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83-537: Antoni Pellicer i Paraire (1851–1916) was a Catalan writer, typographer and anarchist activist. Antoni Pellicer was born on 23 February 1851 in Barcelona , the son of shoemaker Ramon Pellicer i Padrol, from Reus ; and his wife, Antònia Peraire i Balart, from Balaguer . Having apprenticed as a typesetter, he worked as a printer throughout his life. Through the trade, which tended towards anti-industrialism and independence, Pellicer learned about anarchist thought , such as
166-511: A CDC councillor in Perpignan , has said that his party favoured closer trade and transport relationships with Catalonia, and that he believed Catalan independence would improve the prospects of that happening, but that secession from France was "not on the agenda". When Catalans took to the streets in 2016 under the banner of " Oui au Pays catalan " ("Yes to the Catalan Country") to protest
249-643: A Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia , who speak Catalan . The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia , a nationality and autonomous community in Spain and the inhabitants of the Roussillon historical region in southern France, today the Pyrénées Orientales department, also called Northern Catalonia and Pays Catalan in French. Some authors also extend
332-624: A pan-nationalist project to unite the Catalan-speaking territories of Spain and France, often in the context of the independence movement in Catalonia , but it is also simply a project for cultural unity, so that the linguistic area can have barriers to communication and interchange removed. The marginal political project of independence under Catalonia does not currently enjoy wide support, particularly outside Catalonia, where some sectors view it as an expression of pancatalanism. Linguistic unity
415-709: A "federation" between the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. They are to campaign for an amendment to article 145 of the Spanish constitution , which forbids federation of autonomous communities. The territories concerned may also include Roussillon and La Franja . Many in Spain see the concept of the Països Catalans as regional exceptionalism, counterpoised to a centralizing Spanish and French national identity . Others see it as an attempt by
498-525: A Catalan identity was increasingly suppressed in favor of a Spanish national identity. The Catalans regained autonomy during the Spanish Second Republic from 1932 until Francisco Franco 's nationalist forces occupied Catalonia by 1939. It was not until 1975 and the death of Franco that the Catalans as well as other Spaniards began to regain their right to cultural expression, which was restarted by
581-553: A Catalonia-proper-centered nationalism to lay a hegemonic claim to Valencia, the Balearic Islands or Roussillon, where the prevailing feeling is that they have their own respective historical personalities, not necessarily related to Catalonia's. The Catalan author and journalist Valentí Puig described the term as "inconvenient", saying it has generated more reactions against it than adhesions. The concept has connotations that have been perceived as problematic and controversial when establishing relations between Catalonia and other areas of
664-476: A World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Because of their intertwining history, many of the traditional symbols of Catalonia coincide with Aragon, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. The oldest known Catalan symbol is the coat of arms of the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona, or bars of Aragon , one of Europe's oldest heraldic emblems; in modern times, Catalan nationalists have made it the main symbol of Catalan identity and it
747-510: A book. Historical memory is the second axis of celebrations in Catalonia, where the Catalan people reunite with their date of birth as a people. Among the religious celebrations, there are St. George's Day and the celebrations of Saint Vincent Martyr and Saint Anthony Abbot . The maximum expressions of this element are the Easter processions and performances of Passion Plays . Some festivals have
830-719: A complicated relationship with religion, such as Carnival and the Dances of Death , or specific aspects of Christmas such as the Tió de Nadal or the caganer in Nativity scenes . Other key elements of a Catalan celebration are: food, central to every party and especially to the pig slaughter and harvest festivals; contests such as the castells (human towers), choice of major and festive floats; music, songs and bands; processions; dances; and animals, especially bulls and representations of mythological creatures. The Patum of Berga has been declared
913-842: A divisive issue during the Spanish Transition period, most acrimoniously in Valencia during the 1980s. Modern linguistic and cultural projects include the Institut Ramon Llull and the Fundació Ramon Llull , which are run by the governments of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Andorra, the Department Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales, the city council of Alghero and the Network of Valencian Cities. Politically, it involves
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#1733092446042996-555: A fundamentally linguistic construct. In many parts of the territories designated by some as Països Catalans , Catalan nationalist sentiment is uncommon. For example, in the Valencian Community 's case, the Esquerra Republicana del País Valencià (ERPV) is the most relevant party explicitly supportive of the idea but its representation is limited to a total of four local councilors elected in three municipalities (out of
1079-540: A language of the department. In 2009, the Catalan language was declared llengua pròpia (with the Aragonese language ) of Aragon . There are several endeavors and collaborations amongst some of the diverse government and cultural institutions involved. One such case is the Ramon Llull Institute (IRL), founded in 2002 by the government of the Balearic Islands and the government of Catalonia . Its main objective
1162-692: A linguistic term, Països Catalans is used in a similar fashion to the English Anglosphere , the French Francophonie , the Portuguese Lusofonia or the Spanish Hispanophone territories. However, it is not universally accepted, even as a linguistic concept, in the territories it purports to unite. As a political term, it refers to a number of political projects as advocated by supporters of Catalan independence . These, based on
1245-434: A local term seny meaning "common sense" or a pragmatic attitude toward life. The counterpart of Catalan "seny" is "rauxa" or madness, epitomized by "crazy", eccentric and creative Catalan artists like Antoni Gaudí , Salvador Dalí , Joan Miró or Antoni Tàpies . The masia or mas is a defining characteristic of the Catalan countryside and includes a large house, land, cattle, and an extended family, but this tradition
1328-499: A majority of the population in this region considered Valencian to be a different language to Catalan. This position is especially supported by people who do not use Valencian regularly. Furthermore, the data indicate that younger people educated in Valencian are much less likely to hold these views. According to an official poll in 2014, 52% of Valencians considered Valencian to be a language different from Catalan, while 41% considered
1411-529: A national-political unity, as in the case of the Bloc Nacionalista Valencià. The Valencian Nationalist Bloc ( Valencian : Bloc Nacionalista Valencià, Bloc or BNV ; IPA: [ˈblɔɡ nasionaˈlista valensiˈa] ) is the largest Valencian nationalist party in the Valencian Country , Spain. The Bloc's main aim is, as stated in their guidelines, "to achieve full national sovereignty for
1494-518: A number of linguistic varieties that are considered dialects of Catalan , among them, the dialect group with the most speakers, Central Catalan . The total number of Catalan speakers is over 9.8 million (2011), with 5.9 million residing in Catalonia. More than half of them speak Catalan as a second language, with native speakers being about 4.4 million of those (more than 2.8 in Catalonia). Very few Catalan monoglots exist; basically, virtually all of
1577-482: A perspective on anarchism that rejected any qualifying labels and respected a diversity of economic theories. This was developed into the theory of anarchism without adjectives by Anselmo Lorenzo . In 1891, he emigrated to Buenos Aires , where he directed a professional magazine entitled Éxito Gráfico and was president of the Argentine Institute of Graphic Arts. In Argentina , he played an important role in
1660-503: A prior declaration by the Catalan regional Parliament which included reference to the term in question. In the declaration of the Balearic islands parliament, it was stated that the so-called " Països Catalans do not exist and the Balearic islands do not take part in any 'Catalan country' whatsoever". In August 2018, the ex-mayor of Alghero , Carlo Sechi, defined algherese identity as part of
1743-403: A total of 5,622 local councilors elected in the 542 Valencian municipalities). At the regional level, it has run twice ( 2003 and 2007 ) to the regional Parliament election, receiving less than 0.50% of the total votes. In all, its role in Valencian politics is currently marginal. There are other parties which sporadically use this term in its cultural or linguistical sense, not prioritizing
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#17330924460421826-588: Is among the most industrialized metropolises. A regional capital, it is a magnet for domestic and foreign migrants. Fire is the element used in most important traditional festivals, which are derived from pagan roots. These celebrations have a high acceptance of fire between the Catalans, like the Flame of Canigó to the Bonfires of Saint John . An important and well-known celebration is La Diada de Sant Jordi , held on 23 April, in which men give women roses, and women give men
1909-561: Is around 10% of the total votes. Reversely, the Popular Party –which is a staunch opponent of whatever political implications for the Països Catalans concept– is the majority party in Valencia and the Balearic islands. Even though the topic has been largely absent from the political agenda as of late, in December 2013 the regional Parliament of the Balearic islands passed an official declaration in defence of its autonomy and in response to
1992-745: Is even associated with the Catalan language. As for anthems, "The Reapers" ( Els Segadors ) is the official national anthem of Catalonia and is also used in the other lands of the Principality; the Balanguera represents the people from the Balearic Islands and, in the case of Valencia, the official "Anthem of the Exhibition" ( Himne de l'Exposició ) alongside Muixeranga as symbols of the country. Catalan Countries The Catalan Countries ( Catalan : Països Catalans , Eastern Catalan: [pəˈizus kətəˈlans] ) are those territories where
2075-506: Is in decline as the nuclear family has largely replaced the extended family, as in the rest of western Europe. Catalonia in Spain is officially recognised as a " nationality " and enjoy a high degree of political autonomy, which has led to reinforcement of a Catalan identity. The Catalan language is a Romance language . It is the language closest to Occitan , and it also shares many features with other Romance languages such as Spanish, French, Portuguese, Aragonese , and Italian . There are
2158-469: Is often used as a sociolinguistic term to describe the cultural-linguistic area where Catalan is spoken. In the context of Catalan nationalism , the term is sometimes used in a more restricted way to refer to just Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. The Catalan Countries do not correspond to any present or past political or administrative unit, though most of the area belonged to the Crown of Aragon in
2241-455: Is part of the Mediterranean diet and includes the use of olive oil . Catalan people like to eat veal ( vedella ) and lamb ( xai ). There are three main daily meals: In Catalan gastronomy, embotits (a wide variety of Catalan sausages and cold meats) are very important; these are pork sausages such as botifarra or fuet . In the past, bread figured heavily in the Catalan diet; now it
2324-545: Is sometimes called ollada . Other Catalan dishes include calçots (a type of onions that are similar in shape to leeks , often grilled and eaten with a romesco sauce ) and escalivada . Catalan music has one of the oldest documented musical traditions in Europe. The traditional religion in Catalonia is Roman Catholicism . However, in the course of recent history , Catalonia has undergone several waves of secularization. The first wave of secularization happened during
2407-492: Is to promote the Catalan language and culture abroad in all its variants , as well as the works of writers, artists, scientists and researchers of the regions which are part of it. The Xarxa Vives d'Universitats (Vives Network of Universities), an association of universities of Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Northern Catalonia and Andorra founded in 1994, was incorporated into the IRL in 2008. Also in 2008, in order to extend
2490-445: Is used mainly in the morning (second breakfast, especially among young students and some workers) and supplements the noon meal, at home and in restaurants. Bread is still popular among Catalans; some Catalan fast-food restaurants don't serve hamburgers, but offer a wide variety of sandwiches. In the past, the poor ate soup every day and rice on Thursday and Sunday. The discipline of abstinence, not eating meat during Lent , once
2573-412: Is widely recognized, except for the followers of a political movement known as Blaverism , which understands Valencian as a different language. Països Catalans has different meanings depending on the context. These can be roughly classified in two groups: linguistic or political, the political definition of the concept being the widest, since it also encompasses the linguistic side of it. As
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2656-425: The barretina (a sort of woollen, long cap usually red or purple) and the faixa (a sort of wide belt) among men, and ret (a fine net bag to contain hair) among women. The traditional footwear was the espardenya or espadrille . Other items of clothing typical of Catalan female folk costume include the 'pubilla' dress; the 'catalana' also known as the 'payesa' and the 'gandalla' as headwear. The Catalan diet
2739-492: The .cat TLD, the first Internet language-based top-level domain, was approved for all web pages intending to serve the needs of the Catalan linguistic and cultural community on the Internet. This community is made up of those who use the Catalan language for their online communication or promote the different aspects of Catalan culture online. The traditional dress (now practically only used in folkloric celebrations) included
2822-704: The 2017 French legislative election , said that's its aim is a "territorial collectivity" within the French Republic on the same lines as Corsica . Every year, though, there are between 300 and 600 people in a demonstration to commemorate the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees , that separated Northern Catalonia from the South. The term Països Catalans was first documented in 1876 in Historia del Derecho en Cataluña, Mallorca y Valencia. Código de las Costumbres de Tortosa, I (History of
2905-464: The Catalan culture whilst politically defining Alghero as part of the Sardinian nation. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 contains a clause forbidding the formation of federations amongst autonomous communities . Therefore, if it were the case that the Països Catalans idea gained a majority democratic support in future elections, a constitutional amendment would still be needed for those parts of
2988-685: The Catalan language is spoken. They include the Spanish regions of Catalonia , the Balearic Islands , Valencian Community , and parts of Aragon ( La Franja ) and Murcia ( Carche ), as well as the Principality of Andorra , the department of Pyrénées-Orientales (aka Northern Catalonia , including Cerdagne , Roussillon , and Vallespir ) in France, and the city of Alghero in Sardinia (Italy). It
3071-545: The Països Catalans lying in Spain to create a common legal representative body, even though in the addenda to the Constitution there is a clause allowing an exception to this rule in the case of Navarre , which can join the Basque Country should the people choose to do so. Catalans in the French territory of Northern Catalonia , although proud of their language and culture, are not committed to independence. Jordi Vera,
3154-491: The Spanish Constitution of 1978 . Since this period, a balance between a sense of Catalan national identity versus the broader Spanish one has emerged as the dominant political force in Catalonia. The former tends to advocate for even greater autonomy, national recognition and, part of it, independence; the latter tends to argue for maintaining either a status quo or removal of autonomy and cultural identity, depending on
3237-510: The Valencian people , and make it legally declared by a Valencian sovereign Constitution allowing the possibility of association with the countries which share the same language, history and culture". Since 2011, they are part of the Coalició Compromís coalition, which won six seats in the 2011 Valencian regional elections and 19 in the 2015 elections , becoming the third largest party in
3320-409: The regional parliament . Some of the most vocal defenders or promoters of the "Catalan Countries" concept (such as Joan Fuster , Josep Guia or Vicent Partal ) were Valencian. The subject became very controversial during the politically agitated Spanish Transition in what was to become the Valencian Community, especially in and around the city of Valencia . In the late 1970s and early 1980s, as
3403-411: The 1980s. During the 1990s most of the population of Catalonia was non-practising Catholic. Nowadays 52.4% of Catalans declare themselves Catholic, practising or not, 30.2% of Catalans are agnostic or atheist , and there is also a considerable share of other religions, often connected to recent immigration: 7.3% Muslim , 2.5% Evangelical , 1.3% Buddhism , and 1.2% Orthodox Christians . According to
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3486-688: The Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community—with the denomination of Valencian in the latter—and co-official with Italian in the city of Alghero. It is also part of the recognized minority languages of Italy along with Sardinian , also spoken in Alghero. It is not official in Aragon, Murcia or the Pyrénées-Orientales, even though on 10 December 2007 the General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales officially recognized Catalan, along with French, as
3569-591: The Balearic islands (collectively the "Llull Federation"), advocate independence as well as the promotion of Catalan language and culture. The political projects that centre on the Catalan Countries have been described as a "hypothetical and future union" of the various territories. In many cases it involves the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearics. The 2016 electoral programme of Valencian parties Compromís and Podemos spoke of
3652-466: The Catalan linguistic domain. It has been characterised as a "phantom reality" and an "unreal and fanciful space". The pro-Catalan independence author Germà Bel called it an "inappropriate and unfortunate expression lacking any historic, political or social basis", while Xosé Manoel Núñez Seixas spoke of the difficulties in uniting a historicist concept linked to common membership of the Crown of Aragon with
3735-400: The Catalan speakers in Spain are bilingual speakers of Catalan and Spanish, with a sizable population of Spanish-only speakers of immigrant origin (typically born outside Catalonia or with both parents born outside Catalonia) existing in the major Catalan urban areas as well. In Roussillon , only a minority of French Catalans speak Catalan nowadays, with French being the majority language for
3818-503: The Crown, as well as urban and feudal internal conflicts led to the Catalan Civil War in 1462. In the last quarter of the 15th century, the marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon led to the dynastic union of the Crown of Aragon with the Crown of Castille , in which each of the constitutive realm kept its own laws, policies, power structures, borders and monetary systems. Continuous unrest led to conflicts on
3901-498: The French government's decision to combine Languedoc-Roussillon , the region which contained Northern Catalonia, with Midi-Pyrénées to create a new region to be called Occitanie , the French magazine Le Point said that the movement was "completely unrelated to the situation on the other side of the border", and that it was "more directed against Toulouse [the chief city of Occitanie ] than against Paris or for Barcelona." Oui au Pays catalan , which stood in
3984-706: The Law in Catalonia, Majorca and Valencia. Code of the Customs of Tortosa, I) written by the Valencian Law historian Benvingut Oliver i Esteller. The term was both challenged and reinforced by the use of the term "Occitan Countries" from the Oficina de Relacions Meridionals (Office of Southern Relations) in Barcelona by 1933. Another proposal which enjoyed some popularity during the Renaixença
4067-507: The Middle Ages. Parts of Valencia (Spanish) and Catalonia ( Occitan ) are not Catalan-speaking. The "Catalan Countries" have been at the centre of both cultural and political projects since the late 19th century. Its mainly cultural dimension became increasingly politically charged by the late 1960s and early 1970s, as Francoism began to die out in Spain, and what had been a cultural term restricted to connoisseurs of Catalan philology became
4150-644: The Network of Valencian Cities (an association of a few Valencian city councils) joined the FRL as well. In December 2012 the government of the Balearic islands, dominated by the conservative and pro-Spain Partido Popular (PP), announced that the representatives of the Balearic islands were withdrawing from the Llull institute. A number of cultural organizations, specifically Òmnium Cultural in Catalonia, Acció Cultural del País Valencià in Valencia, and Obra Cultural Balear in
4233-540: The Spanish Autonomous Communities system took shape, the controversy reached its height. Various Valencian right-wing politicians (originally from Unión de Centro Democrático ) fearing what was seen as an annexation attempt from Catalonia, fueled a violent Anti-Catalanist campaign against local supporters of the concept of the Països Catalans , which even included a handful of unsuccessful attacks with explosives against authors perceived as flagships of
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#17330924460424316-477: The Spanish newspaper ABC reported that the Catalan government of Artur Mas had spent millions of euros to promote Catalanism in Valencia over the previous three years. As for the other territories, there are no political parties even mentioning the Països Catalans as a public issue neither in Andorra, nor in la Franja , Carche or Alghero. In the Balearic islands, support for parties related to Catalan nationalism
4399-743: The Valencians , published in 1962) a new political interpretation of the concept was introduced; from the original, meaning roughly Catalan-speaking territories , Fuster developed a political inference closely associated to Catalan nationalism . This new approach would refer to the Catalan Countries as a more or less unitary nation with a shared culture which had been divided by the course of history, but which should logically be politically reunited. Fuster's preference for Països Catalans gained popularity, and previous unsuccessful proposals such as Comunitat Catalànica ( Catalanic Community ) or Bacàvia (after Balearics-Catalonia-Valencia) diminished in use. Today,
4482-550: The area into the Roman province of Tarraconensis . The German Visigoths established themselves in the fifth century, making their first capital in the Iberian peninsula Barcelona, and they later would move to Toledo. This continued until 718 when Muslim Arabs took control of the region in order to pass through the Pyrenees into French territory. With the help of the Franks, a land border
4565-644: The autonomous community of Catalonia, in the northeast part of Spain. At least 100,000 Catalan speakers live in the Pays Catalan in France. An indeterminate number of Catalans emigrated to the Americas during the Spanish colonial period and to France in the years following the Spanish Civil War . Described by author Walter Starkie in The Road to Santiago as a subtle people, he sums up their national character with
4648-553: The collaboration to institutions from all across the "Catalan Countries", the IRL and the government of Andorra (which formerly had enjoyed occasional collaboration, most notably in the Frankfurt Book Fair of 2007) created the Ramon Llull Foundation (FRL), an international cultural institution with the same goals as the IRL. In 2009, the General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales , the city council of Alghero and
4731-505: The concept, such as Joan Fuster or Manuel Sanchis i Guarner . The concept's revival during this period was behind the formation of the fiercely opposed and staunch anti-Catalan blaverist movement, led by Unió Valenciana , which, in turn, significantly diminished during the 1990s and the 2000s as the Països Catalans controversy slowly disappeared from the Valencian political arena. This confrontation between politicians from Catalonia and Valencia very much diminished in severity during
4814-576: The course of the late 1980s and, especially, the 1990s as the Valencian Community's regional government became consolidated. Since then, the topic has lost most of its controversial potential, even though occasional clashes may appear from time to time, such as controversies regarding the broadcasting of Catalan television in Valencia— and vice versa —or the usage by Catalan official institutions of terms which are perceived in Valencia as Catalan nationalistic, such as Països Catalans or País Valencià ( Valencian Country ). A 2004 poll in Valencia found that
4897-418: The eighteenth century as a result of the enlightenment influence to the bourgeoisie . The second one happened during the nineteenth century, that had a huge impact on the lower and middle class , but was interrupted by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The end of the Francoist regime led to a loss of power by the Catholic Church and to another wave of secularization that extends since
4980-440: The formation of the Union of Typographic Workers. As a writer, he wrote a number workerist theater plays in Catalan language : En lo ball , Celos , Jo vaig , La mort de la proletaria and Sense Esperança . He also co-wrote the play Garibaldi. Historia liberal del siglo XIX and wrote Conferencias populares sobre sociología . From 1886 to 1888, he directed the weekly Acracia . From this publication, Pellicer formulated
5063-520: The foundation of the Typographic Society, but within two years, he had split from the society and established La Solidària . In September 1881, he assisted in the constitution of the Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region (FTRE), of which he was part of the federal commission. In 1882, he attended the Seville Congress of the FTRE as a member of the federal commission, siding with the Catalan collectivist anarchists around his cousin Rafael Farga i Pellicer . The following year, he also participated in
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#17330924460425146-467: The imposition of absolutism and the abolition of Catalan political institutions and public law, thus ending the status of Catalonia as a separate state within a personal union. During the Napoleonic Wars , much of Catalonia was seized by French forces by 1808, as France ruled the entire country of Spain briefly until Napoleon 's surrender to Allied Armies. In France, strong assimilationist policies integrated many Catalans into French society, while in Spain
5229-465: The inhabitants after a continued process of language shift . According to a 2019 survey by the Catalan government, 31.5% of the inhabitants of Catalonia have Catalan as first language at home whereas 52.7% have Spanish, 2.8% both Catalan and Spanish and 10.8% other languages. The inhabitants of the Aran valley count Aranese –an Occitan dialect–rather than Catalan as their own language. These Catalans are also bilingual in Spanish. In September 2005,
5312-401: The kingdoms of Valencia and Majorca (the Balearic Islands ). From the 13th century onwards, the territory of the County of Barcelona and the other Catalan counties progressively began to be identified as a single political entity and, from the mid-14th century, that polity began to be known as the Principality of Catalonia . The crisis of the late Middle Ages , the loss of hegemony within
5395-402: The languages to be the same. This poll showed significant differences regarding age and level of education, with a majority of those aged 18–24 (51%) and those with a higher education (58%) considering Valencian to be the same language as Catalan. This can be compared to those aged 65 and above (29%) and those with only primary education (32%), where the same view has its lowest support. In 2015,
5478-415: The leanings of the current government. As a result, there tends to be much fluctuation depending on regional and national politics during a given election cycle. Given the stronger centralist tendencies in France, however, French Catalans display a much less dynamic sense of uniqueness, having been integrated more consistently into the unitary French national identity. The vast majority of Catalans reside in
5561-430: The linguistic fact, argue for the existence of a common national identity that would surpass the limits of each territory covered by this concept and would apply also to the remaining ones. These movements advocate for "political collaboration" amongst these territories. This often stands for their union and political independence. As a consequence of the opposition these political projects have received –notably in some of
5644-421: The most recent study sponsored by the government of Catalonia , as of 2016, 61.9% of the Catalans identify as Christians , up from 56.5% in 2014. At the same time, 16.0% of the population identify as atheists , 11.9% as agnostics , 4.8% as Muslims , 1.3% as Buddhists , and a further 2.4% as being of other religions. Catalonia is one of the richest and most developed regions in Southern Europe . Barcelona
5727-418: The official language and imparted a distinctly Roman culture upon the local population, which merged with Roman colonists from the Italian peninsula . An early precursor to the Catalan language began to develop from a local form of popular Latin before and during the collapse of the Roman Empire . Various Germanic tribes arrived following nearly six centuries of Roman rule, which had completely transformed
5810-472: The organization of the regional anarcho-syndicalist movement, specifically in the Argentine Regional Workers' Federation (FORA). There he also advocated for Argentine workers ought to reject dogmatism and embrace "anarchism without adjectives". He died in Buenos Aires, in 1916. Catalans Catalans ( Catalan , French and Occitan : catalans ; Spanish : catalanes ; Italian : catalani ; Sardinian : cadelanos or catalanos ) are
5893-403: The other side of the Pyrenees held back the main Muslim raiding army which had penetrated virtually unchallenged as far as central France at the Battle of Tours in 732. Frankish suzerainty was then extended over much of present-day Catalonia. Larger wars with the Muslims began in the March of Barcelona which led to the beginnings of the Reconquista by Catalan forces over most of Catalonia by
5976-722: The philosophy of Mikhail Bakunin . His extended family met Bakunin and became among the first Spanish anarchists , establishing the Spanish Regional Federation of the International Workingmen's Association (FRE-AIT). In 1869, he was appointed secretary of the Barcelona Noògrafs Union. Between 1871 and 1875, he lived in Mexico , Cuba and the United States . Back in Barcelona in 1879, he participated in
6059-633: The rest remained under Spanish Crown. The Catalan government took sides with the Habsburg pretender against the Bourbon one during the War of the Spanish Succession that started in 1705 and ended in 1714. The Catalan failure to defend the continuation of Habsburg rule in Spain culminated in the surrender of Barcelona on 11 September 1714 which came to be commemorated as Catalonia's National Day . The surrender led to
6142-659: The rule of various invading groups starting with the Greeks that founded Empúries and the Phoenicians and Carthaginians , who set up colonies along the coast, including Barcino (present-day Barcelona). Following the Punic Wars , the Romans replaced the Carthaginians as the dominant power in the Iberian eastern coast, including parts of Catalonia, by 206 BCE. Rome established Latin as
6225-670: The states of the Crown of Aragon, such as the Revolt of the Germanies in Valencia and Majorca, and the 1640 revolt in Catalonia known as the Reapers' War . This latter conflict embroiled Spain in a larger war with France as the Catalan institutions allied themselves with Louis XIII . The war continued until 1659 and ended with the Peace of the Pyrenees , which effectively partitioned the Principality of Catalonia as its northern strip came under French rule, while
6308-557: The term is politically charged, and tends to be closely associated with Catalan nationalism and supporters of Catalan independence . The idea of uniting these territories in an independent state is supported by a number of political parties, ERC being the most important in terms of representation (32 members in the Parliament of Catalonia ) and CUP (10 members). ERPV , PSAN (currently integrated in SI ), Estat Català also support this idea to
6391-507: The territories described by this concept – some cultural institutions avoid the usage of Països Catalans in some contexts, as a means to prevent any political interpretation; in these cases, equivalent expressions (such as Catalan-speaking countries ) or others (such as the linguistic domain of Catalan language ) are used instead. Catalan and its variants are spoken in: Catalan is the official language of Andorra, co-official with Spanish and Occitan in Catalonia, co-official with Spanish in
6474-476: The word "Catalans" to include all people from areas in which Catalan is spoken , namely those from Andorra , Valencia , the Balearic Islands , eastern Aragon , Roussillon , and the city of Alghero in Sardinia . The Catalan government regularly surveys its population regarding its "sentiment of belonging". As of July 2019, the results point out that 46.7% of the Catalans and other people living in Catalonia would like independence from Spain, 1.3% less than
6557-584: The year 801. As the border between Muslim and Frankish realms stabilized, Barcelona would become an important center for Christian forces in the Iberian Peninsula . In 1137, the County of Barcelona entered a dynastic union with the Kingdom of Aragon to form what modern historians call the Crown of Aragon in the so-called Reconquista . This allowed the reclamation of Muslim-dominated lands, eventually conquering
6640-500: The year before. In 1500 BCE the area that is now known primarily as Catalonia was, along with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula , inhabited by Proto-Celtic Urnfield people who brought with them the rite of burning the dead. Much of the Pyrenees mountains was inhabited at the time by peoples related to modern Basques , and today many town names in the western Catalan Pyrenees can be linked to Basque etymologies. These groups came under
6723-469: Was "Pàtria llemosina" (Limousine Fatherland), proposed by Víctor Balaguer as a federation of Catalan-speaking provinces; both these coinages were based on the theory that Catalan is a dialect of Occitan . None of these names reached widespread cultural usage and the term nearly vanished until it was rediscovered, redefined and put in the center of the identity cultural debate by Valencian writer Joan Fuster . In his book Nosaltres, els valencians ( We,
6806-403: Was created commonly known nowadays as Old Catalonia (which would consist of the counties County of Barcelona , Ausona , County of Pallars , County of Rosselló , County of Empúries , County of Cerdanya and County of Urgell ) which faced Muslim raids but resisted any kind of settlement from them. The southern New Catalonia was under Arab/Muslim rule for about 4-5 centuries. The Franks on
6889-450: Was very strong, but today it is only practiced in the rural areas. Spicy food is rare in the Catalan diet but there are quite garlicky sauces such as allioli or romesco . One type of Catalan dish is escudella , a soup which contains chick peas, potatoes, and vegetables such as green cabbage, celery, carrots, turnips, and meats such as botifarra (a Catalan sausage), pork feet, salted ham, chicken, and veal. In Northern Catalonia, it
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