CATALONIA
Catalonia (Catalan: Catalunya, Occitan: Catalonha, Spanish: Catalua)[c][d] is an autonomous
community of Spain located on the eastern extremity of the Iberian Peninsula. It is designated
as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy.[e][7] Catalonia consists of four provinces:
Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. The capital and largest city is Barcelona, the
second-most populated municipality in Spain and the core of the seventh most populous
urban area in the European Union. Catalonia comprises most of the territory of the former
Principality of Catalonia (with the remainder Roussillon now part of France's Pyrnes-
Orientales). It is bordered by France and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the
east, and the Spanish autonomous communities of Aragon to the west and Valencia to the
south. The official languages are Catalan, Spanish, and the Aranese dialect of Occitan.[8]
In the late 8th century, the counties of the March of Gothia and the Hispanic March were
established by the Frankish kingdom as feudatory vassals across and near the eastern
Pyrenees as a defensive barrier against Muslim invasions. The eastern counties of these
marches were united under the rule of the Frankish vassal the Count of Barcelona, and were
later called Catalonia. In 1137, Catalonia and the Kingdom of Aragon were united by
marriage under the Crown of Aragon, and the Principality of Catalonia became the base for
the Crown of Aragon's naval power and expansionism in the Mediterranean. In the later
Middle Ages Catalan literature flourished. Between 1469 and 1516, the King of Aragon and
the Queen of Castile married and ruled their kingdoms together, retaining all their distinct
institutions, Courts (parliament), and constitutions.
During the Franco-Spanish War (16351659), Catalonia revolted (16401652) against a large
and burdensome presence of the Royal army in its territory, becoming a republic under
French protection. Within a brief period France took full control of Catalonia, at a high
economic cost for Catalonia, until it was largely reconquered by the Spanish army. Under the
terms of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, which ended the wider Franco-Spanish War, the
Spanish Crown ceded the northern parts of Catalonia, mostly incorporated in the county of
Roussillon, to France. During the War of the Spanish Succession (17011714), the Crown of
Aragon sided against the Bourbon Philip V of Spain, whose subsequent victory led to the
abolition of non-Castilian institutions in all of Spain and the replacement of Latin and other
languages (such as Catalan) with Spanish in legal documents.
In the nineteenth century, Catalonia was severely affected by the Napoleonic and Carlist
Wars. In the second half of the century, Catalonia experienced significant industrialisation.
As wealth from the industrial expansion grew, Catalonia saw a cultural renaissance coupled
with incipient nationalism while several workers movements appeared. In 1914, the four
Catalan provinces formed a Commonwealth, and with the return of democracy during the
Second Spanish Republic (19311939), the Generalitat of Catalonia was restored as an
autonomous government. After the Spanish Civil War, the Francoist dictatorship enacted
repressive measures, abolishing Catalan institutions and banning the official use of the
Catalan language again. From the late 1950s through to the early 1970s, Catalonia saw rapid
economic growth, drawing many workers from across Spain, making Barcelona one of
Europe's largest industrial metropolitan areas and turning Catalonia into a major tourist
destination. Since the Spanish transition to democracy (19751982), Catalonia has regained
considerable local autonomy in political, educational, environmental, and cultural affairs and
is now one of the most economically dynamic communities of Spain.
