Back Katalonië Afrikaans Katalonien ALS ካታሎኒያ Amharic Catalunya AN Catalonia ANG كتالونيا Arabic ܩܛܠܘܢܝܐ ARC كاتالونيا ARZ Cataluña AST Kataloniya Azerbaijani
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Catalonia (/ˌkætəˈloʊniə/; Catalan: Catalunya [kətəˈluɲə] ⓘ; Spanish: Cataluña [kataˈluɲa] ⓘ; Occitan: Catalonha [kataˈluɲa])[9] is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy.[d][11] Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, to the south of the Pyrenees mountain range. Catalonia is administratively divided into four provinces or eight regions, which are in turn divided into 42 comarques. The capital and largest city, Barcelona, is the second-most populated municipality in Spain and the fifth-most populous urban area in the European Union.[12]
Modern-day Catalonia comprises most of the medieval and early modern Principality of Catalonia (with the remainder northern area now part of France's Pyrénées-Orientales). It is bordered by France (Occitanie) 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. In addition to about 580 km of coastline, Catalonia also has major high landforms such as the Pyrenees and the Pre-Pyrenees, the Transversal Range (Serralada Transversal) or the Central Depression.[13] The official languages are Catalan, Spanish and the Aranese dialect of Occitan.[6]
In the late 8th century, various counties across the eastern Pyrenees were established by the Frankish kingdom as a defensive barrier against Muslim invasions. In the 10th century, the County of Barcelona became progressively independent.[14] In 1137, Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon were united by marriage, resulting in a composite monarchy known as the Crown of Aragon. Within the Crown, the Catalan counties merged in to a polity, the Principality of Catalonia, developing its own institutional system, such as Catalan Courts, Generalitat and constitutions, becoming the base for the Crown's Mediterranean trade and expansionism. In the later Middle Ages, Catalan literature flourished. In 1469, the king of Aragon and the queen of Castile were married and ruled their realms together, retaining all of their distinct institutions and legislation.
During the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), the Principality of Catalonia revolted (1640–1652) against a large and burdensome presence of the royal army, being briefly proclaimed a republic under French protection until it was largely reconquered by the Spanish armies. By the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), the northern parts of Catalonia, mostly the Roussillon, were ceded to France. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), the Crown of Aragon sided against the Bourbon Philip V of Spain, but after the Peace of Utrecht (1713) the Catalans were defeated with the fall of Barcelona on 11 September 1714. Philip V subsequently imposed a unifying administration across Spain, enacting the Nueva Planta decrees which, like in the other realms of the Crown of Aragon, suppressed Catalan institutions and legislation. As a consequence, Catalan as a language of government and literature was eclipsed by Spanish. Throughout the second half of the 17th and the 18th centuries, Catalonia experienced economic growth.
In the 19th century, Catalonia was severely affected by the Napoleonic and Carlist Wars. In the second third of the century, it experienced industrialisation. As wealth from the industrial expansion grew, it saw a cultural renaissance coupled with incipient nationalism while several workers' movements appeared. The establishment of the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939) granted self-government to Catalonia, being restored the Generalitat as the Catalan autonomous government. After the Spanish Civil War, the Francoist dictatorship enacted repressive measures, abolishing Catalan self-government and banning the official use of the Catalan language. After a period of autarky, from the late 1950s through to the 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. During the Spanish transition to democracy (1975–1982), the Generalitat was reestablished and Catalonia regained self-government, remaining one of the most economically dynamic communities in Spain.
Since the 2010s, there has been growing support for Catalan independence. On 27 October 2017, the Catalan Parliament unilaterally declared independence following a referendum that was deemed unconstitutional by the Spanish state. The Spanish Senate voted in favour of enforcing direct rule by removing the Catalan government and calling a snap regional election. The Spanish Supreme Court imprisoned seven former ministers of the Catalan government on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds, while several others—including then-President Carles Puigdemont—fled to other European countries. Those in prison[e] were pardoned by the Spanish government in 2021.
- ^ "Idescat. Annual indicators. Population on 1 November 2023. By sex" (in Catalan). Archived from the original on 22 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "Indicadors geogràfics. Superfície, densitat i entitats de població: Catalunya". Statistical Institute of Catalonia. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
- ^ "PIB de las Comunidades Autónomas 2020". www.datosmacro.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ "The Spanish Constitution" (PDF). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. BOE. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ^ "Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia". Gencat.cat. Archived from the original on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia (2006), Articles 6, 50 – BOPC 224" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^ "Llei de la llengua de signes catalana" (PDF). blogs.iec.cat (in Catalan). Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ Vocabulari fonetic basic der aranés (PDF), Institut D'Estudis Aranesi, 2018, p. 8, ISBN 978-84-09-06340-6, archived (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2021, retrieved 5 January 2021
- ^ "Court to reject 'nation' in Catalonia statute". 22 November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ "Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, article 1". Gencat.cat. Archived from the original on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
Catalonia, as a nationality, exercises its self-government constituted as an autonomous community, in accordance with the Constitution and with this Statute, which is its basic institutional law.
- ^ Demographia: World Urban Areas Archived 5 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine – Demographia, April 2018
- ^ "Welcome to Catalonia". Ministry for Foreign Action and European Union. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Salrach, Josep Mª. Catalunya a la fi del primer mil·leni. Pagès Editors (Lleida, 2004), pp. 144–149.
- ^ "EU court reinstates MEP immunity of Catalonia's Carles Puigdemont". euronews. 24 May 2022. Archived from the original on 22 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
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