Catalonia

This article is about the traditional Catalan domain. For the Spanish autonomous community, see Autonomous Community of Catalonia.

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Catalan-Aragonese Kingdom on the 8th century

Catalonia (Catalan: Catalunya ; Spanish: Cataluña ; Aranese: Catalonha ; French: Catalogne ) is a country in southern Europe, in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula.

The historic territory of Catalonia is nowadays divided into different administrative jurisdictions: In Spain, the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and a small part of the Autonomous Community of Aragon (the Franja de Ponent or western strip). In France, part of the Département of Pyrénées-Orientales (Catalunya Nord or Northern Catalonia).

It is usual, nowadays, to use the name of Catalonia meaning the Autonomous Community of Catalonia.

What's Catalonia?

Nowadays, Catalonia is a country without political sovereignty. Most Catalans consider Catalonia as his nation. In 2005, 85% of Catalan Parliament supports the definition of Catalonia as a nation in the reformed text of the Catalan Statute (autonomous basic law). This is currently in discussion in both Catalan and Spanish Parliaments.

It is also usual the term Catalan Countries (Catalan: Països Catalans), that refers to the concept of a nation including all territories where the Catalan language is spoken. This concept first appeared at the end of XIX century. Thus the Catalan Countries include Catalonia (Southern and Northern Catalonia), Valencia, the Balearic Islands and the independent Principalty of Andorra.

History of Catalonia

Main article: History of Catalonia

Development of Catalonia into a Mediterranean Power

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 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 Aragonese crown the Catalonia became a great maritime power, expanding by trade and conquest into Valencia, the Balearic Islands, and even Sardinia and Sicily.

Decline of Catalonia

The marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon (1469) joints Christian Crowns; in 1492, the last of al-Andalus was conquered and the Spanish conquest of the Americas began. Political power began to shift away from Catalonia towards Castile.

In 1659, the Treaty of the Pyrenees ceded the comarques of Rosselló, Conflent, Vallespir and the northern half of Cerdanya to France. In recent times, this area has come to be known as Northern Catalonia.

North Catalonia lost all recognition as it became part of the "une et indivisible" (one and undividable) French nation.

For some time, Spanish Catalonia continued to retain its own laws, but these gradually eroded (albeit with occasional periods of regeneration). 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 Spain. At the end of the War of the Spanish Succession (between the Castilian-French axis and the Catalan-English axis) in 1714, Barcelona fell to French troops. Philip V abolished the Crown of Aragon and all Catalan institutions, prohibiting public use of Catalan language for the first time, with the Decreto de Nueva Planta (New Regime Decree); this decree has never been formally abolished.

Present-day Parliament of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, held in Barcelona

In the latter half of the 19th century, Spanish Catalonia became 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. Even public use of the Catalan language was banned.

Spanish Catalonia recovered political and cultural autonomy following Franco's death in 1975. It became one of the Autonomous Communities of Spain.

Language

Main article: Catalan language

Catalonia constitutes the original nucleus and the most important and extensive territory 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 [1]; the other is Spanish. In Northern Catalonia is not an official language.

Occitan, in its Aranese variety (a dialect of Gascon) 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 status.

Culture

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Catalonia

There are several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Catalonia:

Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco, Tarragona
Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí- Sant Climent de Taüll
Park Güell, Barcelona
Palau Güell, Barcelona
Casa Milà, Barcelona
Poblet Monastery, Poblet, Tarragona
Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona
Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona

Traditions

Catalonia's festivals and traditions unify Catalan society and help to give it its particular character. Amongst the most striking of festive events are the correfocs, in which "devils" play with fire and with the people. These devils are not the incarnation of evil; they are sprightly and festive, dancing to the sound of the tambourine and the traditional gralla, while they set off their fireworks.

Another tradition occurs during the spring festival day of Sant Jordi (St George's Day, 23 April, also known as Book Day, coinciding with the anniversaries of the deaths of William Shakespeare,Miguel de Cervantes and Josep Pla). Men give roses to women and women give a book to men as a present. The streets are full of people, book and flower stands.

Perhaps the most spectacular of the Catalan festivals are those of the colles castelleres, groups of enthusiasts who form impressive human towers (up to ten people high). This is an old tradition of the Tarragona region, which has now spread to many parts of Catalonia, and has become a real spectacle, or sport, that attracts thousands of Catalans. Amongst other important festivities are the carnival in Vilanova i la Geltrú and the Patum in Berga.

Then, there is the very special music of the cobles, the wind bands that play sardanes. The sardana is a circular, open dance, that originated in the Empordà region (north of the country by the Mediterranean sea) and the Pyrenees (Catalan Pirineus), and is now danced in many squares and streets.

As in other countries, there is a Santa Claus tradition. In Catalonia it is enacted in the very popular figure of the Tió de Nadal.

National day is September 11, after the defeat and surrender of Barcelona to the French-Castilian army of Philip V of Spain during the War of Spanish Succession.

The anthem of Catalonia is "Els Segadors" (The Reapers). Popular folk songs include "El Rossinyol", "La Balanguera" and "El Cant dels Ocells", which became something of an unofficial national anthem under the years of Franco's oppression. Such songs became popular all over the world with the success of the Orfeo Catala choir around the beginning of the 20th century.

The major football club is FC Barcelona is "more than a club" and acts as an unofficial "national" team for Catalonia. This is despite the fact that "Barça" (as the team is popularly known) has had a remarkable number of foreign players over the last few years.

External links

The key to Catalonia: Site of the Generalitat de Catalunya
Catalan Hyperencyclopaedia: Encyclopaedia about Catalonia