Principality of Catalonia
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- This article is about the historic territory. See also Catalonia (for the present-day autonomous community) and Northern Catalonia.
The historic territory of Catalonia corresponds to the present-day Autonomous Community of Catalonia (also named Southern or Spanish Catalonia with respect to French or Northern one), plus other territories including Northern Catalonia (Catalan: Catalunya Nord), part of France since the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees, and the small Franja de Ponent or Western Strip, which is also disputedly considered part of the historic territory of Aragon because of several Aragon-Catalonia border changes throughout history.
The term Catalonia is usually now used to mean the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, a Spanish autonomous community with limited political sovereignty.
Catalan nationalists view Catalonia as a stateless nation. In September 2005, the Catalan Parliament approved (with the support of 120 deputies to 15) the definition of Catalonia as a nation in the text of the new Catalan Statute (autonomous basic law). This issue is currently in discussion in the Spanish Cortes or Parliament.
History of Catalonia
Main article: History of Catalonia
Development of Catalonia as part of the The territory that is now Catalonia was colonized by Ancient Greeks and Carthaginians. Like the rest of the Iberian Peninsula, it participated in the pre-Roman Iberian culture and was part of the Roman Empire, followed by Visigothic rule. In the eighth century it was part of Moorish (Muslim-ruled) al-Andalus, but the northern part of it was conquered within a century by the expanding Carolingian Empire.
Identifiably Catalan culture begins in the Middle Ages under the rule of the Counts of Barcelona. As part of the Crown of Aragon, Catalonia became a great maritime power, expanding by trade and conquest into Valencia, the Balearic Islands, and even Sardinia, Sicily and as far as Greece.
Catalan constitutions (1283)
Signs of this power are the Catalan constitutions and the Parliament of Catalunya. The first Catalan constitutions are of the ones from the Corts of Barcelona from 1283. The last ones were promulgated by the court of 1702. The compilations of the constitutions and other rights of Catalonia followed the Roman tradition of the Codex. The Parliament of Catalonia, dating from the 11th century, may have been the first parliament in continental Europe, though it is predated by the parliaments of the Isle of Man and Iceland.
Catalonia after the Middle Ages
The marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon (1469) joined the so called Catholic Crowns; in 1492, the last of al-Andalus was conquered and the Spanish conquest of the Americas began. Political power began to shift away towards Castile.Catalonia continued to retain part of its own laws, but these gradually eroded (albeit with occasional periods of recovery). Over the next few centuries, it was generally on the losing side of a series of wars that led steadily to more centralization of power in Castille.
In 1659, after the Treaty of the Pyrenees the comarques (districts) of Rosselló, Conflent, Vallespir and the northern half of Cerdanya were ceded to France. In recent times, this area has come to be known, especially by Catalan nationalists, as Northern Catalonia. Catalonian institutions were suppressed and public use of Catalan language was prohibited. Currently, this region is administratively part of French Départment of Pyrénées-Orientales.
At the end of the War of the Spanish Succession (between Bourbons and the Allies), the duc d'Anjou, now Philip V, through the Decretos de Nueva Planta (New Regime Decrees), abolished the Crown of Aragon and all remaining Catalonian institutions, prohibiting the public use of Catalan language after their support to his opponent, the Archduke Charles of Austria.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Spanish Catalonia benefited from the beginning of open commerce to America and protectionist policies enacted by the Spanish government, becoming a center of Spain's industrialization; to this day it remains one of the most industrialized parts of Spain, along with Madrid and the Basque Country. On several occasions during the first third of the 20th century, Spanish Catalonia gained and lost varying degrees of autonomy, but as in most regions of Spain, Catalan autonomy and culture were crushed to an unprecedented degree after the defeat of the Second Spanish Republic (founded 1931) in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) brought Francisco Franco to power. Public use of the Catalan language was again banned after a brief period of general recuperation.
Catalonia under Spanish jurisdiction recovered political and cultural autonomy following Franco's death in 1975. It became one of the Autonomous Communities of Spain. In comparison, Northern Catalonia has still a much more limited degree of autonomy.
The Principality
The Principality of Catalonia (Catalan: el Principat de Catalunya), or simply the Principality (Catalan: el Principat), is one of the traditional names of Catalonia.
The origin of this name has been argued to come from the union of the Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV with Princess Petronila, daughter of Ramiro II, King of Aragon. The agreement of the wedding was done in 1137, but because she was only two years old, this was postponed. The marriage was finally celebrated in 1151, and Ramon Berenguer became prince consort and from this, the denomination of Principality later extended to Catalonia. We must take into account that Catalonia was not a county, but several counties, where the County of Barcelona only comprised part of that territory.
The oldest formal reference dates back to 1350, during the Corts in Perpinyà presided by the king Peter IV of Aragon. However, there seems to be an older reference, in a more informal context, in Ramon Muntaner's chronicles.
The Principality denomination was even used during Bourbonic administration, after the Decretos de Nueva Planta, until the 19th century. Afterwards, Republican movements favoured its abandonment because it is historically somehow related to monarchy. Current Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, or Spanish Constitution, do not mention this denomination, but it is presently quite popular, especially among Catalan nationalists and independentists.
Language
Main article: Catalan language
Catalonia constitutes the original nucleus where Catalan is spoken. Catalan is regarded by most linguists as being an Ibero-Romance language (the group that includes Spanish), but it has many features of Gallo-Romance languages such as French.
Catalan is one of the two official languages of Autonomous Community of Catalonia, as laid down in the Catalan Statute of Autonomy; the other is Spanish. However, Catalan is not an official language neither in Northern Catalonia nor in La Franja.
Occitan, in its Aranese variety, is official and subject to special protection in the Val d'Aran (Aran Valley), which is notable, as this small region of 7,000 is the only place where Occitan (spoken mainly in France and some Italian valleys) has full official recognition.
Culture
See also
- Catalan constitutions, from 1283
- Catalan Countries
- Cuisine of Catalonia
- Famous Catalan People
- Catalan nationalism
- Generalitat de Catalunya
External links
- [Catalonia in Hiperenciclopedia]
- () [Prince and Principality]. Discussion about the denomination of Principality for Catalonia
[[zh-min-nan:Catalunya]]
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