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Maria Pia de Borbón y de Madan

1888 – 1969

9 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 1888

    Born

  2. 1908–1918

    3 children are born

  3. 1969

    Dies

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partners

Children · 3

During her lifetime

She lived through 9 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1880s · Maria is born

In the news1853–1882

1853: Mass emigration to Latin America starts

From 1853 to 1882, 325,000 Galicians emigrated, marking a period of intense, large-scale migration to Latin American countries like Cuba and Brazil.

Getting around

Long hours for stagecoach travel

A journey by stagecoach between Manzanares and Granada took 30 hours, while a mule-drawn diligence trip from Granada to Jaen lasted nine hours.

At the table

Dietary differences among social classes

While the wealthy ate fine dishes like partridge or sea bream in new modern restaurants, humble households commonly consumed fasting potage, pickled sardines, cod, and potatoes. Poor families often ate very little meat, reserving it for special occasions, while bread and wine remained central to their diet.

The “Russian flu”. A flu pandemic travelled the world by rail and steamship in a few months, killing about a million people.Around the world · 1889–1890

The “Russian flu”. A flu pandemic travelled the world by rail and steamship in a few months, killing about a million people.

Unknown · CC BY 4.0

What people wore

Dancing fashion and skirt lengths

Women's festive dancing attire often included long tails, though young unmarried women were expected to wear shorter, ground-length skirts.

Music

Musical experts in social settings

In small social gatherings, those who could play string instruments like the violin, guitar, bandurria, or lute were considered the musical experts of the group.

Daily life

Irregular school attendance due to child labor

Schooling was mandatory for children aged 6 to 9, yet attendance was often irregular as children were frequently pulled out of class to work, perform household chores, or care for younger siblings. Some families struggled to pay for necessities, leading to chronic absenteeism despite legal requirements.