My grandfather was a freemason back when it was a useful place to do networking, I know they would have meals and had some kind of special handshake. I never really knew much about it as my father never wanted to join (why, I am not sure, but it may have been for religious reasons) despite being offered the necessary recommendations by friends and acquaintances that were members. I did visit the Freemasons' Hall in London which is where the United Grand Lodge is, but much of what is presented feels like something from a different age with little relevance now.MoneyJungle wrote: ↑Wed Mar 31, 2021 7:43 amI am not too far away from a Masonic cemetery I was thinking of walking around. Once I get thru the book I’m starting a thread. These people must be stopped and only this forum can do it.
In Spain there are not many Masons left but there are plenty of old masonic buildings abandoned and used for other things. There is a famous restaurant in Barcelona called Set portes that is very expensive and was the preserve of aristocracy and film stars in the past (and have one of the best paellas in Barcelona) - that has a chequered floor that is a tell-tale sign of masonic connections.
In the 19th century they had a big following in Spain - and indeed prominent masons were influential in the Latin American independence movement - largely among consitutional liberals who had supported the Cadiz constitution in 1812 who by the end of the century when consitutional monarchy was more firmly embedded (after the 1823 invasion by France and the Carlist wars) rotated power in a system of rigged elections called pucherismo. The civil war in 1936 ended much of masonry however as both sides were hostile to the Freemasons as the liberals got sidelined in the Republican side and Franco considered it part of a conspiracy against Spain closely connected to the old enemies of England and protestantism that he saw as having brought down the old Spanish empire.
Freemasonry therefore in many Spanish speaking countries has a slightly rebellious, anti-clerical, anti-Catholic tinge to it, which is interesting because it Britain it is considered a highly conservative organisation patronised by royalty and aristocracy that is the preserve of vicars, lawyers, policemen, judges, doctors and other respectable members of society that now has lost lots of its social relevancy but used to be part of the fabric of middle class society.