submarine vessel, the Ictineu. Although treated with mistrust by the authorities, he was able to secure sufficient financial and technical support to carry out the project. Together with a team of technicians, he constructed the first Ictineu, which was launched in the waters of Barcelona in 1859, Subsequent improvements led to a second Ictineu, launched in 1864 and fitted in 18...

Al llarg del segle xx, la ciència ha condiciionat -i s'ha vist condicionada- pels grans esdeveniments socials, i molt especialment per les dues guerres mundials i la Guerra Freda. La recepció dels grans avenços científics i tecnològics ha canviat la vida quotidiana de la immensa majoria de les persones. Tot i així, aquest impacte innegable no ha portat a una implicació social amb la ciència, sinó a una mena de banalització equívoca. La ciència duta a terme als Països Catalans ha estat profundament marcada per les circumstàncies polítiques anteriors i posteriors a la Guerra Civil espanyola i, amb l'excepció del temps de la Mancomunitat, no s'ha normalitzat en tots els sentits fins el darrer quart de segle.