Catalan Country (Catalonia)

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Last updated 06 abril 2025

Catalan countries (Catalonia), “We are a nation” Catalonia, commonly called the Catalan countries, is a Romance nation stretching over 800 km. Lying at the extreme north-west of the Mediterranean Sea, it runs along the easternmost strip of the Iberian Peninsula, including the Balearic Islands. Apart from the principality of Andorra, the rest of the territory belongs to Spain and France. The history of Catalonia is strongly related to Carolingian conquests (8th–9th centuries), which led to the formation of several counties, which then became a hereditary unit. Barcelona quickly became the cultural centre and its rulers were implicitly princes of Catalonia. After the union with Aragon (1137), the country stretched towards the south: Tortosa (1109), Lleida (1139), Mallorca (1229), Valencia (1232–44), Alicante (1296) and Minorca (1302). The Catalan crown was linked to the Habsburg dynasty, but after a period of splendour from the 14th and 15th centuries, trouble arose. After the War of Succession (1697–1715), northern Catalonia came under French rule (1659), which saw the loss of Aragon. From this period on, Spanish power would periodically deny Catalan identity. It was not until the 19th century that the revival of nationalism was widely promoted by the industrial bourgeoisie, centred in Barcelona. Catalan +Catalan Country (Catalonia)