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Josep Moragues i Mas ([ʒuˈzeb muˈɾaɣəs]) (Sant Hilari Sacalm, 1669 - Barcelona, 1715) was a Catalan general during the War of the Spanish Succession. He fought on the Archduke Charles side.
After Barcelona was defeated on September 11, 1714, he tried to sail to Majorca in order to continue the resistance against Philippist invasion, but he was betrayed and imprisoned. He was tortured and finally executed on March 27, 1715. His corpse was butchered, the head placed inside a cage which was hanged in the streets for 12 years. This was intended as a warning for those who might rebel against the new King's power.
His life has been immortalised in a new book by Alex Barnils, entitled 'General Moragues, el diable de les Guilleries' (In Catalan), which was launched on Wednesday 26 March 2014, the 299th anniversary of the eve of his execution.
Later political significance
Catalanists regard him as a national hero, a martyr for Catalonia. As with Rafael Casanova, there are several homages and floral offerings around monuments dedicated to him during commemorations of September 11, which was instituted by Catalanists in the 19th century as the National Day of Catalonia in remembrance of the battle fought and lost by Moragues amongst others.
