Count of Barcelona

The Emperor Charlemagne conquered the area north of the river Ebro and captured the city of Barcelona in 801. He then organized these lands, historiographically known as the Marca Hispanica, into various counties, one of which was the County of Barcelona, with the city of Barcelona as its capital. The Count of Barcelona, usually holding other counties simultaneously, eventually obtained primacy over the region. As the County became hereditary in one family, the bond of the Counts to their Frankish overlords loosened, especially after the Capetian dynasty supplanted the Carolingians. In 1150, Count Raymond Berengar IV married Queen Petronilla of Aragon. Their son Alfonso succeeded as Count and also as King of Aragon, establishing the Crown of Aragon. In the Treaty of Corbeil (1258), King Louis IX of France relinquished France's historical claim to the County. In 1516, Queen Joanna of Castile also succeeded in Catalonia and Aragon, forming the Monarchy of Spain. The title of Count of Barcelona remained one of the many hereditary titles of the Spanish monarchy. In the 20th century, the title regained some prominence when Juan de Borbón, the exiled heir to the Spanish throne, adopted the title of Count of Barcelona. In doing so, he claimed a historical royal title without claiming to be the current king of Spain, especially after his son Juan Carlos became the prospective successor of the then-ruler of Spain, Francisco Franco. In 1977, after Juan Carlos had become king upon Franco's death in 1975, he officially awarded the comital title to his father, who had renounced his rights to the throne. Juan held that title until his death in 1993, when it reverted to Juan Carlos. Juan de Borbón's widow used the title Countess of Barcelona until her death in 2000. ==List of counts of Barcelona==

===Non-dynastic (appointed by the rulers of the Carolingian Empire), 801–878=== During this period, the County of Barcelona was one of many Counties at the March located in the Eastern Pyrenees and known as Gothia or Marca Hispanica. The Counts of this March were appointed by the Carolingian authorities. ===House of Sunifred (Bellonids), 878–1162=== The crisis of the Carolingian Empire, incapable of attending to the requests for help against the Moorish attacks coming from the Catalan counts, resulted in a disconnection between them and the Carolingian central power far North. The County of Barcelona became a hereditary title. ===Jiménez dynasty, 1162–1164=== The succession of Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronilla led to the creation of the Crown of Aragon. ===House of Barcelona, 1164–1410=== === House of Trastamara 1412-1462 === Martin died without legitimate descendants (interregnum 31 May 1410 – 24 June 1412). By the Compromise of Caspe of 1412 the County of Barcelona and the rest of the dominions of the Crown of Aragon passed to a branch of the House of Trastamara. === Catalan Civil War 1462-1472 === During the Catalan Civil War the Catalan authorities transferred the title of Count of Barcelona to a succession of 3 foreign sovereigns. === House of Trastamara (reinstated) 1472-1555 === After the Catalan Civil War, the House of Trastamara was restituted as tenants of the Count of Barcelona title and thus sovereigns of the Principality of Catalonia. === House of Habsburg 1516-1641 === === House of Bourbon, 1641–1659 === === House of Habsburg (reinstated) 1659–1700 === In 1697, French troops under the Duke of Vendôme captured Barcelona, and Louis XIV of France was reinstated as Count of Barcelona for some months. On 9 January 1698, Catalonia (including Barcelona) was returned to Charles II by the Peace of Ryswick. War of the Spanish Succession (1700–1714) Charles II named as his successor Philip of Anjou, a younger grandson of Louis XIV. The other European powers thought that meant too much power for France. They tried to impose another candidate as King of Spain: Archduke Charles of Austria, in the War of the Spanish Succession. The Catalans were caught in the middle of this major conflict. They initially supported Philip, but then shifted their allegiance to Charles, who was committed to maintaining the composite monarchy system and thus respected the Catalan Constitutions. However, Philip won the war. granted by Philip IV, Count of Barcelona in 1704. === House of Bourbon (Spanish branch) 1714–1808 === mentioning Philip V of Spain as 'Felip IV' of Aragon, Count of Barcelona In 1714, Catalonia, which had supported the Habsburg pretender to the Spanish throne, Archduke Charles of Austria, lost their war within the Spanish war of Succession against the Bourbon pretender Philip of Anjou. Through the Nueva Planta decrees, Philip of Anjou as the new king of Spain Philip V abolished the Catalan constitutions and dissolved the Crown of Aragon and merged its territories with the territories of the Crown of Castile to form the Kingdom of Spain. The Principality of Catalonia became another province and thus the title of Count of Barcelona was emptied of real political significance and power. Since then, the numbering of the Counts of Barcelona follows that of the Crown of Castille. That is the reason why Philip of Anjou was called by the Catalan Authorities 'Felip IV' in 1702 but called himself 'Felipe V' when he sized the title of Count of Barcelona in 1714, after winning the war against the Catalans. === House of Bonaparte 1808–1813 === In 1808 Charles IV and his son Ferdinand VII resign from their Crown of Spain titles and transfer them to Emperor Napoleon, who kept for himself the title of Count of Barcelona. By 1812, once he had full military control over the Principality of Catalonia, he separated it from the Crown of Spain and annexed it to the French Empire. === House of Bourbon (restored) 1813–1868 === Isabella of Spain was deposed by a liberal revolution and went into exile. was minted === House of Savoy 1870–1873 === After a brief Republican period, the Spanish government offered the kingship and its accessory titles (including that of 'Count of Barcelona') to Amadeo Duke of Aosta and son of the king of Italy Victor Emmanuel II. === House of Bourbon (restored) 1874–1931 === A pronunciamiento deposed the Republican government that followed the abdication of Amadeo I and restored the Bourbons as kings of Spain. In the 12 April 1931 municipal elections, the Republicans short of winning a majority of councilors overall, won a sweeping majority in major cities. These elections were perceived as a plebiscite on the monarchy, and the king left the country and the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931. === House of Bourbon (in exile) 1931–1975 === During the 2nd Spanish Republic and Francoist Dictatorship the Bourbons remained in exile and retained their dynastic titles, including 'Count of Barcelona'. === House of Bourbon (restored) 1975 – present day === Although on 26 July 1947, Spain was declared a kingdom, no monarch was designated until 1969, when Franco established Juan Carlos of Bourbon as his official heir. With the death of Franco on 20 November 1975, Juan Carlos became the King of Spain. ==See also==