Catalonia pushes for independence referendum in 2014

I’m from Barcelona then my region is Catalonia and my country Spain. There are several mistakes in your article. First one: “La Diada’, Catalonia’s national day, which commemorates defeat and submission to Madrid in 1714” The war in 1714 was a succession war for the throne of SPAIN between Austria’s King supporters and Borbon’s king supporters. You must check history of Spain and of the world.
2nd mistake ”  Catalans speak a distinct language and the region was once separate from the rest of Spain.” In Catalonia always people have spoken catalan and castilian (Spanish) the diference between Catalonia and others regions of Spain is in Catalonia we speak both languages: castilian and catalan and in others region like madrid only speak castlian.
3rd mistake “The region contributes more in tax to Madrid than they receive, according to the government in Barcelona, who announced a net annual outflow equal to 8% of Catalonia’s gross domestic product” Regional government lies about the tax, you can see this official dates in this link: http://www.vozbcn.com/2012/10/08/129145/generalidad-superavit-fiscal-2009/
Regional government is changing our history and discriminate against people who are not catalan nationalist. This is the true, an the world must know the true. thanks

Hi Rodrigo,

Thank-you for your comment, I have edited the story so that it is more factually accurate. Apologies for any offence caused.

Thanks,

Editor

Hi there,
I’m sorry to barge into this conversation but the facts pointed out by Rodrigo are not quite accurate:

It’s true that the 1714 war was not a war between Catalonia and Spain per se but a war between European empires. Let’s remember that in 1700s there were no ‘states’ but empires. Most of today’s European countries as we know them did not exist. However, the political situation pre-1714 was one in which Catalonia had its own parliament (dating back from the 11th century), its own taxation powers, its own army and its own law codex which, by the way, differed from the Castilian ones. One could agree that for today’s standards that could be defined as an ‘independent country’. But Rodrigo is partly right in the sense that Catalonia’s parliament was indeed pledging servitude to the Spanish king, hence forming part of the Spanish kingdom. However, let’s also point out the fact that every time a Spanish king was enthroned, the king himself had to appear in front of the Catalan parliament and vow respect for the Catalan constitution as, for example, did Philip V in 1707. Unfortunately, that arrangement which had run since the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabel in 1469 -albeit eroded with the 1640-52 Reaper’s War between Castilians and Catalans- was promptly and abruptly overthrown as the result of the 1701-1714 so-called Spanish Succession War in which most of the European powers participated. One could say that could be considered the first ‘World War’ -at least in reference to the Western powers! In such war, the Catalan parliament sided with the Holy Roman Empire (Austria, Prussia, Hanover), Great Britain, Dutch republic, Portugal, the Duchy of Savoy and other territories of ‘Spain’ loyal to Charles VI (Habsburgs) against France, Bavaria and Castilia which supported Philip V (Bourbons).

The result of that war, the victory of the Bourbon dinasty, completely changed the balance of power in Europe for centuries to come and resulted in several territorial changes across Europe (as per the Ultrecht, Rastatt and Baden treaties) among which the Castilians ceded the Spanish Netherlands, Kingdom of Naples, Duchy of Milan and Sardinia to the Habsburg Monarchy, Sicily to the Duchy of Savoy and Gibraltar and Minorca to Britain and France is guaranteed all its former conquests but recognizes British sovereignty over a few smaller territories. Among the spoils of war, Castilia de facto annexed the Spanish territories which had sited with the Habsburgs. In 1716, Philip V signed the Nueva Planta decrees suppressing the institutions, privileges, and the ancient charters of almost all the areas that were formerly part of the Crown of Aragon in which Catalonia was attached.

This is to clarify how modern Spain came to be so it will provide background for the readers to understand why Catalonia has been asking on and off for independence since.

Regarding the sentence “...in Catalonia always people have spoken catalan and castilian”, I’m sorry Rodrigo but no territory in the world is ‘born’ bilingual. Bilinguism (or multilinguism) is always the result of a process, whether peaceful (a steady influx of immigrants carrying a different language into a territory) or violent (an imposition of the winning party in a war or invasion). In the case of Catalonia that’s indeed a mix of both: the (more of less peaceful) relationship between the Castilian and Aragon crowns for over two centuries (1469-1700s) created a steady transfer of a lot of Spaniards from inland regions to the coastal more prosperous territories of the Crown of Aragon -much as the result of today’s EU free movement treaties. But then, the aforementioned Nueva Planta decrees of 1716 (check Wikipedia) imposed the Spanish as the only official language to be used in the conquered territories of the Crown of Aragon. Not only that, but all of the existing universities in Catalonia were disbanded as punishment for having sited against the Bourbons, and a new one was specifically created in 1718 (Cervera) to ensure teachings were delivered according to the Castilian king’s views. This settings were indeed crucial in the implantation over time of Spanish as the vehicular language across Catalan society at all levels. Fortunately, the late 1800 Reinaxença cultural revivalist movement impulsed a re-birth of the Catalan as the autochthonous language of Catalonia. This does not detract of course the fact that hundreds of thousands of inmigrants that have come over these centuries to Catalonia have indeed enriched the cultural legacy of this land and nowadays one can proudly proclame that the Spanish language is indeed part of the heritage of Catalonia… but let’s be accurate in the wording, please!.

Lastly, regarding whether the so-called dispossession of Catalan wealth does indeed amounts to 8, 10 or 15% of the Catalan GDP… well, let’s simply analize the figures published in official sources (a quite good and fairly unbiased source is the European Statistics Office, the Eurostat) as well as the analysis presented by reputed economists, including international figures, rather than shout ourselves hoarse over issues most people including journalists and some politicians have no real clue. After all none of them, neither you nor me, have accessed the raw data to be able to confirm or dispute these figures!

As a closing comment, I would very much like to see contributions to these debates which provided accurate (and documented) information and facts over which everyone can take a stand rather than only unfunded passionate and full of rage comments based solely on personal beliefs and ideology.