Principality of Catalonia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1173–1714 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Location of the Principality of Catalonia (red) within the Iberian realms of the Crown of Aragon (white) | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Location of the Principality of Catalonia (light green, at the left) in a diachronic map of the Mediterranean dominions of the Crown of Aragon | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Status |
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| Capital | Barcelona | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages |
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| Religion |
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| Demonym | Catalan(s) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy subject toconstitutions | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Prince | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1173–1196 | Alfons I(first) | ||||||||||||||||||||
• 1705–1714 | Charles III(last) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| President of the Generalitat | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1359–1362 | Berenguer de Cruïlles(first) | ||||||||||||||||||||
• 1713–1714 | Josep de Vilamala(last) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Catalan Courts | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | |||||||||||||||||||||
• Legal definition of Catalonia | 1173 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• FirstCatalan Courts | 1218 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Founding of theGeneralitat | 1359 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Reign ofCharles I | 1516–1556 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1659 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 September 1714 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||||||||
• 1700 | c. 500,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Croat,Ducat,Florin,Peseta, and others | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | |||||||||||||||||||||
ThePrincipality of Catalonia[f] was amedieval andearly modernstate[10][11][12][13][14] in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. During most of its history it was indynastic union with theKingdom of Aragon, constituting together theCrown of Aragon. Between the 13th and the 18th centuries, it was bordered by the Kingdom of Aragon to the west, theKingdom of Valencia to the south, theKingdom of France to the north and by the Mediterranean Sea to the east. Its sovereign orprince had the title ofCount of Barcelona.[15][16] The term Principality of Catalonia was official until the 1830s, when the Spanish government implemented the centralized provincial division, but remained in popular and informal contexts. Today, the termPrincipat ("Principality") is used primarily to refer to theautonomous community ofCatalonia in Spain, as distinct from the otherCatalan Countries,[17][18] and often including the historical region ofRoussillon inSouthern France.
The first reference toCatalonia and the Catalans appears in theLiber maiolichinus de gestis Pisanorum illustribus, aPisan chronicle (written between 1117 and 1125) of the conquest ofMajorca by a joint force of Northern Italians,Catalans, andOccitans.[19] At the time, Catalonia did not yet exist as a political entity, though the use of this term seems to acknowledge Catalonia as a cultural or geographical entity. The counties that eventually made up the Principality of Catalonia were gradually unified under the rule of thecount of Barcelona. In 1137, the County of Barcelona and the Kingdom of Aragon were unified under a single dynasty, creating what modern historians call theCrown of Aragon; however, Aragon and Catalonia retained their own political structure and legal systems, developing separate political communities along the next centuries. UnderAlfons I the Troubador (1164–1196), Catalonia was regarded as a legal entity for the first time in 1173.[20] Still, the termPrincipality of Catalonia was not used legally until the 14th century, when it was applied to the territories ruled by theCourts of Catalonia.
Its institutional system evolved over the centuries, establishing political bodies analogous to the ones of the other kingdoms of the Crown (such as the Courts, theGeneralitat or theConsell de Cent) and legislation (constitutions, derived from theUsages of Barcelona) which largely limited the royal power and secured the political model ofpactism (contractual system between the monarch and the Estates).[21] Catalonia contributed to further develop the Crown trade and military, most significantly their navy. The Catalan language flourished and expanded as more territories were added to the Crown, includingValencia, theBalearic Islands,Sardinia,Sicily, Naples, and Athens, constituting athalassocracy across the Mediterranean. Thecrisis of the 14th century, the end of the rule ofHouse of Barcelona (1410) and acivil war (1462–1472) weakened the role of the Principality in Crown and international affairs.
In 1516,Charles V became monarch of both the crowns of Aragon and Castile, creating a personal union, theMonarchy of Spain. In 1492 theSpanish colonization of the Americas began, and political power began to shift away towardsCastile. Tensions between Catalan institutions and the monarchy, alongside the peasants' revolts, provoked theReapers' War (1640–1659), who saw the brief establishment of aCatalan Republic. By theTreaty of the Pyrenees (1659) the Roussillon was ceded to France. During theWar of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), the Crown of Aragon supported theArchduke Charles of Habsburg. After thesurrender of Barcelona in 1714, KingPhilip V of Bourbon, inspired by the French model, imposedabsolutism and a unifying administration across Spain, and enacted theNueva Planta decrees for every realm of the Crown of Aragon, which suppressed Catalan, Aragonese, Valencian and Majorcan institutions and legal systems and merged them into the Crown of Castile as provinces, ending their status as separate states. However, the territories, including the Principality of Catalonia, remained as administrative units until the establishment of theSpanish provincial division of 1833, which divided Catalonia into four provinces.
The lands of what today is Catalonia became part of the Roman Empire,Tarraco (modern Tarragona) being one of the main Roman posts in the Iberian Peninsula and the capital of the province ofTarraconensis.[22]
TheVisigoths ruled after theWestern Roman Empire's collapse near the end of the 5th century.MoorishAl-Andalus gained control in the early 8th century, after conquering theVisigothic kingdom in 711–718. After the defeat ofAbd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah al-Ghafiqi's troops atTours in 732, theFranks gradually gained control of the former Visigoth territories north of the Pyrenees, which had been captured by the Muslims or had become allied with them, in what is today Catalonia. In 795,Charlemagne created what came to be known by historiography and some Frankishchronicles as theMarca Hispanica, abuffer zone beyond the province ofSeptimania, made up of locally administered separatecounties which served as a defensive barrier between theUmayyad of Al-Andalus and theFrankish Kingdom.[23]
A distinctive Catalan culture started to develop in the Middle Ages stemming from a number of these small counties throughout the northernmost part of Catalonia. Thecounts of Barcelona were Frankishvassals nominated by the Carolingian emperor, then the king of the Franks, to whom they were feudatories (801–988). In 878,Wilfred the Hairy, anethnic Visigoth fromCarcassona, count of Urgell and Cerdanya, was appointed count of Barcelona, Girona and Osona. Since then, these last three counties were always ruled by the same person, becoming the political core of the future Principality of Catalonia. Upon his death in 897 Wilfred made their titles hereditaries and thus founded the dynasty of theHouse of Barcelona, which ruled Catalonia until the death of Martin I, its last ruling member, in 1410. Many abbeys were founded between the ninth century and the twelfth century while in the cities the episcopal seats were restored, forming important artistic and intellectual centers. These religious centers contribute to an important diffusion of theRomanesque art in Catalonia (monasteries ofSanta Maria de Ripoll andMontserrat, collegiate church of Cardona,cathedral of Girona...) as well as to the maintenance of rich libraries nourished by Classical, Visigothic and Arab works. The scholar and mathematician Gerbert d'Aurillac (future pope under the name ofSylvester II) studied in Vic and Ripoll and knowledge of mathematics and astronomy were introduced from Arabic.[24]
In 988 CountBorrell II did not recognise the Frankish kingHugh Capet and his new dynasty, effectively taking Barcelona out of Frankish rule.[25] From that point on, the counts of Barcelona often referred to themselves asprinceps (prince), in order to show their preeminence over the other Catalan counts.[26] During the 9th and 10th centuries, the counties increasingly became a society ofaloers, peasant proprietors of small, family-based farms, who lived bysubsistence agriculture and owed no formalfeudal allegiance. At the start of the 11th century the Catalan Counties suffer an important process of feudalisation, as the miles formed links of vassalage over this previously independent peasantry. The middle years of the century were characterized by virulent class warfare. Seigniorial violence was unleashed against the peasants, utilizing new military tactics, based on contracting well armed mercenary soldiers mounted on horses. By the end of the century, most of the aloers had been converted into vassals.[27] During the regency of countessErmesinde of Carcassonne (1017–1057), which received the government of Barcelona after the death of her husband the countRamon Borrell,[28] the disintegration of central power was evident.
The response of the Catholic Church to the feudal violence was the establishment of thesagreres around churches and the movement ofPeace and Truce of God.[29] The first assembly of Peace and Truce was presided byAbbot Oliba inToulouges,Roussillon in 1027.[30] The grandson of Ermesinde, countRamon Berenguer I, began the codification of Catalan law in the writtenUsages of Barcelona[31] which was to become the first full compilation of feudal law in Western Europe. Legal codification was part of the count's efforts to forward and somehow control the process of feudalization.
Under countRamon Berenguer III, the County of Barcelona experienced a new phase of territorial expansion.[32] This included a joint Catalan and Pisan Crusade against theTaifa of Majorca (1114) and the conquest of Tarragona (1116), restoring in the last one thearchiepiscopal see of the city (1119), disbanded after the Muslim conquest. That meant the independence of the Catalan Church from thebishopric of Narbonne.[33]
In 1137 countRamon Berenguer IV of Barcelona received the donation of the neighboringKingdom of Aragon from kingRamiro II of Aragon,[34] and in 1150 married his daughter, queenPetronilla, establishing the dynastic union of the County of Barcelona and its dominions with the Kingdom of Aragon, resulting in acomposite monarchy known as theCrown of Aragon.[35] The reign of Ramon Berenguer IV saw the Catalan conquest of Lleida and Tortosa. Their son,Alfons, was the first king to rule Aragon and Barcelona together; the titles would be perpetually linked from then on.[36] During the reign of Alfons, in 1173, Catalonia was legally delimited for the first time, while the first compilation of the Usages of Barcelona was made in the process to turn them into the law of Catalonia (Consuetudinem Cathalonie).[20] Apart from the Usages, between 1170 and 1195 theLiber feudorum maior and theGesta Comitum Barchinonensium were compiled and written, being considered together as the three milestones of Catalan political identity.[37]
His son, KingPeter II of Aragon, faced the defense of the Occitan territories, acquired from the times of Ramon Berenguer I onwards, from theAlbigensian Crusade. TheBattle of Muret (12 September 1213) and the unexpected defeat of King Peter and his vassals and allies, the counts of Toulouse, Comminges and Foix, against the French–Crusader armies, resulted in the fading of the strong human, cultural and economic ties existing between the ancient territories of Catalonia and the Languedoc.[38]
In theTreaty of Corbeil, 1258,James I of Aragon, descendant ofSunifred andBello of Carcassonne and therefore heir of theHouse of Barcelona, relinquished his family rights and dominions in theLanguedoc and recognized the Capetian king of FranceLouis IX as heir of theCarolingian dynasty. In return, the King of France formally renounced his claims of feudal lordship over all the Catalan counties.[39] This treaty confirmed, from French point of view, the independence of the Catalan counties established and exercised during the previous three centuries, but also meant the irremediable separation between the people of Catalonia and the Languedoc.
As a coastal territory within theCrown of Aragon and with the increasing importance of the port of Barcelona, Catalonia became the main centre of the Crown's maritime power, promoting and helping to expand its influence and power by conquest and trade into Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia and Sicily.
At the same time, the Principality of Catalonia developed a complex institutional and political system based on the concept of pact between the estates of the realm and the monarch. Legislation (whose main piece were theCatalan constitutions) had to be approved in the General Court of Catalonia orCatalan Courts (Corts Catalanes),[40] a parliamentary body with roots dating from the 11-12th centuries Comital Court and Peace and Truce Assemblies which, from 1283 onwards, obtained the power to pass legislation alongside with the monarch, being the first parliament in medieval Europe to officially receive such recognition.[41] The Courts were composed of the three Estates organized in to "arms" (braços) and presided over by the monarch as count of Barcelona.[42][43][44] The first Catalan constitutions, derived from the Usages of Barcelona, are of the ones from the Catalan Courts of Barcelona from 1283. The last ones were promulgated by the Courts of 1705–1706, presided by the disputedHabsburg KingCharles III. The compilations of the Constitutions and other rights of Catalonia followed the Roman tradition of the Codex. This constitutions developed a compilation of rights for the inhabitants of the Principality and limited the power of the kings.
In order to recapt the "tax of the General", the Courts of 1359 established a permanent representation of deputies, called Deputation of the General (in Catalan:Diputació del General) and later usually known asGeneralitat, which gained considerable political power over the next centuries.[45]
The Principality saw a prosperous period during the 13th century and the first half of the 14th. The population increased; Catalan language and culture expanded into the islands of the Western Mediterranean. The reign ofPeter III of Aragon ("the Great") included theconquest of Sicily and the successful defense against aFrench crusade;[46] his son and successorAlfonso III ("the Generous") conquered Menorca; and Peter's second son James II conquered Sardinia; Catalonia was the center of the empire, expanding and organizing it, establishing institutional systems similar to its own.[47] Barcelona, then the most frequent royal residence, was consolidated as the administrative center of the domains with the establishment of theRoyal Archives in 1318.[48][49] TheCatalan Company, mercenaries led byRoger de Flor and formed byAlmogavar veterans of the War of the Sicilian Vespers, were hired by theByzantine Empire to fight the Turks, defeating them in several battles. After the assassination of Roger de Flor by orders of the emperor's sonMichael Palaiologos (1305), the Company took revenge by sacking Byzantine territory, and they conquered theduchies of Athens andNeopatras in the name of the King of Aragon. Catalan rule over Greek lands lasted until 1390.[50]
This territorial expansion was accompanied by a great development of the Catalan trade, centered in Barcelona, creating an extensive trade network across the Mediterranean which competed with those of themaritime republics ofGenoa andVenice.[47][51] In this line, institutions were created that would give legal protection to merchants, such as theConsulate of the Sea and theBook of the Consulate of the Sea, one of the first compilations ofmaritime law.[52]
The second quarter of the 14th century saw crucial changes for Catalonia, marked by a succession of natural catastrophes, demographic crises, stagnation and decline in the Catalan economy, and the rise of social tensions. The year 1333 was known asLo mal any primer (Catalan: "The first bad year") due to poor wheat harvest.[53] The domains of the Aragonese Crown were affected severely by theBlack Death pandemic and by later outbreaks of the plague. Between 1347 and 1497 Catalonia lost 37 percent of its population.[54]
In 1410, KingMartin I, the last reigning monarch of the House of Barcelona, died without surviving descendants. Under theCompromise of Caspe (1412), Ferdinand from the CastilianHouse of Trastámara received the Crown of Aragon asFerdinand I of Aragon.[55] Ferdinand's successor,Alfonso V ("the Magnanimous"), promoted a new stage of Catalan-Aragonese expansion, this time over theKingdom of Naples, over which he eventually gained rule in 1443. However, he aggravated the social crisis in the Principality of Catalonia, both in the countryside and in the cities. Political conflict in Barcelona arose due to the disputes over the control of the Consell de Cent between two political factions,Biga and Busca looking for a solution to the economic crisis. Meanwhile, theremença (serfs') peasants subjected to the feudal abuses known asevil customs began to organize themselves as a syndicate against seignorial pressures, seeking protection from the monarch. Alfonso's brother,John II ("the Unreliable"), was a deeply hated regent and ruler, both in the Basque kingdom of Navarre and in Catalonia.
The opposition of the institutions of Catalonia to the policies of John II resulted in their support to the son of John,Charles, Prince of Viana over his denied dynastic rights. In response of the detention of Charles by his father, the Generalitat established a political body, theCouncil of the Principality, with whom, under menace of a conflict, John was forced to negotiate. TheCapitulation of Vilafranca (1461) forced to release Charles from prison and appoint him lieutenant of Catalonia, while the king would need permission of the Generalitat to enter the Principality.[56] The content of the Capitulation represented a culmination and consolidation of pactism and the constitutional system of Catalonia.[57] However, the disagreement of King John, the death of prince Charles shortly after, and theRemença Uprising in 1462 led to the ten-yearCatalan Civil War (1462–1472) that left the country exhausted. In 1472, the last separate ruler of Catalonia, KingRené of Anjou ("the Good"), lost the war against King John.
John's son,Ferdinand II ("the Catholic"), recovered the northern Catalan counties (1493), occupied during the conflict, and profoundly reformed Catalan institutions. TheConstitució de l'Observança (1481) was approved, establishing thesubmission of royal power to the laws approved in the Catalan Courts.[58][59] After decades of conflict, theremença peasants were liberated from most offeudal abuses by theSentencia Arbitral de Guadalupe (1486), in exchange for a payment.[60]
The marriage ofIsabella I of Castile andFerdinand II of Aragon (1469) unified two of the three major Christian kingdoms in the Iberian peninsula, while theKingdom of Navarre was incorporated later following Ferdinand II's1512 invasion of the Basque kingdom.
This resulted in the reinforcement of the concept of Spain, which was already present in the mind of these kings,[61] made up by the former Crown of Aragon, Castile, and a Navarre annexed to Castile (1515). In 1492, the last remaining portion of Al-Andalus around Granada was conquered and the Spanish conquest of the Americas began. Political power began to shift away from Aragon toward Castile and, subsequently, from Castile to theSpanish Empire, which engaged in frequent warfare in Europe striving for world domination. In 1516 Charles I of Spain became the first king to rule the Crowns of Castile and Aragon simultaneously by his own right. Following the death of his paternal (House of Habsburg) grandfather,Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, he was also electedCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1519.[62] The reign of Charles V was a relative harmonious period, during which Catalonia generally accepted the new structure of Spain, despite its own marginalization.
For an extended period, Catalonia, as part of the lateCrown of Aragon, successfully retained its own institutional system and legislation against the trend observed in southern and central Europe throughout the early modern age, which eroded the importance of representative institutions,[63] until they were finally suppressed as a result of theWar of the Spanish Succession defeat at the beginning of the 18th century. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the role of the political community in local affairs and the general government of the country was increased, while the royal powers remained relatively restricted, which was attested after the two last Courts (1701–1702 and 1705–1706). The prolonged absence of the monarchs, who resided most of the time in Castile, led to the consolidation of the figure of theviceroy as the representative of the king in the Principality.
However, over the next century, Catalonia was on the losing side of a series of wars that led steadily to more centralization of power in Spain. The period saw a rise inBarbary piracy along the coast andbanditry in the countryside. Tensions between the constitutional Catalan institutions and the gradually more centralized monarchy began to arise.[64] In 1626 theCount-Duke of Olivares, minister ofPhilip IV, tried to establish the military contribution of the states of the monarchy, theUnión de Armas (Union of Arms),[65] but the resistance of Catalonia to the project was strong. This events, alongside other factors such as the economic crisis, the continuous presence of royal soldiers and the peasants' revolts led to theReapers' War (1640–1652), in the context of theFranco-Spanish War, in which Catalonia, governed by aJunta de Braços (revolutionary assembly or States-General) led by the president of the Generalitat,Pau Claris, broke with the Spanish king and briefly established itself as anindependent republic under French protection between 1640 and 1641, and later entered in a personal union with the Kingdom of France, appointing French kingLouis XIII as count of Barcelona,[66] but, after the first military successes, Catalans were finally defeated and reincorporated into the Crown of Spain in 1652.[67]
In 1659, after theTreaty of the Pyrenees signed byPhilip IV, thecomarques (counties) ofRoussillon,Conflent,Vallespir and part of laCerdanya, now known asFrench Cerdagne, were ceded to France.[68] The town ofLlívia remained part of Spain, however, an isolated enclave a mile north of the new border. Catalan institutions were suppressed in this part of the territory and, in 1700, public use of Catalan language was prohibited.[69] In recent times,[when?] this ceded area has come to be known by nationalist political parties in Catalonia asNorthern Catalonia (Roussillon in French), part of the Catalan-spoken territories known asCatalan Countries. Currently, this region is administratively part of FrenchDépartement ofPyrénées-Orientales.
In the last decades of the 17th century during the reign of Spain's last Habsburg king,Charles II, despite intermittent conflict between Spain and France and new internal conflicts like theRevolt of the Barretines (1687–1689), the population increased to approximately 500.000 inhabitants[70] and the Catalan economy improved. This economic growth was boosted by the export of wine toEngland and theDutch Republic, as due to the trade war of French ministerJean-Baptiste Colbert against the Dutch and later to the participation of these countries in theNine Years' War against France were not able to trade with the French. This new situation caused many Catalans to look to England and, especially, the Netherlands as political and economic models for Catalonia.[71]
At the dawn of theWar of the Spanish Succession, theBourbon Duke of Anjou claimed the throne of Spain asPhilip V, and the Principality initially supported his claim. However, repressive mesures of theviceroy Francisco de Velasco and authoritarian decisions of the king (some of them contrary to Catalan legislation), as well the economic policy and distrust to the French absolutism provoked that Catalonia to change sides in 1705, when Habsburg candidate, theArchduke Charles of Austria (as Charles III of Spain) landed in Barcelona.[72] Previously, the same year, the Principality of Catalonia and theKingdom of England signed thePact of Genoa, receiving the first one protection to its institutions and liberties, entering in the pro-HabsburgGrand Alliance.
TheTreaty of Utrecht (1713) put end to the war at international level, and the allied armies withdrew from Catalonia which, nonetheless, remained fighting with its ownarmy by decision of theJunta de Braços in a separate conflict known as theWar of the Catalans, lasting until the capitulation of Barcelona after along siege on 11 September 1714. The victorious army of Philip V occupied the capital of Catalonia and (as happened to the kingdoms of Aragon and Valencia, also loyals to Charles) the king enacted theNueva Planta decrees in 1716. The decrees abolished the main Catalan institutions and public laws (except thecivil andmercantile laws) and replacing them with those of Castile, establishingabsolutism as the new political system, and imposed the administrative use of Spanish language, progressively displacing Catalan.[73][74]
Apart from the abolition of the Catalan institutions, the Nueva Planta decrees ensured the imposition of the new absolutist system by reforming the Royal Audience of Catalonia, making it the highest governmental body of the Principality, absorbing many of the functions of the abolished institutions and becoming the instrument with which theCaptain General of Catalonia, the supreme authority of the province (replacing the viceroy), appointed by the king, would govern.[75] The division invegueries was replaced with Castiliancorregimientos. The imposition of a new tax, thecadastre, by royal decree, multiplied the tax burden in Catalonia sevenfold.[76][77] So late as in the 18th and 19th centuries, despite the military occupation, the high new taxes and the political economy of the House of Bourbon,[78] the Catalonia under Spanish administration, now as a province, continued the process ofproto-industrialization, relatively helped at the end of the century from the beginning of open commerce to America andprotectionist policies enacted by the Spanish government (although the policy of Spanish government during those times changed many times betweenfree trade and protectionism), consolidating the new economic growth model that was taking place in Catalonia since the end of the 17th century, becoming a center of Spain's industrialization; to this day, it remains one of the more industrialized parts of Spain, along with Madrid and theBasque Country.
In 1833, by decree of ministerJavier de Burgos, all of Spain was organized into provinces, including Catalonia, which was divided in four provinces without common administration:Barcelona,Girona,Lleida andTarragona. Despite various attempts throught the next decades, Catalonia wouldn't regain the administrative unity until 1914, when the four Catalan provinces were authorized to create a commonwealth (Catalan:Mancomunitat),[79] and the political autonomy until 1932, when the Generalitat was revived as a modern institution of self-government.[80]
The counts of Barcelona were commonly considered theprinceps orprimus inter pares ("the first among equals") by the other counts of theSpanish March, both because of their military and economic power, and the supremacy of Barcelona over other cities.
Thus, the Count of Barcelona,Ramon Berenguer I, is called "Prince of Barcelona, Count ofGirona and Marchis of Ausona" (princeps Barchinonensis, comes Gerundensis, marchio Ausonensis) in the Act of Consecration of theCathedral of Barcelona (1058). There are also several references to thePrince in different sections of theUsages of Barcelona, the collection of laws that ruled the county since the early 11th century. Usage #64 callsprincipatus the group of counties of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona, all of them under the authority of the count of Barcelona.[81]
The first reference to the termPrincipat de Cathalunya is found in the dispute betweenPeter IV of Aragon and III of Barcelona and the Kingdom of Mallorca in 1343,[82] and it was used again in the convocation of the Catalan Courts inPerpignan in 1350, presided by Peter IV. It was intended to indicate that the territory under the laws produced by those Courts was not a kingdom, but the enlargement of the territory under the authority of the Count of Barcelona, who was also the King of Aragon, as seen in theActas de las cortes generales de la Corona de Aragón 1362–1363.[83] However, there is an older reference, in a more informal context, inBernat Desclot's chronicles, dating from the second half of the 13th century.[84]
As the Count of Barcelona and the Courts added more counties under his jurisdiction, such as theCounty of Urgell, the name of Catalonia, which comprised several counties of different names including theCounty of Barcelona, was used for the whole. The terms Catalonia and Catalans were commonly used to refer to the territory in Northeastern Spain and western Mediterranean France, as well as its inhabitants, and not just the County of Barcelona, at least since the beginnings of the 12th century, as shown in the earliest recordings of these names in theLiber Maiolichinus (around 1117–1125).
The name "Principality of Catalonia" is abundant in historical documentation that refers to Catalonia between the mid-14th century and early 19th century.[85] According to research carried out in recent decades, is considered to be in the second half of the 12th century when the Catalan counties form a unified and cohesive political entity, –although jurisdictionally divided– called "Catalonia". This happens because the counts of Barcelona became the one hand, the majority of sovereigns Catalan Counties and the other hand kings of Aragon, which helped them prevail in the rest of autonomous Catalan counts (Pallars, Urgell andEmpúries) if they were not in their feudal vassals, while also incorporated its extensive domain the Islamic territories ofTortosa andLleida. The political entity resulting from this process since the 13th century, was repeatedly mentioned the term "kingdom" as a medieval state, i.e. public domain political regime monarchist government.
However, it consolidated this denomination officially, because, for various historical reasons, the rulers of the Kingdom of Aragon never used the title "King of Catalonia". This is where the use of the term "principality" comes in, since at least since the 12th century, the word was synonymous with the term "kingdom" which alluded generically to political entities which categorizehistoriographically the expression "Medieval States". Yet it was not until the 14th century – specifically, since 1343 – that, thanks to work ofPeter III of Aragon, the Principality of Catalonia became an official and popular name. This political entity was part of some composite monarchies or dynastic conglomerates, such as the Crown of Aragon, theSpanish monarchy and theKingdom of France (1641–1652), being on an equal footing with other political communities of the time, or external in relation to great empires, as were the kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Valencia,England,Scotland or theDuchy of Milan, for example.[86]
Following the Nueva Planta decree of 1716 and the subsequent dismantling of the Catalan institutional and legal system, the territory being annexed to Castile became a province of the new and more unified Kingdom of Bourbon Spain, but "Principality" continued to be the definition of the territory, as witnessed in the Nueva Planta decree itself. This state of affairs remained until the Kingdom of Spain was transformed permanently into a liberal state in 1833, whenJavier de Burgos eliminated the province of the Principality of Catalonia, dividing it into the current four provinces. Thus, the term disappeared from the administrative and political reality of the country.
Neither theStatute of Autonomy of Catalonia,Spanish Constitution norFrench Constitution, mention this denomination, but, despite being republican, it is moderately popular amongCatalan nationalists and those who advocate forCatalan independence.
Today, despite the term "Principality" or the historical existence of a Catalan polity is widely accepted at academic level, it has been often ignored, misrepresented or criticized in historical divulgation, social media and in political arena, particularly in Spain. The pseudo-debate about its existence became particularly widespread during the first decades of the 21st century due to the increasing demands for Catalan self-determination, being used as a tool to deny any possible historical legitimization of Catalan demands.[87]
The political system of the Principality of Catalonia and the other realms of the Crown of Aragon has been defined by historiography as "pactism". It designate the explicit or tacit pact between king and kingdom (in its organic and estamental representation), which decisively limited the royal power.
Thevegueria was a territorial organization of Catalonia headed by aveguer (Latin:vigerius). The origins of the vegueria go back to the era of the Carolingian Empire, whenvicars (Latin:vicarii, singularvicarius) were installed beneath the counts in the Marca Hispanica. The office of a vicar was a vicariate (Latin:vicariatus) and his territory was avicaria. All these Latin terms of Carolingian administration evolved in the Catalan language.
Theveguer was appointed by the king and was accountable to him. He was the military commander of hisvegueria (and thus keeper of the publicly owned castles), the chief justice of the same district, and the man in charge of the public finances (thefisc) of the region entrusted to him. As time wore on, the functions of the veguer became more and more judicial in nature. He held acort (court)del veguer orde la vegueria with its own seal. The cort had authority in all matter save those relating to the feudal aristocracy. It commonly heard pleas of the Crown, civil, and criminal cases. The veguer did, however, retain some military functions as well: he was the commander of the militia and the superintendent of royal castles. His job was law and order and the maintenance of the king's peace: in many respects an office analogous to that of the sheriff in England.
Some of the larger vegueries included one or moresotsvegueries (subvigueries), which had a large degree of autonomy. At the end of the 12th century in Catalonia, there were 12 vegueries. By the end of the reign of Peter the Great (1285) there were 17, and by the time of James the Just, there were 21. After the French annexion of the vegueries of Perpignan andVilafranca de Conflent in 1659, Catalonia retained a division of 15 vegueries, nine sotsvegueries and the special district of theVal d'Aran. These administrative divisions remained until 1716 when they were replaced by the Castiliancorregimientos.[96]
As a state under royal sovereignty, Catalonia, like the other political entities of the period, did not have its own flag or coat of arms in the modern sense. However, a variety of royal and other symbols were used in order to identify the Principality and its institutions.
.svg)   | Royal arms of the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona. TheSenyera is one of the oldest flags in Europe to be used in present-day (but not in continuous use). There are several theories advocating either a Catalan or Aragonese origin for the symbol. While remained the monarch's personal emblem, during the early modern period it was often territorialized to represent individually the realms of the Crown of Aragon, among them the Principality of Catalonia. |
  | St George Cross as ensign of the Deputation of the General or Generalitat. The flag was used by the armies of the Generalitat. |
  | Flag of Barcelona, capital of the Principality, which appeared for the first time in 1329. In 1335, King Peter IV the Ceremonious gave permission to the Council of One Hundred to use his royal sign (the four bars). Although in 1344 the four bars had already been fixed decree, the number fluctuated for a long time between four and two. It was replaced during early modern era by theSaint Eulalia's flag. It also appears in some maps as the flag that identified the Principality. |
 | Saint Eulalia's flag. |
The UsagePrinceps namque, dating from the 11th century, regulated the defense of the prince and the Principality,[97] and became the basis of the organization of self-defense and paramilitary units throughout Catalan history, materialized in mutual-protection agreements known asSagramental,[98] while the militia corps was known asSometent. The feudal system allowed to lordships, institutions and corporations to raise its own armies, as well as to be convened by the king due to feudal agreements, alongside to the vassals and subjects of the other realms, however, there was nostanding army. Catalan soldiers played an important role in the expansion of the Crown to Valencia, Majorca and the Mediterranean. TheCatalan navy and itsCatalan Galleys contributed to expand and secure the hegemony along the sea, while the army invested much of its resources in theconquest of Sardinia and in theWar of the Sicilian Vespers. After the last one, most of theAlmogavers (light infantry) became mercenaries of theGreat Catalan Company created by Roger de Flor in 1303.
Due to the outbreak of the Catalan Civil War (1462–1472), theCouncil of the Principality of Catalonia organised different military forces to fight against the King John II. The Civil War saw one of the first generalised use offirearms in a military conflict of Western Europe. In the Catalan Courts of 1493, King Ferdinand II confirmed the usage ofPrinceps namque.
After the establishment of the monarchy of Spain in the 16th century, Catalans were found in Habsburg military, however, the UsagePrinceps namque and the lack of a large Catalan manpower limited their presence in comparison to the other polities of the Empire. Some cities like Barcelona gained recognition of self-defense and established urban militias, known as theCoronela. While the military conflicts with France arose, many Catalan militias took part in the fight alongside the regular army, as at thesiege of Salses, in 1639.[99]
Catalonia constitutes the original nucleus whereCatalan is spoken.The Catalan language shares common traits with the Romance languages of Iberia and Gallo-Romance languages of southern France, it is regarded by a minority of linguists as being anIbero-Romance language (the group that includes Spanish), and by a majority as aGallo-Romance language, such as French orOccitan from which Catalan diverged between 11th and 14th centuries.[100]
By the 9th century, Catalan had evolved fromVulgar Latin on both sides of the eastern end of the Pyrenees. From the 8th century, the Catalan counts extended their territory southwards and westwards, conquering territories then occupied by Muslims, bringing their language with them.[101] In the 11th century, feudal documents written inmacaronic Latin begin to show Catalan elements. By the end of the 11th century, documents written completely or mostly in Catalan begin to appear, like theComplaints of Guitard Isarn, Lord of Caboet (ca. 1080–1095), orThe Oath of peace and truce of Count Pere Ramon (1098).[101]
Catalan lived a golden age during the Late Middle Ages, reaching a peak of maturity and cultural plenitude, and expanded territorially as more lands were added to the dominions of the Crown of Aragon.[101] Examples of this can be seen in the works of MajorcanRamon Llull (1232–1315),The Four Great Catalan Chronicles (13th–14th centuries), and the Valencian school of poetry which culminated inAusiàs March (1397–1459). Catalan became the language of the Kingdom of Majorca, as well the main language of the Kingdom of Valencia, particularly in coastal areas. It was also extended to Sardinia and it was used as an administrative language in Sardinia, Sicily and Athens. Between the 13th and 15th centuries this language was present throughout theMediterranean world, and it was one of the first basis of theLingua Franca[102]
The belief that political splendor was correlated with linguistic consolidation was voiced through the Royal Chancery, which promoted a highly standardized language. By the 15th century, the city ofValencia had become the center of social and cultural dynamism. The novel of chivalryTirant lo Blanc (1490), byJoanot Martorell, shows the transition from medieval to Renaissance values, something than can also be seen in the works ofBernat Metge andAndreu Febrer. During this period, Catalan remained as one of the 'great languages' of medieval Europe. The first book produced withmovable type in the Iberian Peninsula was printed in Catalan.[101]
With the union of the crowns of Castille and Aragon (1479), the use of Castilian (Spanish) gradually became more prestigious and marked the start of the relative decline of the Catalan. Along the 16th and 17th centuries, Catalan literature came under the influence of Spanish, and the urban and literary classes became largely bilingual. After the defeat of the pro-Habsburg coalition in the War of Spanish Succession (1714) Spanish replaced Catalan in legal documentation, becoming the administrative and political language in the Principality of Catalonia and the kingdoms of Valencia and Majorca.
Today, Catalan is one of the three official languages ofautonomous community of Catalonia, as stated in theCatalan Statute of Autonomy; the other two are Spanish, andOccitan in itsAranese variety.[103] Catalan has no official recognition in "Northern Catalonia". Catalan has official status alongside Spanish in theBalearic Islands and in theLand of Valencia (where it is calledValencian),[104] as well asAlgherese Catalan alongside Italian in the city ofAlghero and inAndorra as the sole official language.[105]
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)«Item es ordonat que les galees no porten banderes, cendals ne panyos de senyal alcu sino del comtat de Barchinona ço es barres grogues e vermelles tan solament» -QueenMaria de Luna
"Pels catalans aquesta preeminençia (la del Regne d'Aragó on es produïa la coronació) es compensava amb l'adopció de l'escut de Catalunya com a comú per la Corona: «Car jatsia lo nom e Rey sia de Aragó, les armes emperò que aquell fa són del Principat de Catalunya», van dir els diputats a l'emperadriu Isabel el 1528"
«"ab senyal de Cathalunya, semblant d'aquest [dibuix de l'escut capgirat dels 4 pals]"/"armes de Cathalunya, barrades d'or e vermell"»
This group of states comprised the kingdoms of Aragon, Valencia, and Majorca, the principality of Catalonia, and the counties of Roussillon and Cerdagne; further afield it embraced the kingdoms of Sicily and Sardinia. These states had no common institutions or bonds save allegiance to a common sovereign
The region is only unique in its later statehood and conjunction with the kingdom of Aragon in the high Middle Ages, while other former Carolingian territories were eventually reabsorbed by the French crown.
According toElliott, "Between 1347 and 1497 the Principality [Catalonia] had lost 37% of its inhabitants, and was reduced to a population of something like 300,000."
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41°22′58″N02°10′36″E / 41.38278°N 2.17667°E /41.38278; 2.17667
