Centre of Acclimatisation: Francesc Darder and the Barcelona Zoo circa 1900

Francesc Darder (1851–1918) wanted to turn the Barcelona Zoo, founded in 1892, into an institution dedicated to the acclimatisation of useful animals. Backed by the City Council, Darder launched several institutions and initiatives both inside and outside the zoo: animal auctions, poultry breeding, exhibitions, a zootechnical museum, and fish farming. With the help of modern technologies, the economic benefits of both “exotic” and domestic animals and their products were to be maximised. This policy was, implicitly, also meant to stabilize the Catalan economy after the loss of the last Spanish colonies in 1898 and to mitigate the strong social tensions in Barcelona at the time. This case study shows that the acclimatisation movement in Europe lasted well beyond its alleged demise around 1870 and that its connection with zoos could take on very specific forms, shaped by the social and political conditions of its urban contexts.