Principality of Catalonia The
Principality of Catalonia was a state of the composite monarchy known as
Crown of Aragon. The Principality was the result of the absorption or
vassalization by the
County of Barcelona of the other
Catalan counties (such as the counties of Girona, Osona, Urgell or Rousillon), while the Crown was created by the dynastic union of the
County of Barcelona and the
Kingdom of Aragon in 1137. In the late 15th century, Aragon united by
marriage with the
Crown of Castile to form what would later become the
Monarchy of Spain. Initially, the various polities of the Crown of Aragon, including the Principality of Catalonia, kept their own laws and customs, known as
Constitutions, equivalent in the other kingdoms to the
fueros ( in
Catalan), and political institutions such as the
Catalan Courts and the
Generalitat as a guarantee of their sovereignty and
jurisdiction, for which they fought a civil war during the actual union of the crowns, known as the
Catalan Civil War (1462–1472) between foralists and royalists. In 1640, during the
Thirty Years War and
Franco-Spanish War, Catalan peasants and institutions revolted, starting the
Reapers' War. The following year, the Catalan government seceded, establishing the independence of the Principality as a
Catalan Republic, called France for protection and finally named
Louis XIII count of Barcelona. After a decade of war, the Spanish Monarchy counter-attacked in 1652 and recovered Barcelona and the rest of Catalonia, except for
Roussillon, which was annexed by France. Catalonia retained its Constitutions. During the
War of Spanish Succession, most of the territories of the Crown of Aragon, including the Principality of Catalonia, fiercely supported
Archduke Charles, the
Habsburg contender, who swore the
Catalan constitutions, against the
Bourbon contender, who would later abolish the Catalan constitutions and political institutions through the
Nueva Planta Decrees. The Habsburgs' English allies withdrew from the war with the
Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, and shortly thereafter, Habsburg troops were evacuated from Italy and from Spain. This left the Catalan government isolated, but it remained loyal to Charles and
unilaterally declared the war to Philip V and the Kingdom of France. After a 14-month siege,
Barcelona capitulated to a Bourbon army on 11 September 1714. 11 September, the date of the fall of Barcelona, was commemorated by Catalan nationalists from 1886, and in the 20th century it was chosen as the
National Day of Catalonia. After the War of the Spanish Succession, based on the political position of the
Count-Duke of Olivares and the absolutism of
Philip V, the assimilation of the
Crown of Aragon by the
Castilian Crown through the Nueva Planta decrees was the first step in the creation of the Spanish
nation-state, with a centralised Spanish government. In fact, since the political unification of 1714, Spanish assimilation policies towards Catalan-speaking territories (
Catalonia,
Valencia, the
Balearic Islands, part of
Aragon) and other national minorities have been a historical constant. ;
Assimilated Spain: territories from the former
Crown of Aragon, including most Catalan-speaking areas;
Foral Spain, which includes the Basque-speaking territories; and
Colonial Spain, with the remaining colonial territories for that year. It begins with secret instructions to the corregidores of the Catalan territory: "will take the utmost care to introduce the Castilian language, for which purpose he will give the most temperate and disguised measures so that the effect is achieved, without the care being noticed", and from there the actions, discreet or aggressive, are continued, and reach the last detail, such as, in 1799, the Royal Certificate prohibiting "represent, sing and dance pieces that were not in Spanish." and still in force, have been and still are the seed of repeated territorial conflicts within the State.
Nineteenth and twentieth century Although since its loss there were claims to recover the Constitutions, the beginnings of
separatism in Catalonia can be traced back to the mid–19th century. The
Renaixença (cultural renaissance), which aimed at the revival of the
Catalan language and
Catalan traditions, led to the development of
Catalan nationalism and a desire for self-government, through a Spanish federal republic or even the independence. Between the 1850s and the 1910s, some individuals, organisations and political parties started demanding full independence of Catalonia from Spain. , leader of
ERC and
President of Catalonia between 1931 and 1933, proclaiming the
Catalan Republic on 14 April 1931 The first pro-independence political party in Catalonia was
Estat Català (Catalan State), founded in 1922 by
Francesc Macià. Estat Català went into exile in France during the dictatorship of
Primo de Rivera (1923–1930), launching an unsuccessful uprising from
Prats de Molló in 1926. In March 1931, following the overthrow of Primo de Rivera, Estat Català joined with the Partit Republicà Català (Catalan Republican Party) and the political group L'Opinió (Opinion) to form
Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia; ERC), with Macià as its first leader. The following month, the ERC achieved a spectacular victory in the municipal elections that preceded the 14 April proclamation of the
Second Spanish Republic. Macià proclaimed a
Catalan Republic on 14 April, but after negotiations with the provisional government he was obliged to settle for autonomy, under a revived
Generalitat of Catalonia. Catalonia was granted a
statute of autonomy in 1932, which lasted until the
Spanish Civil War. In 1938,
General Franco abolished both the Statute of Autonomy and the Generalitat. The FNC declared its aim to be "an energetic protest against Franco and an affirmation of Catalan nationalism". The FNC in turn gave rise to the
Partit Socialista d'Alliberament Nacional (Socialist Party of National Liberation; PSAN), which combined a pro-independence agenda with a
left-wing stance. A split in the PSAN led to the formation of the
Partit Socialista d'Alliberament Nacional - Provisional (Socialist Party of National Liberation – Provisional; PSAN-P) in 1974. Following Franco's death in 1975, Spain
moved to restore democracy. A
new constitution was adopted in 1978, which asserted the "indivisible unity of the Spanish Nation", but acknowledged "the right to autonomy of the nationalities and regions which form it". Independence parties objected to it on the basis that it was incompatible with Catalan self-determination, and formed the Comité Català Contra la Constitució Espanyola (Catalan Committee Against the Spanish Constitution) to oppose it. It was followed by the
Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1979, which was approved in a referendum, with 88% of voters supporting it. This led to the marginalisation or disappearance of pro-independence political groups, and for a time the gap was filled by militant groups such as
Terra Lliure. In 1981, a manifesto issued by intellectuals in Catalonia claiming discrimination against the
Castilian language, drew a response in the form of published letter, '
("Call for Solidarity in Defence of the Catalan Language, Culture and Nation"), which called for a mass meeting at the University of Barcelona, out of which a popular movement arose. The Crida organised a series of protests that culminated in a massive demonstration in the Camp Nou on 24 June 1981. Beginning as a cultural organisation, the Crida soon began to demand independence. In 1982, at a time of political uncertainty in Spain, the ' (LOAPA) was introduced in the Spanish parliament, supposedly to "harmonise" the autonomy process, but in reality to curb the power of Catalonia and the
Basque region. There was a surge of popular protest against it. The Crida and others organised a huge rally against LOAPA in Barcelona on 14 March 1982. In March 1983, it was held to be
ultra vires by the Spanish Constitutional Court. In 1992 the police operation known as "
Operation Garzón" saw the arrest of 45 Catalan pro-independence activists and politicians on the eve of the
Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, under the accusation to be members of
Terra Lliure without real proof. 25 of the arrested were kept in solitary confinement. They denounced torture at the hands of the
Spanish police and threats of violence and rape to them and their families, as well as constant
anti-Catalan insults.
Second Statute of Autonomy and after in the intersection of
Passeig de Gràcia and
Aragó Avenues, in
Barcelona Following
elections in 2003, the moderate nationalist
Convergència i Unió (CiU), which had governed Catalonia since 1980, lost power to a coalition of left-wing parties composed of the
Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), the pro-independence
Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and a far-left/Green coalition (
ICV–EUiA), headed by
Pasqual Maragall. The government produced a draft for a new
Statute of Autonomy, which was supported by the CiU and was approved by the parliament by a large majority. The draft statute then had to be approved by the Spanish parliament, which could make changes; it did so, removing clauses on finance and the language, and an article stating that Catalonia was a nation. When the amended statute was
put to a referendum on 18 June 2006, the ERC, in protest, called for a "no" vote. The statute was approved, but turnout was only 48.9%. At the subsequent election, the left-wing coalition was returned to power, this time under the leadership of
José Montilla. The subsequent failure of the statutory reform with respect to its objectives opened the door to the growth of Catalan sovereignty. The conservative , which had opposed the statute in the Spanish parliament, challenged its constitutionality in the
Spanish High Court of Justice. The case lasted four years. In its judgement, issued on 18 June 2010, the court ruled that fourteen articles in the statute were unconstitutional, and that 27 others were to be interpreted restrictively. The affected articles included those that gave preference to the Catalan language, freed Catalonia from responsibility for the finances of other autonomous communities, and recognised Catalonia as a nation. The full text of the judgement was released on 9 July 2010, and the following day a
protest demonstration organised by the cultural organisation
Òmnium Cultural was attended by over a million people, and led by José Montilla. In all, 552 towns held independence referendums between 2009 and 2011. These, together with demonstrations organised by Òmnium Cultural and the
Assemblea Nacional Catalana (ANC), represented a "bottom-up" process by which society influenced the political movement for independence. The
demonstration of 11 September 2012 explicitly called on the Catalan government to begin the process of secession. Immediately after it,
Artur Mas, whose CiU had regained power in
2010, called a
snap election for 25 November 2012, and the parliament resolved that a referendum on independence would be held in the life of the next legislature. Although the CiU lost seats to the ERC, Mas remained in power. On 11 September 2013, an estimated 1.6 million demonstrators formed a human chain, the
Catalan Way, from the French border to the regional border with Valencia. The following month, the CiU, the ERC, the ICV-EUiA and
Candidatura d'Unitat Popular (CUP) agreed to hold the
independence referendum on 9 November 2014, and that it would ask two questions: "Do you want Catalonia to become a State?" and (if yes) "Do you want this State to be independent?". A further mass demonstration, the
Catalan Way 2014, took place on 11 September 2014, when protesters wearing the Catalan colours of yellow and red filled two of Barcelona's avenues to form a giant "V", to call for a vote. Following the Constitutional Court's ruling, the Catalan government changed the vote to a "process of citizen participation" and announced that it would be supervised by volunteers. The result was an 81% vote for yes-yes, but the turnout was only 42%, which could be seen as a majority opposed to both independence and the referendum. Criminal charges were subsequently brought against Mas and others for defying the court order. In the
September election, Junts pel Sí and the CUP between them won a majority of seats, but fell short of a majority of votes, with just under 48%. On 9 November 2015, the parliament passed a
resolution declaring the start of the independence process, proposed by Junts pel Sí and the CUP. In response, Spanish Prime Minister
Mariano Rajoy said that the state would "use any available judicial and political mechanism contained in the constitution and in the laws to defend the sovereignty of the Spanish people and of the general interest of Spain", a hint that he would not stop at military intervention. Following prolonged negotiations between Junts pel Sí and the CUP, Mas was replaced as president by
Carles Puigdemont in January 2016. Puigdemont, on taking the oath of office, omitted the oath of loyalty to the king and the Spanish constitution, the first Catalan president to do so. Puigdemont announced in June 2017 that the referendum would take place on 1 October, and that the question would be, "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?" The Spanish government said in response, "that referendum will not take place because it is illegal." A
law creating an independent republic—in the event that the referendum took place and there was a majority "yes" vote, without requiring a minimum turnout—was approved by the
Catalan parliament in a session on 6 September 2017. Opposition parties protested against the bill, calling it "a blow to democracy and a violation of the rights of the opposition", and staged a walkout before the vote was taken. On 7 September, the Catalan parliament passed a "
transition law", to provide a legal framework pending the adoption of a new constitution, after similar protests and another walkout by opposition parties. The same day, 7 September, the Spanish Constitutional Court suspended the 6 September law while it considered an appeal from Mariano Rajoy, seeking a declaration that it was in breach of the Spanish constitution, meaning that the referendum could not legally go ahead on 1 October. The law was finally declared void on 17 October and is also illegal according to the Catalan Statutes of Autonomy which require a two-thirds majority in the Catalan parliament for any change to Catalonia's status. The national government seized ballot papers and cell phones, threatened to fine people who staffed the polling stations up to €300,000, shut down web sites, and demanded that Google remove a voting location finder from the Android app store. Police were sent from the rest of Spain to suppress the vote and close polling locations, but parents scheduled events at schools (where polling places are located) over the weekend and vowed to occupy them to keep them open during the vote. Some election organizers were arrested, including Catalan cabinet officials, while demonstrations by local institutions and street protests grew larger. The referendum took place on 1 October 2017, despite being suspended by the Constitutional Court, and despite the action of Spanish police to prevent voting in some centres. Images of violence from Spanish riot police beating Catalan voters shocked people and human rights organizations across the globe and resulted in hundreds of injured citizens according to Catalan government officials. Some foreign politicians, including the former Belgian Prime-Minister
Charles Michel, condemned violence and called for dialogue. According to the Catalan authorities, 90% of voters supported independence, but turnout was only 43%, and there were reports of irregularities. On 10 October 2017, in the aftermath of the referendum, the
President of the Generalitat of Catalonia,
Carles Puigdemont, declared the independence of Catalonia but left it suspended. Puigdemont said during his appearance in the Catalan parliament that he assumes, in presenting the results of the referendum, "the people's mandate for Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic", but proposed that in the following weeks the parliament "suspends the effect of the declaration of independence to engage in a dialogue to reach an agreed solution" with the Spanish Government. On 25 October 2017, after the Spanish government had threatened to suspend the Catalan autonomy through article 155 of the Spanish constitution, the UN Independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Alfred de Zayas, deplored the decision to suspend Catalan autonomy, stating "This action constitutes retrogression in human rights protection, incompatible with Articles 1, 19, 25 and 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Pursuant to Articles 10(2) and 96 of the Spanish Constitution, international treaties constitute the law of the land and, therefore, Spanish law must be interpreted in conformity with international treaties." On 27 October 2017 the Catalan Parliament voted in a secret ballot to approve a
resolution declaring independence from Spain by a vote of 70–10 in the absence of the constitutionalist deputies, who refused to participate in a vote considered illegal for violating the decisions of the
Constitutional Court of Spain. As a result, the same day (27 October 2017) Article 155 of the
Spanish constitution was triggered by the Spanish government; the Catalan government was dismissed and direct rule was imposed from the central government in
Madrid. Under direct rule from Spain, elections were held in Catalonia on 21 December 2017. The three pro-independence parties retained their control of parliament with a reduced majority of 70 seats and a combined 47.5% of valid votes cast.
Inés Arrimadas' anti-independence Ciudadanos party was the most voted party with 25.4% of votes, the first time in Catalan history that a non-nationalist party won most votes and seats in an election. Parties which endorsed the suspension of autonomy by central government represented 43.5% of votes cast and parties which did not include independence in their electoral program amounted to 52.5% of the vote, notably Catcomu-Podem (7.5% of votes and 8 seats), which is opposed to independence but supports a legal referendum and denounced the suspension of autonomy. The excellent performance of the centre-right parties on both sides of the independence debate, Ciudadanos and Juntxcat, and the underperformance of all other parties (notably, left wing parties and the Partido Popular) were the most significant factor in this election result.
The trial of Catalonia independence leaders and October 2019 protests In 2018 some of the independence leaders were sent to preventive detention without bail, accused of crimes of
rebellion,
disobedience, and
misuse of public funds. Carles Puigdemont and four members of his cabinet fled into self-exile. Twelve people were tried by the
Supreme Court of Spain, including the previous vice president
Oriol Junqueras of the regional government and most of the cabinet as well as political activists
Jordi Sànchez and
Jordi Cuixart and the former Speaker of the
Parliament of Catalonia Carme Forcadell. The trial proceedings officially ended on 12 June 2019. A unanimous verdict by the seven judges that tried the case was made public on 14 October 2019. Nine of the 12 accused received prison sentences for the crimes of
sedition; of them, four were also found guilty of
misuse of public funds. Their sentences ranged from 9 to 13 years. The remaining three accused were found guilty of
disobedience and were sentenced to pay a fine but received no prison term. The court dismissed the charges of
rebellion. The verdict delivered by the Supreme Court sparked
multiple protests across the region. Clashes erupted into open violence, as protesters reacted violently at police efforts to end the demonstration, with some demonstrators setting cars on fire and throwing jars of
acid at police officers. The Catalan Law Enforcement agency
Mossos d'Esquadra, which had previously been accused of aiding the independence movement, replied by firing
tear gas at the demonstrators. The pro-independence speaker of the
Catalan Parliament condemned the violent incidents and called for peaceful protests against the ruling. The protests grew larger, as more and more Catalans took to the streets. Some demonstrators attempted to storm buildings belonging to the Spanish Government and clashed with police forces. The Spanish Police announced that 51 protesters had been arrested. On 17 October, the pro-independence President of the Catalan Autonomous government,
Quim Torra, called for an immediate halt to violence and disassociated himself from violent protesters, while at the same time calling for more peaceful protests. Nevertheless, the situation in
Barcelona had evolved into open street battles between protesters and police, as both violent demonstrators attacked and provoked police forces, and police officers charged peaceful protesters for their proximity to violent ones. Several reports claim that the protests and subsequent riots had been infiltrated by Neo-Nazis who used the marches as an opportunity to incite violence. Shortly thereafter, the Catalan President attempted to rally the crowd by stating that he will push for a new independence referendum as large scale protests continued for the fourth day. on 18 October 2019 On 18 October, Barcelona became paralyzed, as tens of thousands of peaceful protesters answered the Catalan President's call and rallied in support of the jailed independence leaders. The demonstration grew quickly, with the Barcelona police counting at least 525,000 protesters in the city. By late 18 October, minor trade unions (
Intersindical-CSC and ) linked to pro-independence movement called for a
general strike. However, major trade unions (
UGT and
CCOO) did not endorse the event as well as representatives of the latter contested its very nature as "strike". Five peaceful marches converged on Barcelona's city center, essentially bringing the city to a halt. Protesters further blocked the road on the French-Spanish border. At least 20 other major roads were also blocked. Clashes nevertheless took place, with masked protesters confronting riot police by throwing stones and setting alight rubbish bins. 25,000 university students joined in the protest movement by declaring a peaceful
student strike. As a result of the strike, trains and metro lines saw a reduction to 33% of their usual capacity, while buses saw a reduction to 25–50% of their usual capacity. The roads to the French border remained blocked and all roads leading into Barcelona were also cut. 190 flights in and out of the city were cancelled as a result of the strike. Spanish car manufacturer
SEAT further announced a halt in the production of its
Martorell plant and most of Barcelona's tourist sites had been closed and occupied by pro-independence demonstrators waving
Estelada independence flags and posters with pro-independence slogans. By the end of the day, just like the previous days, riots developed in the centre of Barcelona. Masked individuals blocked the boulevard close to the city's police headquarters in Via Laetana. Withdrawn to the vicinity of the
Plaça Urquinaona, protesters erected
barricades setting trash bins in fire and hurled
rubble (debris from broken paving stones) and other solid objects at riot policemen. The riot units responded with
non-lethal foam and rubber bullets, tear gas and smoke grenades. The Mossos used for the first time the water cannon trunk acquired in 1994 from Israel in order to make way across the barricades. The clashes spread to cities outside Barcelona, with Spain's acting interior minister stating that 207 policemen had been injured since the start of the protests, while also noting that 128 people had been arrested by the nation's police forces.
Miquel Buch, the Catalan Interior Minister, responsible for public order, and a pro-independence politician, called the violence "unprecedented" and distanced himself from the violent events, instead calling for peaceful protests to continue. On 19 October, following a fifth consecutive night of violence, Catalan President Quim Torra called for talks between the Catalan independence movement and the
Spanish government, adding that violence had never been the "flag" of the independence movement. The head of the Spanish Government, Prime Minister
Pedro Sánchez, refused to hold talks with the Catalan government, as it deemed the former had not condemned the violence strongly enough. He further categorically rejected the idea of discussing Catalan Independence, stating that it was impossible under Spanish law.
2021 and 2024 elections In the
2021 regional election, which saw a low turnout due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, pro-independence parties won over 50% of the popular vote for the first time, and increased their representation in the parliament from 70 to 74 seats. In June 2021, the nine activists who had been jailed in 2019 were released, having been pardoned by King
Felipe VI on the advice of Spanish prime minister
Pedro Sánchez. In 2024, the Congress of Deputies voted in favour of
amnesty for all those involved in the 2017 campaign, including Carles Puigdemont; despite the law being vetoed by the Senate, it was expected to be enacted by the end of May 2024. On May 30, the Spanish Parliament voted 177 to 172 to pass a bill granting amnesty to hundreds of Catalan secessionists involved in the Catalan declaration of independence from 2011 to 2017. Junts and the ERC split in October 2022, leaving Pere Aragonès leading a minority government. In March 2024 Aragonès called a snap election after his budget was voted down. In
that election, the pro-independence parties lost their majority in the parliament for the first time in 10 years. Junts slightly increased their number of seats, but the ERC and CUP lost heavily, meaning the pro-independence were far short of the 68 seats needed to form a government. == Support for independence ==