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| Catalan /Valenciancultural domain |
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  Northern Catalonia with respect to Catalonia, Spain (left); Northern Catalonia within France (right) |
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Northern Catalonia,North Catalonia[a] orFrench Catalonia is theCatalan-speaking and cultural territory ceded toFrance bySpain through the signing of theTreaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 in exchange for France's effective renunciation to the protection over Catalonia in the context of theReapers' War (1640–1659). The area corresponds roughly to the modern Frenchdépartement of thePyrénées-Orientales which was historically part of the Principality of Catalonia since the oldCounty of Barcelona, and remained part of it during the times of theCrown of Aragon and theHabsburg-ruled Monarchy of Spain, until they were separated and given to the Kingdom of France by the Crown of Spain.
The equivalent term inFrench,Catalogne du Nord, is used nowadays,[1] although less often than the more politically neutralRoussillon (Catalan:Rosselló);[2] Roussillon, though, historically did not includeVallespir,Conflent andCerdagne (Cerdanya). The termPays Catalan (País Català), "Catalan Country", is sometimes used.[3][4]
Northern Catalonia forms a triangle between thePyrenees to the south, theCorbières Massif to the north-west and theMediterranean Sea to the east. The Roussillon plain in the east, by far the most populated area, is formed by theflood plains of the riversTech,Têt, andAgly (Catalan:Tec, Tet, Aglí). The districts ofVallespir andConflent cover the upper valleys of the Tech and the Têt respectively. The massif of theCanigou (Catalan:Canigó), 2785 m, dominates much of the territory.
The climate is of theMediterranean type, with hot, dry summers and winters which are relatively mild, at least on the Roussillon plain where snow is rare.
The city ofPerpignan (Catalan:Perpinyà) accounts for over a quarter of the population, over one-third of its urban area is taken into account, and is the only major administrative and service center. Major road and rail links run north–south through Northern Catalonia between France and Spain, while a railway line also links Perpignan toLatour-de-Carol (Catalan:La Tor de Querol) viaPrades (Catalan:Prada de Conflent or Prada).
Haute-Cerdagne (Catalan:Alta Cerdanya, English:Upper Cerdanya) is geographically distinct from the rest of Northern Catalonia, lying to the south of the Pyreneanwatershed in the upper valley of theSegre. It is a mountainous and sparsely populated district, and includes the town ofLlívia (pop. 1252(2005)) which is anexclave of Spain.
The district lies on the most direct route betweenToulouse (Occitan:Tolosa de Lengadoc) andBarcelona (viaFoix andRipoll), and a railway line still links the two cities viaLatour-de-Carol (Catalan:La Tor de Querol).
Northern Catalonia formed part of the southern counties of the Frankish Empire (historiographically known as theMarca Hispanica), established byCharlemagne as a buffer territory againstAl-Andalus forces. As such, it was divided into feudal counties,Rosselló,Vallespir,Conflent north of the Pyrenees andCerdanya to the south. By the end of the ninth century, these counties had gained progressively independence from theCarolingian kings and operated as princely states (whose rulers nevertheless retained the title of count).
As the seigneury of the counties became hereditary, the total number of Catalan counts fell steadily. One individual often had the charge of several counties, but these were not always transmitted based onprimogeniture. Hence CountMiró II the Young, third son ofWilfred I the Hairy, inherited the counties of Cerdanya and Conflent from his father in 897, and the counties ofBesalú and Vallespir from his elder brotherSunyer I when the latter becameCount of Barcelona in 911.
TheCounts of Rosselló, in alliance with their cousins theCounts of Empuriés, tried to resist this dilution of their power. However, theCounts of Barcelona steadily gained suzerainty over the other Catalan counts, a process that was virtually complete by the twelfth century. The last separate Count of Rosselló,Girard II, left his title to theCrown of Aragon on his death in 1172 to prevent the territory passing to his illegitimate half-brothers. From that point on, the County merged with the other Catalan counties to establish a new state within the Crown, the Principality of Catalonia.
Royal administration in thePrincipality of Catalonia was organized based on territorial divisions known asvegueries, under the charge of aveguer appointed by the King of Aragon as Count of Barcelona. In Northern Catalonia, thevegueries followed closely the boundaries of the old counties. The district ofCapcir was asotsvegueria, based around the castle ofPuigbalador (French:Puyvalador) but subordinate to thevegueria ofConflent.
TheTreaty of Corbeil (1258) confirmed the frontier between the lands of the Kingdom of France and the Crown of Aragon as theCerbères, leaving theOccitan district ofFenolheda to France.
On the death of KingJames I the Conqueror in 1276, Northern Catalonia was combined with theBalearic Isles to form a newKingdom of Majorca, which passed toJames II while the rest of the territory of the Crown of Aragon passed to his brotherPeter III. By the Treaty of Perpignan (1279), James II of Mallorca would have to participate in theCatalan Courts; in the counties of Roussillon and Cerdanya theUsages of Barcelona would be in force and Catalan currency would circulate there, therefore ensuring that these counties would continue to be an integral part of the Principality of Catalonia. Furthermore, once peace was made between the brothers, they would sign a pact of mutual defense. This division satisfied neither branch of the family, and the Kingdom of Majorca was retaken militarily by the Crown of Aragon in 1344, fully reintegrating Roussillon and Cerdanya into the Crown of Aragon.
In 1350,University of Perpignan, the second one of Catalonia afterLleida, was founded.
At the end of theReapers' War (1640–1659), theTreaty of the Pyrenees of 1659 ceded Northern Catalonia to the Kingdom of France, where it became the province ofRoussillon. The French provinces were abolished at theRevolution (Law of 1789-12-22), and Roussillon was joined with the district ofFenouillèdes (Occitan:Fenolheda) to form thedépartement of thePyrénées-Orientales, withPerpignan (Perpinyà) as its administrative centre.
Thedépartement of the Pyrénées-Orientales is divided into thearrondissements ofCéret (Catalan:Ceret),Perpignan (Perpinyà) andPrades (Prada de Conflent), which are further divided intocantons andcommunes. Perpignan and sixteen surrounding communes are also associated in theCommunauté d'agglomérationTêt Méditerranée, created in 2001. Enclaved in the southwest of thedépartement there is the Spanish (Catalonia) exclave ofLlívia.
| Arrondissement | Cantons | Communes | Population(1999) | Area | Population density(1999) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Céret (Ceret) | 5 | 40 | 66,624 | 954 km2 | 69.8 /km2 |
| Perpignan (Perpinyà) | 20 | 86 | 287,272 | 1317 km2 | 218 /km2 |
| Prades (Prada) | 6 | 100 | 38,907 | 1845 km2 | 21.1 /km2 |
| TOTAL | 31 | 226 | 392,803 | 4116 km2 | 95.4 /km2 |
| All figures include the district ofFenouillèdes. | |||||
As is common, the present-dayarrondissements do not correspond to pre-Revolutionary boundaries. Thearrondissement of Prades (Prada) covers the whole ofHaute-Cerdagne (Alta Cerdanya) andConflent (includingCapcir), as well as about a third ofFenolheda (not part of the province of Roussillon). Thearrondissement of Céret covers the whole ofVallespir but also theCôte Vermeille (Costa Vermella), which was historically under the control of the counts andveguers of Rosselló atPerpinyà (Perpignan).
Catalan writers sometimes speak of the"comarques of Northern Catalonia". Unlike theautonomous community of Catalonia, thesecomarques have no administrative significance, although they usually correspond to a certain historical and geographical unity. A commonly used division is that ofJoan Becat in his 1977 workAtles de Catalunya Nord, which follows closely the boundaries of the formervegueries except insofar as it promotes the formersotsvegueria ofCapcir (177 km2,pop. 1532(1990)) to a fullcomarca.
The region is divided among those who support the statu quo with France and those who support the separation from the region of Occitania with aCorsican-style devolution of administrative autonomy, as well as to promote bonds withCatalonia. There are various organizations and political parties, such asCatalan Unity that promotes the reunification with Catalonia. The party has had some success since 1993, winning seats inmunicipal elections. It is now the most popular pro-Catalan independence party in the region.[5][6]
Northern Catalans are generally proud of their Catalan heritage and have developed a "Northern Catalan" identity. However, unlike their Southern neighbors in Spanish Catalonia, the Catalan identity is not a nationalist movement in French Catalonia. According to a 2020 study, French Catalans experienced mass education in the second half of the 19th century, leading them to adopt French patriotism. Catalans in Spain were mass educated in the early 20th century locally by Catalans and not by a strong Spanish state, which led to the consolidation of a salient Catalan national identity.[7]
In 2016, Northern Catalonia was merged with other areas ofOccitania to form a new French region. This has led to fears that theOccitan language and culture will be given precedence over the Catalan language and culture.[5]
In December 2017,Express.co.uk reported that 2000 people took part in a protest in Perpignan, in order to get the French government to hold a referendum on Northern Catalonia reuniting with Southern Catalonia.[8] Northern Catalans helped printballot slips for the2017 Catalan independence referendum.[9]
The Catalan folk danceSardana is a dance in the region. Northern Catalans support theUSAP rugby union team and theCatalans Dragons rugby league team.[6] There are fourcastells (Catalan human towers) teams in Northern Catalonia.[10]
Catalan is spoken in all regions of Northern Catalonia except forFenolheda which speaks the related (and mutually intelligible)Occitan language.[6]
InPerpignan, where a quarter of the population lives, 44% know the Catalan language.[6] It is estimated that roughly the 34% of the population of Northern Catalonia is able to speak Catalan,[11] and understood by 65%.
NeitherCatalan nor any of the other regional languages of France (like Basque, Breton, or Occitan) have official recognition in France. According to the second article of the French Constitution, "the language of the Republic isFrench", thus being the onlyofficial language in France as a whole, and therefore of thePays Catalan.
Despite lack of support from the French State, Catalan has a degree of acknowledgement by the region ofOccitania which contains Northern Catalonia; this provides some cultural support in education and public media, thanks to some more regional power since the laws of regionalization of France during the 1980s. Bilingual signage exists at the municipal level for traffic.
On 10 December 2007, theGeneral Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales proclaimed Catalan as one of the languages of the department, alongside French andOccitan (in Fenouillèdes),[12] The 'Charter in Support of Catalan' was adopted which called for the inclusion of the Catalan language on signs and its use in material produced by the administrative department.[13]
In 1700, the government ofLouis XIV prohibited the use of the Catalan language in official documents,[14] although the government only irregularly enforced the edict throughout the eighteenth century.[15]
In Perpignan Catalan was also prohibited from being used by priests duringMass.[16]
From 1700 allpublic acts had to be written in French, from 1738 this was extended to include registers of births, marriages and deaths.[16]
In the 1950s, after centuries of being forbidden in education, the Catalan language was permitted to be studied for one hour per week in secondary school. In the 1970s, theArrels Association andla Bressola network of private schools started to offer complete bilingual French/Catalan classes from nursery up to secondary education.[17]
The use of Catalan in local governments is still severely contested. In 2022, some local councils, such asElne, passed a modification of their statutes to allow the intervention in Catalan by their members, as long as they provide an exact oral and written translation in French.[18] Despite being a symbolic gesture, the prefect of the Department, arguing that the political rights of French speakers will be violated, appealed to justice to repeal these initiatives. In April 2023, the Administrative Court ofMontpellier sided with the Prefect, thus declaring illegal the decisions of the local councils.[19]
North Catalonia is one of just two regions in France whereSpanish-suited playing cards are used.[b] The region has its ownFrench Catalan pattern cards which are used to play local games like a variant of SpanishTruc.
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