1.
Modernism
–
Among the factors that shaped modernism were the development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth of cities, followed then by reactions of horror to World War I. Modernism also rejected the certainty of Enlightenment thinking, and many modernists rejected religious belief, the poet Ezra Pounds 1934 injunction to Make it new. Was the touchstone of the approach towards what it saw as the now obsolete culture of the past. In this spirit, its innovations, like the novel, atonal and twelve-tone music, divisionist painting and abstract art. Modernism explicitly rejected the ideology of realism and makes use of the works of the past by the employment of reprise, incorporation, rewriting, recapitulation, revision, others focus on modernism as an aesthetic introspection. While J. M. W. Art critic Clement Greenberg describes the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as proto-Modernists, There the proto-Modernists were, of all people, the Pre-Raphaelites actually foreshadowed Manet, with whom Modernist painting most definitely begins. They acted on a dissatisfaction with painting as practiced in their time, rationalism has also had opponents in the philosophers Søren Kierkegaard and later Friedrich Nietzsche, both of whom had significant influence on existentialism. A major 19th-century engineering achievement was The Crystal Palace, the huge cast-iron, Glass and iron were used in a similar monumental style in the construction of major railway terminals in London, such as Paddington Station and Kings Cross Station. These technological advances led to the building of structures like the Brooklyn Bridge. The latter broke all previous limitations on how tall man-made objects could be and these engineering marvels radically altered the 19th-century urban environment and the daily lives of people. Arguments arose that the values of the artist and those of society were not merely different, but that Society was antithetical to Progress, the philosopher Schopenhauer called into question the previous optimism, and his ideas had an important influence on later thinkers, including Nietzsche. Darwins theory of evolution by natural selection undermined religious certainty and the idea of human uniqueness, in particular, the notion that human beings were driven by the same impulses as lower animals proved to be difficult to reconcile with the idea of an ennobling spirituality. Karl Marx argued that there were fundamental contradictions within the capitalist system, historians, and writers in different disciplines, have suggested various dates as starting points for modernism. Everdell also thinks modernism in painting began in 1885–86 with Seurats Divisionism, the poet Baudelaires Les Fleurs du mal, and Flauberts novel Madame Bovary were both published in 1857. In the arts and letters, two important approaches developed separately in France, the first was Impressionism, a school of painting that initially focused on work done, not in studios, but outdoors. Impressionist paintings demonstrated that human beings do not see objects, the school gathered adherents despite internal divisions among its leading practitioners, and became increasingly influential. A significant event of 1863 was the Salon des Refusés, created by Emperor Napoleon III to display all of the paintings rejected by the Paris Salon. While most were in standard styles, but by artists, the work of Manet attracted tremendous attention
Modernism
Modernism
–
Eugène Delacroix 's
Liberty Leading the People, 1830, a
Romantic work of art
Modernism
–
A
Realist portrait of
Otto von Bismarck
Modernism
–
Odilon Redon, Guardian Spirit of the Waters, 1878, charcoal on paper,
The Art Institute of Chicago
2.
Catalan language
–
Catalan is a Romance language derived from Vulgar Latin and named after the medieval Principality of Catalonia, in northeastern modern Spain and adjoining parts of France. It is the national and only language of Andorra, and a co-official language of the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands. It also has status in the commune of Alghero, situated on the northwestern coast of the island of Sardinia. All these territories are often called Catalan Countries. 4% with Catalan and 47. 5% only Spanish, in order to integrate newcomers, the Generalitat de Catalunya spends part of its annual budget on the promotion of the use of Catalan in Catalonia and in other territories. Catalan evolved from Vulgar Latin in the Middle Ages around the eastern Pyrenees, during the Low Middle Ages it saw a golden age as the literary and dominant language of the Crown of Aragon, and was widely used all over the Mediterranean. The union of Aragon with the territories of Spain in 1479 marked the start of the decline of the language. In 1659 Spain ceded Northern Catalonia to France, and Catalan was banned in both states in the early 18th century, 19th-century Spain saw a Catalan literary revival, which culminated in the 1913 orthographic standardization, and the official status of the language during the Second Spanish Republic. However, the Francoist dictatorship banned the use of Catalan in schools and in the public administration, there is no parallel in Europe for such a large, bilingual, non-state speech community. Catalan dialects are relatively uniform, and are mutually intelligible and they are divided into two blocks, Eastern and Western, differing mostly in pronunciation. The terms Catalan and Valencian are two varieties of the same language, there are two institutions regulating the two standard varieties, the Institute of Catalan Studies in Catalonia and the Valencian Academy of the Language in the Valencian Community. Catalan shares many traits with its neighboring Romance languages, thus, the similarities are naturally most notable with eastern Occitan. Nouns have two genders, and two numbers, pronouns additionally can have a neuter gender, and some are also inflected for case and politeness, and can be combined in very complex ways. Verbs are split in several paradigms and are inflected for person, number, tense, aspect, mood, in terms of pronunciation, Catalan has many words ending in a wide variety of consonants and some consonant clusters, in contrast with many other Romance languages. The word Catalan derives from the territory of Catalonia, itself of disputed etymology, in English, the term referring to a person first appears in the mid 14th century as Catelaner, followed in the 15th century as Catellain. It is attested a language name since at least 1652, Catalan can be pronounced as /ˈkætəlæn/, /kætəˈlæn/ or /ˈkætələn/. The endonym is pronounced /kə. təˈɫa/ in the Eastern Catalan dialects, in the Valencian Community, the term valencià is frequently used instead. The names Catalan and Valencian are two names for the same language, see also status of Valencian below. By the 9th century, Catalan had evolved from Vulgar Latin on both sides of the end of the Pyrenees, as well as the territories of the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis to the south
Catalan language
–
Homilies d'Organyà (12th century)
Catalan language
–
Catalan
Catalan language
–
Fragment of the Greuges de Guitard Isarn (ca. 1080–1095), one of the earliest texts written almost completely in Catalan, predating the famous
Homilies d'Organyà by a century
Catalan language
–
Official Decree Prohibiting the Catalan Language in France
3.
Valencian
–
Valencian is the variety of Catalan as spoken in the Valencian Community, Spain. In the Valencian Community, Valencian is the language and is co-official with Spanish. It is considered a language from Catalan by a slight majority of the people from the Valencian Community, however. A standardized form exists, based on the Southern Valencian dialect, Valencian belongs to the Western group of Catalan dialects. Under the Valencian Statute of Autonomy, the Valencian Academy of the Language has been established as its regulator, the AVL considers Catalan and Valencian to be simply two names for the same language. Some of the most important works of Valencian literature experienced a golden age during the Late Middle Ages, important works include Joanot Martorells chivalric romance Tirant lo Blanch, and Ausiàs Marchs poetry. The first book produced with movable type in the Iberian Peninsula was printed in the Valencian variety, the earliest recorded chess game with modern rules for moves of the queen and bishop was in the Valencian poem Scachs damor. The official status of Valencian is regulated by the Spanish Constitution, article 6 of the Valencian Statute of Autonomy sets the legal status of Valencian, providing that, The official language of the Valencian Community is Valencian. Valencian is official within the Valencian Community, along with Spanish, everyone shall have the right to know it and use it, and receive education in Valencian. No one can be discriminated against by reason of their language, special protection and respect shall be given to the recuperation of Valencian. The Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua shall be the normative institution of the Valencian language, Valencian is not one of the recognized languages of the European Union. Valencian is not spoken all over the Valencian Community, roughly a quarter of its territory, equivalent to 10% of the population, is traditionally Castilian-speaking only, whereas Valencian is spoken to varying degrees elsewhere. Although the Valencian language was an important part of the history of this zone, the survey simply collects the answers of respondents and did not include any testing or verification. The statistics hide the fact that in the areas where the language is still strong, moreover, according to a survey in 2008, there is a downward trend in everyday Valencian users. The lowest numbers are in the cities of Valencia and Alicante. All in all, in the 1993–2006 period, the number of speakers fell by 10 per cent, however, some children of Valencian speakers go to private schools run by the church where the curriculum is in Castilian and consequently this becomes their preferred language. For more general information on the features of Valencian, see Catalan language, note also that there is a great deal of variety within the Valencian Community, and by no means do the features below apply to every local version. Valencian has a system of seven stressed vowels /a/, /e/, /ɛ/, /i/, /o/, /ɔ/, the vowel /e/ is retracted and /o/ is advanced both in stressed and unstressed syllables
Valencian
–
Knowledge of Valencian according to the 2001 census. Note that the light green areas inland and in the southernmost part are not historically Valencian speaking (large).
4.
Barcelona
–
Founded as a Roman city, in the Middle Ages Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. Barcelona has a cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre. Particularly renowned are the works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona, the city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions and also many international sport tournaments. It is a cultural and economic centre in southwestern Europe, 24th in the world. In 2008 it was the fourth most economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union, in 2012 Barcelona had a GDP of $170 billion, it is leading Spain in both employment rate and GDP per capita change. In 2009 the city was ranked Europes third and one of the worlds most successful as a city brand, since 2011 Barcelona has been a leading smart city in Europe. During the Middle Ages, the city was known as Barchinona, Barçalona, Barchelonaa. Internationally, Barcelonas name is abbreviated to Barça. However, this refers only to FC Barcelona, the football club. The common abbreviated form used by locals is Barna, another common abbreviation is BCN, which is also the IATA airport code of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport. The city is referred to as the Ciutat Comtal in Catalan. The origin of the earliest settlement at the site of present-day Barcelona is unclear, the ruins of an early settlement have been excavated in the El Raval neighbourhood, including different tombs and dwellings dating to earlier than 5000 BC. The founding of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends, the first attributes the founding of the city to the mythological Hercules. In about 15 BC, the Romans redrew the town as a castrum centred on the Mons Taber, under the Romans, it was a colony with the surname of Faventia, or, in full, Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino or Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino. It enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens, the city minted its own coins, some from the era of Galba survive. Some remaining fragments of the Roman walls have incorporated into the cathedral. The cathedral, also known as the Basilica La Seu, is said to have founded in 343
Barcelona
–
Central business district,
Sagrada Família,
Camp Nou stadium,
The Castle of the Three Dragons,
Palau Nacional,
W Barcelona hotel and beach
Barcelona
–
A marble plaque in the Museu d'Història de la Ciutat de Barcelona, dated from around 110-130 AD and dedicated to the Roman colony of Barcino
Barcelona
–
Basilica of La Mercè (Mare de Déu de la Mercè)
Barcelona
–
Barcelona in 1563
5.
Catalan grammar
–
Catalan grammar, the morphology and syntax of the Catalan language, is similar to the grammar of most other Romance languages. Catalan is a synthetic, fusional language. The grammar of Catalan is similar to other Romance languages, features include, Use of definite and indefinite articles. Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and articles are inflected for gender, highly inflected verbs, for person, number, tense, aspect, and mood. Word order is freer than English, Catalan has two types of article, definite and indefinite. They are declined for gender and number, and must agree with the noun they qualify, as with other Romance languages, Catalan articles are subject to complex elision and contraction processes. The inflection of articles is complex, especially because of frequent elision, Catalan has more preposition–article contractions than Spanish, like dels, but fewer than Italian. The tables below summarize the forms of the article, its elisions. The masculine singular form is el, the initial vowel is elided before a vowel or h, yielding to l. El is not elided if the word begins with semivocallic i-, the hiatus The masculine plural form is els. Both el and els combine with the prepositions a to, de of, el does not contract with the aforementioned prepositions if the following word begins with vowel or h. The feminine singular form is la, the final vowel is elided before a vowel or h, yielding l. The grandmother La is not contracted if the word begins with unstressed i-, La is not elided with the words una one, host hueste, and ira wrath, as well as with words beginning with the Greek prefix a-, like asimetria asymmetry. The feminine plural form is les, feminine articles are not contracted with prepositions. Forenames and surnames must carry a definite article, in addition to the ordinary singular forms, alternative forms derived from the Latin vocative domine can be used. The elision rules are the same for el and la, in Western Catalonia the dialectal versions lo and los are used instead of el and els. In some regions, especially in the Balearic islands, the definite article derives from the Latin determiner ipse and these forms are referred to as articles salats. Similar forms are found in Sardinian and some varieties of Occitan, the table below summarize the forms of the indefinite article
Catalan grammar
–
Logo of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans
6.
History of the Catalan language
–
Catalan originated from Vulgar Latin in the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain. It diverged from the other Romance languages in the 9th century, at that time, Catalan spread quickly throughout the Iberian peninsula when the Catalan counts conquered Muslim territory. By the 11th century, the Catalan language was present in several feudal documents, Catalan was present throughout the Mediterranean by the 15th Century. This was during a time when the city of Valencia was thriving, in 1659, the Treaty of Pyrenees was signed, beginning a suppression of the Catalan language. Louis XIV issued a decree prohibited the use of the Catalan language in Northern Catalonia. The repression continued during the French Revolution when the First French Republic prohibited the usage of Catalan in linguistic education, the repression continued until recently, when finally the French government in 2007 promoted the usage of Catalan publicly and in education. In Spain, the usage of Catalan was also prohibited, under Francisco Franco, Catalan was prohibited in the government and in education. It was initially prohibited in mass media but allowed during the early 1950s, nevertheless, the publishing of written works in Catalan continued. Then, when Franco died and a monarchy was instituted. In Spain, Catalan is now used frequently and can be heard in different television shows. From the 8th century on, the Catalan counts extended their territory southwards and westwards, conquering territories then occupied by Muslims and this phenomenon gained momentum with the separation of the County of Barcelona from the Carolingian Empire in 988 AD. During the 13th century, the Catalans expanded to the Land of Valencia and across to the Balearic Islands, according to historian Jaume Villanueva, the first attested Catalan sentence is thought to be found in an 8th-century manuscript from Ripoll that has since been lost. It was a note in 10th- or early 11th-century calligraphy. During the 11th century, several feudal documents written in macaronic Latin began to exhibit elements of Catalan, of special historical and linguistic importance is the Memorial of Complaints of Ponç I, featuring whole sentences in Romance. Catalan shares many features with Gallo-Romance languages, which are located in France. Old Catalan diverged from Old Occitan between the 11th and 14th centuries, Catalan lived a golden age during the Late Middle Ages, reaching a peak of maturity and cultural plenitude. Examples of this can be seen in the works of Majorcan polymath Ramon Llull, the Four Great Chronicles, by the 15th century, the city of Valencia had become the center of social and cultural dynamism, and Catalan was present all over the Mediterranean world. The belief that political splendor was correlated with linguistic consolidation was voiced through the Royal Chancery, during this period, Catalan was what Costa Carreras terms one of the great languages of medieval Europe
History of the Catalan language
–
Les Homilies d'Organyà (12th century), first written in Catalan.
History of the Catalan language
–
Catalan
History of the Catalan language
–
Official Decree Prohibiting the Catalan Language in France.
7.
Catalan phonology
–
The phonology of Catalan, a Romance language, has a certain degree of dialectal variation. Several dialects have a dark l, and all dialects have palatal l and n, phonetic notes, ^1 /t/, /d/ are laminal denti-alveolar. After /s z/, they are laminal alveolar, ^2 /k/, /ɡ/ are velar but fronted to pre-velar position before front vowels. In some Majorcan dialects, the situation is reversed, the realization is palatal. ^3 /n/, /l/, /ɾ/ are apical front alveolar, in addition, /n/ is postalveolar or alveolo-palatal before /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, /d͡ʒ/, velar before /k/, /ɡ/ and labiodental before /f/, where it merges with /m/. It also merges with /m/ before /p/, /b/. ^4 /s/, /z/, /r/ are apical back alveolar, ^5 /t͡s/, /d͡z/ are apical alveolar. They may be somewhat fronted, so that the component is laminal denti-alveolar. ^6 /ʎ/, /ɲ/ are laminal front alveolo-palatal, otherwise, sources, like Carbonell & Llisterri generally describe them as postalveolar. Voiced obstruents undergo final-obstruent devoicing so that fred is pronounced with, voiced stops become lenited to approximants in syllable onsets, after continuants, /b/ →, /d/ →, /ɡ/ →. Exceptions include /d/ after lateral consonants and /b/ after /f/, e. g. ull de bou, additionally, /b/ fails to lenite in non-betacist dialects. In the coda position, these sounds are realized as stops except in many Valencian dialects. In some Valencian dialects final /p, t, k/ can be lenited before a vowel, in some dialects initial /ɡ/ can be lenited, gata. In many Catalan dialects, /b/ and /ɡ/ may be geminated in certain environments. In Majorcan varieties, /k/ and /ɡ/ become and word-finally and before front vowels, in some of these dialects, alveolar affricates, and, occur the least of all affricates. Instances of arise mostly from compounding, the few lexical instances arise from historical compounding, for instance, potser comes from pot + ser. As such, does not occur word-initially, other than some rare words of foreign origin, Standard Eastern Catalan also only allows in intervocalic position. Phonemic analyses show word-final occurrences of /dʒ/, but final devoicing eliminates this from the surface, in various other dialects, occurs word-initially and after another consonant to the exclusion of. These instances of word-initial seem to correspond to in other dialects, including the standard, xinxa, similarly, in most of Valencian and southern Catalonia, most occurrences of correspond to the voiced fricative in Standard Eastern Catalan, gel
Catalan phonology
–
Vowels of Standard Eastern Catalan, from Carbonell & Llisterri (1999:62)
8.
Institut Ramon Llull
–
The Institut Ramon Llull is a Catalan organization constituted in 2002 in order to promote Catalan language and culture internationally. The founding members are the governments of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands with the collaboration of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the 2004-2008 period, the Balearic regional government left the institution, IRL headquarters are shared between Barcelona and Palma. On May 21,2008, the Vives Network was integrated into the IRL, both the institute and the foundation are named after Ramon Llull, a Majorcan medieval writer and philosopher, who is considered the first notable writer in Catalan. The Ramon Llull Institutes main objective is to promote Catalan language and culture abroad, on 10 October 2007, Catalan Culture was the guest of honor of the Frankfurt Book Fair. The government of Andorra collaborated with IRL in this event before the creation of FRL, the main resources of this institution are the ones allocated by its participant regions for this purpose. Instituto Cervantes Ramon Llull Institute Official Web Page
Institut Ramon Llull
–
Entrance to the Institut Ramon Llull headquarters at
Barcelona
9.
Catalan people
–
The Catalans are a Romance ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia, who form a nationality in northern Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are included in this definition, also, Catalan is sometimes used to define people from the so-called Catalan Countries, expression used to include other areas where the Catalan is spoken. The aforementioned territories are often designated Països Catalans, Catalan Countries, the area that now is known primarily as Catalonia was, as the rest of the Iberian Peninsula, invaded in 1500 BCE by Proto-Celtic Urnfield people who brought the rite of burning the dead. These Indo-European people were absorbed by the Iberians beginning in 600 BCE in a process that would not be complete until the fourth century BCE. These groups came under the rule of various invading groups starting with the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, following the Punic Wars, the Romans replaced the Carthaginians as the dominant power in the Iberian eastern coast, including parts of Catalonia, by 206 BCE. Rome established Latin as the language and imparted a distinctly Roman culture upon the local population. An early precursor to the Catalan language began to develop from a form of popular Latin before. Various Germanic tribes arrived following nearly six centuries of Roman rule, the Visigoths established themselves in the fifth century and would rule the area until 718 when Muslim Arabs and Berbers conquered the region and held it for close to a century. The Franks held back small Muslim raiding parties, which had penetrated virtually unchallenged as far as central France, larger wars with the Muslims began with the Spanish March which led to the beginnings of the Reconquista by Catalan forces over most of Catalonia by the year 801. Barcelona became an important center for Christian forces in the Iberian Peninsula, Catalonia emerged from the conflicts in Muslim Spain as a regional power, as Christian rulers entrenched themselves in the region during the Carolingian period. Rulers such as Wilfred the Hairy became masters of a territory encompassing Catalonia. The Crown of Aragón included Catalonia, Aragón, Valencia, some sporadic regional unrest led to conflicts such as the Revolt of the Germanies in Valencia and Majorca, and the 1640 revolt in Catalonia known as the Reapers War. This latter conflict embroiled Spain in a war with France as many Catalan nobles allied themselves with Louis XIII. The Catalan government took sides with the Habsburg pretender against the Bourbon one during the War of the Spanish Succession that started in 1705 and ended in 1714. The Catalan failure to defend the perpetuation of Habsburg dynasty in Spain culminated in the surrender of Barcelona on 11 September 1714, which came to be commemorated as Catalonias national day. During the Napoleonic Wars, much of Catalonia was seized by French forces by 1808, in France, strong assimilationist policies integrated many Catalans into French society, while in Spain a Catalan identity was increasingly suppressed in favor of a national identity. The Catalans regained autonomy during the Spanish Second Republic from 1932 until Francisco Francos nationalist forces retook Catalonia by 1939. It was not until 1975 and the death of Franco that the Catalans as well as other Spaniards began to regain their right to cultural expression, which was restarted by the Spanish Constitution of 1978
Catalan people
–
Battle of the Puig by Andreu Marçal de Sax depicting the Christian victory with the aid of
Saint George.
Catalan people
–
After the Catalan defeat during the
War of Spanish Succession,
Philip V of Spain ordered to publicly burn all the Catalan flags and banners.
Catalan people
–
The
castells,
human towers, are part of the Catalan culture since 1712 and were declared by
UNESCO to be amongst the
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Catalan people
–
Catalan children wearing the traditional outfit, including the
barretina.
10.
Valencian people
–
Valencians are an indigenous Romance ethnic group whose homeland is the Valencian Community, which is recognised as an historical nation in eastern Spain. The official languages of Valencia are Valencian and Spanish, the Valencian Community is politically divided in three provinces, from south to north, Alicante, Valencia and Castellón. The current version of the Valencian Statute of Autonomy declares the Valencian Community a nationality of Spain, in 1237, the Moorish taifa of Valencia was taken by king James I the Conqueror of the Crown of Aragon. The population of the new kingdom was by far mostly Muslim, so the crown started a campaign of repopulation of the lands with Christians, the new Christian arrivals came from Catalonia and Aragon. The Requena comarca was, like the Alto Vinalopó, part of Castile until the mid-nineteenth century, Moorish presence in the Kingdom of Valencia was very high, making one third of the entire population at the time of the expulsion. The Christian Valencian elites disapproved the King Philip plans of Expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609, in the last years, concentration in the great capitals and its metropolitan areas has augmented considerably especially in all the coastal cities and towns. Thus, traditionally small populations such as Benidorm or Torrevieja have undergone a population increase due to the seasonal migration of tourists. Valencian and Spanish are the languages of Valencia. Spanish is the language of the Spanish state, while Valencian is the language considered by the Statute of Autonomy as llengua pròpia. Paella is a dish which originated in Valencia near lake Albufera. Valencians consider paella their main national dish, other famous Valencian dishes are the orxata drink, and the bunyols, the sweet pastry eaten in falles. List of Valencians Valencianism Catalan countries Nationalities of Spain
Valencian people
–
Vicent Ferrer
Valencian people
–
Valencian dialects.
Valencian people
–
Pope Alexander VI
Valencian people
–
Jusepe de Ribera
11.
History of Catalonia
–
The territory that now constitutes the nationality and autonomous community of Catalonia in Spain was first settled during the Middle Palaeolithic era. The area that is now Catalonia was the first area of Hispania conquered by the Romans and it then came under Visigothic rule after collapse of the western part of the Roman Empire. In 718, the area was occupied by the Moors and became a part of Muslim ruled al-Andalus, an identifiably Catalan culture developed in the later Middle Ages under the hegemony of the counts of Barcelona. The marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in 1469 laid the foundations for a unified Crown of Spain. In 1492, the Emirate of Granada, the last political entity of al-Andalus in the peninsula, was conquered, political power began to shift away from the Crown of Aragon towards Castile. During the war, Catalonia had supported the claim of a member of the Austrian branch of the Habsburg dynasty, however, the Bourbon monarchy allowed for Catalonias civil law code to be maintained. Following the model of France, he imposed a unifying legislation and administration across Spain, as well as introducing the French Sallic Law and this led to the eclipse of Catalan as a language of government and literature. Economically, Catalonia experienced commercial growth in the late 18th century when the Bourbons ended Castiles trade monopoly with Spains American colonies, the Napoleonic occupation and war in Spain in the early 19th century began a period of political and economic turmoil. In the latter half of the 19th century, Catalonia became a center of industrialization, like Madrid, the Basque country and much of Spain, Catalonia fought hard to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the devastating civil war of 1936–1939. With the defeat of the Spanish Republic by the wing forces of Francisco Franco. A great effort was made by Francos regime to all regional cultures, languages and identities within Spain. The Catalan language, like other languages, continued to be used in private. In the years after the war life was difficult. With Spain devastated and cut off from trade by boycotts, Catalonia, as a commercial and industrial center. The economic recovery was slow and it was not until the mid-1950s that the economy reached the prewar levels of 1936. The first known settlements in what is now Catalonia were at the beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic. From the next era, the Epipaleolithic or Mesolithic, important remains survive. The most important Neolithic remains in Catalonia are the Cave of Fontmajor, The Cave of Toll, the caves Gran and Freda, the Chalcolithic or Eneolithic period developed in Catalonia between 2500 and 1800 BC, with the beginning of the construction of copper objects
History of Catalonia
–
Catalan Constitutions, 1585
History of Catalonia
–
By the second half of the ninth century, three political subdivisions (marches) existed in the eastern Pyrenees: Toulouse (green), Gothia (blue), and Hispania (pink).
History of Catalonia
–
James I of Aragon
History of Catalonia
–
Miniature (15th century) of the
Catalan Court
12.
Crown of Aragon
–
Put in contemporary terms, it has sometimes been considered that the different lands of the Crown of Aragon functioned more as a confederation than as a single kingdom. In this sense, the larger Crown of Aragon must not be confused with one of its constituent parts, formally, the political center of the Crown of Aragon was Zaragoza, where kings were crowned at La Seo Cathedral. The de facto capital and leading cultural, administrative and economic centre of the Crown of Aragon was Barcelona followed by Valencia, finally, Palma was an additional important city and seaport. For brief periods the Crown of Aragon also controlled Montpellier, Provence, Corsica, the countries that are today known as Spain and Portugal spent the Middle Ages after 722 in an intermittent struggle called the Reconquista. This struggle pitted the northern Christian kingdoms against the Islamic taifa petty kingdoms of the South, in the Late Middle Ages, the expansion of the Aragonese Crown southwards met with the Castilian advance eastward in the region of Murcia. Afterward, the Aragonese Crown focused on the Mediterranean, acting as far as Greece and Barbary, whereas Portugal, mercenaries from the territories in the Crown, known as almogàvers participated in the creation of this Mediterranean empire, and later found employment in countries all across southern Europe. The Crown of Aragon has been considered by some as an empire which ruled in the Mediterranean for hundreds of years and it was indeed, at its height, one of the major powers in Europe. However, its different territories were connected through the person of the monarch. A modern historian, Juan de Contreras y Lopez de Ayala, Marqués de Lozoya described the Crown of Aragon as being more like a confederacy than a centralised kingdom, let alone an empire. Nor did official documents refer to it as an empire, instead. This union respected the institutions and parliaments of both territories. This was due to the loss of Catalan influence, the renunciation of the family rights of the counts of Barcelona in Occitania. Petronillas father King Ramiro, The Monk who was raised in the Saint Pons de Thomières Monastery and his brothers Peter I and Alfonso I El Batallador had bravely fought against Castile for hegemony in the Iberian peninsula. After the death of Alfonso I, the Aragonese nobility that campaigned close him feared being overwhelmed by the influence of Castile, and so, Ramiro was forced to leave his monastic life and proclaim himself King of Aragon. He married Agnes, sister of the Duke of Aquitaine and betrothed his daughter to Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona. The wedding agreement provided Raymond Berengar IV the title of Princeps Aragonum and Dominator Aragonenesis and kept the title, Raymond Berengar IV, the first ruler of the united dynasty, called himself Count of Barcelona and Prince of Aragon. Alfonso II inherited two realms and with them, two different expansion processes, the House of Jiménez looked south in a battle against Castile for the control of the Mediterranean coast in the Iberian peninsula. The House of Barcelona looked north to its origins, Occitania, soon, Alfonso II of Aragon and Barcelona committed himself to conquer Valencia as the Aragonese nobility demanded
Crown of Aragon
–
Petronilla of Aragon (1136–1173) and
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona (ca. 1131–1162) depicted in a 16th-century painting.
Crown of Aragon
–
Standard
Crown of Aragon
–
Equestrian heraldic representation of King of Aragon in the "Equestrian armorial of the Golden Fleece" 1433-1435.
Crown of Aragon
–
Ferdinand V and
Isabella I,
King and Queen of Castile and León, and later of Aragon, Valencia, Sicily, and Majorca
13.
Kingdom of Majorca
–
The Kingdom of Majorca was founded by James I of Aragon, also known as James The Conqueror. After the death of his firstborn son Alfonso, a will was written in 1262, the Kingdom of Majorca passed to James, who reigned under the name of James II of Majorca. After 1279, Peter III of Aragon established that the king of Majorca was a vassal to the king of Aragon, the title continued to be employed by the Aragonese and Spanish monarchs until its dissolution by the 1715 Nueva Planta decrees. The kingdom included the Balearic Islands, Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, conscious of the fragility of the Kingdom of Majorca, James I undertook the conquest of Cerdanya to unify the new kingdom. He also entered negotiations to arrange the marriage of his son James to Beatrice of Savoy. On the death of James I, the new king of Majorca, James II, preoccupied with diverse problems within the realm, it was not until 1279 when the Majorcan monarch reconciled to have his states recognized as subordinate to the king of Aragon. As a consequence the Kingdom of Majorca could not hold court, by means of the Treaty of Perpignan in 1279, an imbalance of power between the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Majorca was created. This treaty would condition relations between the Kingdom of Majorca and the Crown of Aragon throughout the formers existence, the lack of courts later aggravated the destabilization of a kingdom already on the brink of fracture, which, besides this, lacked any common institution beyond the monarchy. During the Aragonese Crusade, James II of Majorca allied himself with the Pope, as a result, Peters successor Alfonso conquered the kingdom in 1286. However, by the Treaty of Anagni in 1295, James II of Aragon was required to restore the Balearics to James of Majorca. On the death of James II of Majorcas son Sancho in 1324, James III took the throne at the age of nine, the situation was difficult since James II of Aragon did not renounce his claim to the Majorcan throne. While the act solved the problem of succession, it plunged the kingdom into a serious financial crisis. James was forced to develop policies similar to that of Aragons, to that end, he was forced to participate in the war against Genoa, which resulted in the loss of various economic markets for the kingdom. Again, it was necessary to impose new taxes and fines on the Jewish community though this was insufficient to resolve the financial crisis. The problems of the kingdom did not appear to have an end since in 1341, in May 1343, Peter IV invaded the Balearic Islands and followed that in 1344 with the invasions of the counties of Roussillon and Cerdanya. James III was able to only his French possessions. After the sale of these possessions to the king of France in 1349 and he was defeated and killed at the Battle of Llucmajor on 25 October 1349. Then, the Kingdom of Majorca was definitively incorporated into the Crown of Aragon, the kingdom of Majorca, which had bonds of vassalage with the crowns of France and Aragon, could not remain neutral during the conflicts
Kingdom of Majorca
–
The Kingdom of Majorca.
Kingdom of Majorca
–
Conquest of Majorca by
James I of Aragon (1229)
14.
Principality of Catalonia
–
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 would make up the Principality of Catalonia were gradually unified under the rule of the Count of Barcelona. Under Alfons the Troubador, Catalonia was regarded as an entity for the first time. Still, the term Principality of Catalonia was not used legally until the 14th century, the term Principality of Catalonia remained in use until the Second Spanish Republic, when its use declined because of its historical relation to the monarchy. Today, the term is used primarily by Catalan nationalists and independentists to refer collectively to the French, like much of the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula, it was colonized by Ancient Greeks, which chose Roses to settle in. Both Greeks and Carthaginians interacted with the main Iberian population, after the Carthaginian defeat, it became, along with the rest of Hispania, a part of the Roman Empire, Tarraco being one of the main Roman posts in the Iberian Peninsula. The Visigoths ruled after the Western Roman Empires collapse near the end of the 5th century, moorish Al-Andalus gained control in the early 8th century, after conquering the Visigothic kingdom in 711-718. A distinctive Catalan culture started to develop in the Middle Ages stemming from a number of petty kingdoms organized as small counties throughout the northernmost part of Catalonia. The counts of Barcelona were Frankish vassals nominated by the Carolingian emperor then the king of the Franks, in 987 the count of Barcelona did not recognise Frankish king Hugh Capet and his new dynasty which put it effectively out of the Frankish rule. At the start of eleventh century the Catalan Counties suffer an important process of feudalisation, on the other side, the king of France, heir of the Carolingian Empire formally renounced his nominal feudal lordship over all the Catalan counties. This treaty turned the de facto independence of the Catalan counties into a de jure. At the same time, the Principality of Catalonia developed an institutional and political system based in the concept of pact between the estates of the realm and the king. The laws had to be approved in the General Court of Catalonia, the first Catalan constitutions 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 king Charles 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 whole citizens of the Principality. The General Court of Catalonia, dating from the 11th century, is one of the first parliaments in continental Europe, the Courts were composed by the three estates of the realm and were presided by the king of Aragon. The current Parliament of Catalonia is considered the symbolic and historic successor of this institution, the domains of the Aragonese Crown were severely affected by the Black Death pandemic and by later outbreaks of the plague. Between 1347 and 1497 Catalonia lost 37 percent of its population, in 1410, King Martin I died without surviving descendants
Principality of Catalonia
–
The Principality of Catalonia in 1608 by Jan Baptist Vrients
Principality of Catalonia
–
Territory of the Principality of Catalonia until 1659.
Principality of Catalonia
–
1702 compilation of Catalan Constitutions
Principality of Catalonia
–
The
Battle of Montjuïc (1641), a decisive victory of the Franco-Catalan armies during the Catalan Revolt
15.
Catalan constitutions
–
The Catalan constitutions were the laws promulgated by the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona and approved by the Catalan Courts. The Corts in Catalan have the origin as courts in English. The first constitutions were promulgated by the Corts of 1283, the last ones were promulgated by the Corts of 1705. They had pre-eminence over the legal rules and could only be revoked by the Catalan Courts themselves. The compilations of the constitutions and other rights of Catalonia followed the Roman tradition of the Codex, the first compilation was prescribed by Ferdinand I of Aragon, and suggestion by the Corts of Barcelona from 1413. It spread in edition of the 1495, together with the Usages of Barcelona, Usatges of Barcelona, constitutions, chapters and acts of court and other laws of Catalonia. This series of decrees abolished the laws of the territories that supported his rival to the throne, the Archduke Charles of Austria. The Decretos attempted to make Spain into a state on the model of France. These acts were promulgated in Valencia and Aragon in 1707, and were extended in 1716 to Catalonia, thus, the Catalan Constitutions were effectively abolished by the Kings authority after his military victory, rather than through any legislative process within Catalonia itself. The change ignored the Catalan Constitutions own provisions for how they were to be amended or reformed, during the Third Carlist War, the Carlist forces managed to occupy some cities in the Catalan interior. Isabel II was in exile and King Amadeo I had reigned since 1871, the promise was never fulfilled, as the Carlist revolt did not succeed. Carlos María de los Dolores finally departed for France,27 February 1876, principality of Catalonia Parliament of Catalonia Decretos de Nueva Planta Catalan Grand Company Constitucions de Catalunya del 1495 on Wikisource. Furs, capítols, provisions e actes de cort fets y atorgats per la S. C. R. M, del rey don Phelip nostre senyor, ara gloriosamente regnant. Constitutions y altres drets de Cathalunya, Barcelona,1704 on Wikisource, chapters of the Corts of Montsó digitalized, at the Spanish Office of Culture record image The demise of the catalan dynasty and the growing estrangement of the crown
Catalan constitutions
–
1702 compilation
16.
Furs of Valencia
–
Furs of Valencia were the laws of the Kingdom of Valencia during most of Middle Ages and Early modern Europe. The laws were a series of charters which, altogether, worked similarly as a modern Constitution does now, thus, they defined the position, and the checks and balances between the Royal House, the nobility, the Catholic ecclesiastic and the judicial procedures. The first codifications are based in the Usages of Barcelona, Costums of Lleida, the Furs were valid for more than four centuries, until it was abolished by means of the Nueva Planta decrees signed by Philip V of Castile in 1707. Kingdom of Valencia List of Valencian monarchs Generalitat Valenciana Valencian Parliament
Furs of Valencia
–
The
Llotja de la Seda in Valencia
17.
Nueva Planta decrees
–
The acts abolishing the charters were promulgated in 1707 in Valencia and Aragon, in 1715 in Majorca and the other Balearic Islands, and finally in Catalonia on 16 January 1716. The decrees effectively created a Spanish citizenship or nationality, that judicially did not distinguish between Castillian and Aragonese anymore, both with respect to rights and law and they abolished internal borders and customs except for the Basque territory, giving grant to all Spaniards to trade with American colonies. Philip of Bourbon won the war of the Spanish Succession and imposed unification policies over the Crown of Aragon, top civil servants were appointed directly from Madrid, the kings court city, and most institutions in these territories were abolished. Court cases could only be presented and argued in Castilian, which became the language of government, displacing Latin, Catalan. Bourbon Reforms of Philip V and his successors Catalan Constitutions Furs of Valencia This article draws on material from the article in the Spanish Wikipedia. Documents about the case of the catalans dated on 1714, at the House of Lords, journal of the House of Lords, volume 19,2 August 1715, Further Articles of Impeachment against E. Oxford brought from H. C. Extract from the Decree of abolition of the fueros of Aragon and Valencia from Wikisource Decree of 16 January 1716 Nueva Planta decree digitalization
Nueva Planta decrees
–
Nueva Planta decrees (cover)
18.
Andorra
–
Created under a charter in 988, the present principality was formed in 1278. It is known as a principality as it is a monarchy headed by two Co-Princes – the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgell in Spain, and the President of France. Andorra is the sixth-smallest nation in Europe, having an area of 468 km2 and its capital Andorra la Vella is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres above sea level. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, Andorras tourism services an estimated 10.2 million visitors annually. It is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is the official currency and it has been a member of the United Nations since 1993. In 2013, the people of Andorra had the highest life expectancy in the world at 81 years, the origin of the word Andorra is unknown, although several hypotheses have been formulated. The word Andosini or Andosins may derive from the Basque handia whose meaning is big or giant, the Andorran toponymy shows evidence of Basque language in the area. Another theory suggests that the word Andorra may derive from the old word Anorra that contains the Basque word ur, another theory suggests that Andorra may derive from Arabic al-durra, meaning The forest. Other theories suggest that the term derives from the Navarro-Aragonese andurrial, la Balma de la Margineda found by archaeologists at Sant Julia de Loria were the first temporal settled in 10000 BC as a passing place between the two sides of the Pyrenees. The seasonal camp was located for hunting and fishing by the groups of hunter-gatherers from Ariege. During the Neolithic Age the group of humans moved to the Valley of Madriu as a permanent camp in 6640 BC, the population of the valley grew cereals, raised domestic livestock and developed a commercial trade with people from the Segre and Occitania. Other archaeological deposits include the Tombs of Segudet and Feixa del Moro both dated in 4900-4300 BC as an example of the Urn culture in Andorra, the model of small settlements begin to evolved as an complex urbanism during the Bronze Age. We can found metallurgical items of iron, ancient coins and relicaries in the ancient sanctuaries scattered around the country, the inhabitants of the valleys were traditionally associated with the Iberians and historically located in Andorra as the Iberian tribe Andosins or Andosini during the VII and II centuries BC. Influenced by Aquitanias, Basque and Iberian languages the locals developed some current toponyms, early writings and documents relating this group of people goes back to the second century BC by the Greek writer Polybius in his Histories during the Punic Wars. Some of the most significant remains of this era are the Castle of the Roc dEnclar, lAnxiu in Les Escaldes and it is known the presence of Roman influence from the II century BC to the V century AD. The places found with more Roman presence are in Camp Vermell in Sant Julia de Loria, people continued trading, mainly with wine and cereals, with the Roman cities of Urgellet and all across Segre through the Via Romana Strata Ceretana. After the fall of the Roman Empire Andorra was under the influence of the Visigoths, not directly from the Kingdom of Toledo by distance, the Visigoths remained during 200 years in the valleys, a period in which Christianization takes place within the country. The fall of the Visigoths came from the Muslim Empire and its conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, Andorra remained away from these invasions by the Franks
Andorra
–
Sant Joan de Caselles church, dating from the 11th century.
Andorra
–
Flag
Andorra
–
Boris Skossyreff, briefly self-proclaimed "King of Andorra" in 1934.
Andorra
–
Joan Enric Vives i Sicília current
episcopal co-prince of Andorra since 12 May 2003.
19.
Balearic Islands
–
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The four largest islands are Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera, there are many minor islands and islets close to the larger islands, including Cabrera, Dragonera and SEspalmador. The islands have a Mediterranean climate, and the four islands are all popular tourist destinations. Ibiza in particular is known as a party destination, attracting many of the worlds most popular DJs to its nightclubs. The islands culture and cuisine are similar to that of the rest of Spain but have their own distinctive features, the archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain, with Palma de Mallorca as the capital. The 2007 Statute of Autonomy declares the Balearic Islands as one nationality of Spain, the co-official languages in the Balearic Islands are Catalan and Spanish. Though now a part of Spain, throughout history the Balearic Islands have been under the rule of a number of different kingdoms, the official name of the Balearic Islands in Catalan is Illes Balears, while in Spanish they are known as the Islas Baleares. The term Balearic derives from Greek, of the various theories on the origins of the two ancient Greek and Latin names for the islands—Gymnasiae and Baleares—classical sources provide two. According to the Lycophrons Alexandra verses, the islands were called Γυμνησίαι/Gymnesiae because its inhabitants were often nude, the Greek and Roman writers generally derive the name of the people from their skill as slingers, although Strabo regards the name as of Phoenician origin. He observed it was the Phoenician equivalent for lightly armoured soldiers the Greeks would have called γυμνῆτας/gymnetas, the root bal does point to a Phoenician origin, perhaps the islands were sacred to the god Baal and the resemblance to the Greek root ΒΑΛ is accidental. Indeed, it was usual Greek practice to assimilate local names into their own language, but the common Greek name of the islands is not Βαλεαρεῖς/Baleareis, but Γυμνησίαι/Gymnesiai. The former was the used by the natives, as well as by the Carthaginians and Romans. The Balearic Islands are on a platform called the Balearic Promontory. They are cut by a network of northwest to southeast faults, the main islands of the autonomous community are Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera, all popular tourist destinations. Amongst the minor islands is Cabrera, the location of the Cabrera Archipelago Maritime-Terrestrial National Park, the islands can be further grouped, with Majorca, Minorca, and Cabrera as the Gymnesian Islands, and Ibiza and Formentera as the Pityusic Islands, also referred to as the Pityuses. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, the Balearic Islands unsurprisingly have typical mediterranean climates, the below-listed climatic data of the capital Palma is typical for the archipelago, with minor differences to other stations in Majorca, Ibiza and Menorca. Little is recorded on the earliest inhabitants of the islands, though many legends exist, the story, preserved by Lycophron, that certain shipwrecked Greek Boeotians were cast nude on the islands, was evidently invented to account for the name Gymnesiae. There is also a tradition that the islands were colonised by Rhodes after the Trojan War, the islands had a very mixed population, of whose habits several strange stories are told
Balearic Islands
–
Ramon Llull.
Balearic Islands
–
Flag
Balearic Islands
–
Catalan Atlas, by the
sefardi Cresques Abraham.
Balearic Islands
–
King
James I of Aragon (furthest right) during his conquest of Mallorca in 1229.
20.
Catalonia
–
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, located on the northeastern extremity of the Iberian Peninsula. It is designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy, Catalonia consists of four provinces, Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. The capital and largest city is Barcelona, the second-most populated municipality in Spain, Catalonia comprises most of the territory of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is bordered by France and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, the official languages are Catalan, Spanish, and the Aranese dialect of Occitan. The eastern counties of these marches were united under the rule of the Frankish vassal the Count of Barcelona, in the later Middle Ages Catalan literature flourished. Between 1469 and 1516, the King of Aragon and the Queen of Castile married and ruled their kingdoms together, retaining all their distinct institutions, Courts, and constitutions. During the Franco-Spanish War, Catalonia revolted against a large and burdensome presence of the Royal army in its territory, within a brief period France took full control of Catalonia, at a high economic cost for Catalonia, until it was largely reconquered by the Spanish army. In the nineteenth century, Catalonia was severely affected by the Napoleonic, in the second half of the century Catalonia experienced industrialisation. As wealth from the industrial expansion grew, Catalonia saw a cultural renaissance coupled with incipient nationalism while several workers movements appeared. In 1914, the four Catalan provinces formed a Commonwealth, and with the return of democracy during the Second Spanish Republic, after the Spanish Civil War, the Francoist dictatorship enacted repressive measures, abolishing Catalan institutions and banning the official use of the Catalan language again. Since the Spanish transition to democracy, Catalonia has regained some political and cultural autonomy and is now one of the most economically dynamic communities of Spain, the origin of the name Catalunya is subject to diverse interpretations because of a lack of evidence. During the Middle Ages, Byzantine chroniclers claimed that Catalania derives from the medley of Goths with Alans. Other less plausible theories suggest, Catalunya derives from the land of castles, having evolved from the term castlà or castlan. This theory therefore suggests that the names Catalunya and Castile have a common root, the source is of Celtic origin, meaning chiefs of battle. Although the area is not known to have been occupied by Celts, the Lacetani, an Iberian tribe that lived in the area and whose name, due to the Roman influence, could have evolved by metathesis to Katelans and then Catalans. In English, Catalonia is pronounced /kætəˈloʊniə/, the native name, Catalunya, is pronounced in Central Catalan, the most widely spoken variety whose pronunciation is considered standard. The Spanish name is Cataluña, and the Aranese name is Catalonha, the first known human settlements in what is now Catalonia were at the beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic. From the next era, the Epipaleolithic or Mesolithic, important remains survive
Catalonia
–
A
Roman aqueduct in
Tarragona.
Catalonia
–
Flag
Catalonia
–
The Medieval church of
Sant Climent in
Taüll, located at the foothills of the
Pyrenees.
Catalonia
–
La Seu Vella, Lleida
21.
Northern Catalonia
–
Northern Catalonia refers to the territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. The area corresponds approximately to the modern French département of the Pyrénées-Orientales, the equivalent term in French, Catalogne Nord, is used nowadays, although less often than the more politically neutral Roussillon. Sometimes French Catalonia can also be used, Northern Catalonia forms a triangle between the Pyrenees to the south, the Corbières to the north-west and the Mediterranean Sea to the east. The Roussillon plain in the east, by far the most populated area, is formed by the plains of the Tech, Têt. The districts of Vallespir and Conflent cover the upper valleys of the Tech, the massif of the Canigou,2785 m, dominates much of the territory. The climate is of the Mediterranean type, with hot, dry summers and winters which are relatively mild, at least on the Roussillon plain where snow is rare. The city of Perpignan accounts for over a quarter of the population, over one-third if its area is taken into account. Major road and rail links run north–south through Northern Catalonia between France and Spain, while a line also links Perpignan to Latour-de-Carol via Prades. Haute-Cerdagne is geographically distinct from the rest of Northern Catalonia, lying to the south of the Pyrenean watershed in the valley of the Segre. It is a mountainous and sparsely-populated district, even taking account the town of Llívia which forms an enclave resting under Spanish sovereignty. The district lies on the most direct route between Toulouse and Barcelona, and a line still links the two cities via Latour-de-Carol. Northern Catalonia formed part of the Spanish Marches, established by Charlemagne as a territory against the Moorish forces. As such, it was divided into counties, Rosselló, Vallespir, Conflent north of the Pyrenees. By the end of the century, these counties had gained de facto independence from the Carolingian kings. As the seigneury of the counties became hereditary, the number of Catalan counts fell steadily. One individual often had the charge of several counties, but these were not always transmitted on the basis of primogeniture, the Counts of Rosselló, in alliance with their cousins the Counts of Empuriés, tried to resist this dilution of their power. However the Counts of Barcelona steadily gained suzerainty over the other Catalan counts, the last Count of Rosselló, Girard II, left his title to the Crown of Aragon on his death in 1172 to prevent the territory passing to his illegitimate half-brothers. Royal administration in Catalonia under the Crown of Aragon was organised on the basis of vegueries, in Northern Catalonia, the vegueries followed closely the boundaries of the old counties
Northern Catalonia
–
The
Canigou (2785 m) seen from near Perpignan: the massif is roughly 60 km (37 mi) from the point where the photograph was taken
Northern Catalonia
–
Northern Catalonia with respect to Catalonia, Spain (left); Northern Catalonia within France (right)
22.
Valencian Community
–
The Valencian Community, or the Valencian Country, is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populousautonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and it is often homonymously identified with its capital Valencia, which is Spains third largest city. It is located along the Mediterranean coast to the east of the Iberian peninsula and it borders with Catalonia to the north, Aragon and Castile–La Mancha to the west, and Murcia to the south. The Valencian Community consists of three provinces which are Castellón, Valencia and Alicante, according to its Statute of Autonomy, the Valencian people are a nationality. Their origins date back to the Catalan-Aragonese colonization of the Moorish Taifa of Valencia, the newly founded Kingdom of Valencia was granted wide self-government under the Crown of Aragon with the promulgation of its Furs in 1261. Valencia experienced its golden age in the 15th century, becoming the economic and cultural capital of the Crown, self-government continued after the unification of the Spanish Kingdom, but was eventually suspended in 1707 by Phillip V of Spain as a result of the Spanish War of Succession. Valencian nationalism resurged towards the end of the 19th century, which led to the conception of the Valencian Country. Self-government under the Generalitat Valenciana was finally reestablished in 1982 after Spanish transition to democracy, the Valencian people speak a variety of Catalan called Valencian, accounting for a third of all Catalan speakers. Valencian is a language that has been historically repressed in favour of Spanish. Since it regained status in 1982, Valencian has been implemented in public administration. However, its use continues to be threatened by Spanish due to migration from other parts of Spain, especially in the cities of València. Furthermore, the conflict continues to be pressing, with some groups opposing the official standard based on Catalan orthography. Valencia was founded by the Romans under the name of Valentia Edetanorum, with the establishment of the Taifa of Valencia, the name developed to بلنسية, which eventually became Valencia after the expulsion of the Moors. Valencian Community is the translation of the official name in Valencian recognized by the Statute of Autonomy of 1982. This is the name most used in administration, tourism. On one hand, Valencian Country represented the modern conception of nationality that resurged in the 19th century and it became well-established during the Second Spanish Republic and later on with the works of Joan Fuster in the 1960s, implying the existence of the Catalan Countries. This nationalist subtext was opposed by anti-Catalan blaverists, who proposed Former Kingdom of Valencia instead in order to emphasize Valencian independence from Catalonia, currently, blaverists have accepted the official denomination. The autonomous community can be identified with its capital Valencia
Valencian Community
–
Archeological site of Tossal de Manises, ancient
Iberian –
Greek –
Carthaginian –
Roman city of Akra Leuke or
Lucentum
Valencian Community
–
Location of the Valencian Community within Spain
Valencian Community
–
Villena castle
Valencian Community
–
Quart Towers,
city of Valencia
23.
Alghero
–
Alghero, is a town of about 44,000 inhabitants in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northwestern Sardinia, next to the Mediterranean Sea. Part of its population descends from Catalan conquerors from the end of the Middle Ages and that is why the Catalan language is co-official in the city, unique in Italy, taking the name of alguerès dialect. The name Alghero comes from the medieval Latin Aleguerium, meaning stagnation of algae, Alghero is the fifth university center in the island, coming after Cagliari and Sassari. It hosts the headquarters of the Università degli Studi di Sassari’s Architecture, in 2012 it was the 10th most visited city by tourists in Italy. For ecclesiastical history, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Alghero-Bosa The area of todays Alghero has been settled since pre-historic times, the Ozieri culture was present here in the 4th millennium BC, while the Nuraghe civilization settled in the area around 1,500 BC. Due to its position on the Mediterranean Sea, Alghero had been developed into a fortified port town by 1102. The Dorias ruled Alghero for centuries, apart from a period under the rule of Pisa between 1283–84. Algheros population later grew because of the arrival of Catalan colonists, in the early 16th century Alghero received papal recognition as a bishopric and the status of Kings City and developed economically. It is uncertain whether this was some settlement, perhaps linked to the events of the Saracen invasions. For two centuries remained in the orbit of the Maritime Republics, as in 1283 when the Pisans were able to control it for a year. These were granted enticing privileges, and in fact replaced the original population, poorly spoken by young people, trying for some time to protect this dialect, through education programs and official use within the local authority. The city, one of the principal of Sardinia and the fifth most populated region, is one of the gateways to the Island and it a strong tourist popular destination in the island, in 2012 it was the 10th Italian cities most visited by foreign tourists. The Aragonese were followed by the Spanish Habsburgs, who ruled until 1702, in 1720 Alghero, along with the rest of Sardinia, was handed over to the Piedmont-based House of Savoy. In 1821 a famine led to a revolt by the population, at the end of the same century Alghero was de-militarised. During the Fascist era, part of the marshes were reclaimed. During World War II Alghero was bombed, and its historical centre suffered heavy damage, the presence of malaria in the countryside was finally overcome in the 1950s. Since then, Alghero has become a popular tourist resort, Alghero is located in the northwestern coast of Sardinia, along the bay named after the city. In the north of the area there is the Nurra plain, to the NW the karstic systems of Capo Caccia, Punta Giglio
Alghero
–
16th century
Catalan city walls
Alghero
–
Nuraghe Palmavera near Alghero.
Alghero
–
Poster for a
Catalan language literary festival in Alghero.
Alghero
–
Bilingual street signs in
Catalan and
Italian
24.
Carche
–
Carche is a mountainous, sparsely populated area in the Region of Murcia, Spain, lying between the municipalities of Jumilla and Yecla. The mountains reach an altitude of 1,371 metres at the Pico de la Madama, three villages border the park, Raspay, La Alberquilla and Carche, with a total of 182 inhabitants. The name also refers to a zone within the Murcian municipalities Yecla, Jumilla and Abanilla with towns in which part of the population speaks Valencian. It covers an area of about 300 square kilometres and has 533 registered citizens and it is also the name of a hamlet, the largest town in the region in terms of surface area, but the smallest in population. Later, Manuel Sanchis i Guarner analysed in detail the distinctive traits of the dialect spoken there, even though Valencian is not officially recognised in Murcia, the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua organises classes in Valencian in Yecla upon request of the respective municipality. After the expulsion of the Moriscos in the 17th century, large parts of Yecla, Jumilla as well as Abanilla have remained depopulated and these areas have been used as pasture land from 1878 to 1887 and later for agriculture. Due to substantial emigration, mainly caused by a crisis, the population of the region of El Carche. Some of the hamlets, especially those with scattered settlements, are now completely abandoned, population distribution, In the municipality Jumilla, Torre del Rico,59 inhabitants. Cañada del Trigo,158 inhabitants, Raspay,129 inhabitants, cañada de la Leña,152 inhabitants, Abanilla
Carche
–
The
Catalan /
Valencian cultural domain
25.
La Franja
–
La Franja is the area of Catalan-speaking territories of Aragon bordering Catalonia, in Spain. It literally means the strip and can more properly be called Franja dAragó. The thin strip of land is very diverse geographically, ranging from valleys in the Pyrenees to the lands by the Ebro. The term is used in neighbouring Catalonia, especially by Catalan nationalists. The use of a term to refer to the area of Aragon bordering Catalonia as based on linguistic criteria is recent. This term was maintained in the half of the 20th century by Catalan linguists such as Joan Giraldo, along with other terms such as Marques dAragó. Whichever term is used, they all refer to the eastern Catalan-speaking area of Aragon and these terms all originated in Catalonia but later became popular in La Franja itself. They are therefore Catalonia-centered and hence the Ponent reference in the term La Franja del Ponent, later on, alternative denominations such as Aragón Oriental, Franja Oriental or Franja de Levante, all meaning roughly Eastern Aragon or Eastern Strip were created in Aragon. It was finally decided by the ecclesiastic canon judges in 2005 that the 113 works of art belong to the Barbastro-Monzón diocese, in the meantime, the works of art remain located in the Diocese Museum of Lleida. On July 1,2008 an agreement between the two dioceses was announced, again stating that the art pieces would return to the Barbastro-Monzón diocese, then the Vatican itself urged the return of the pieces to Aragon, to no avail. The Catalan language is spoken by a significant proportion of the population of La Franja, during the fourth session of the Cortes de Aragón under the PP-PAR coalition government the Special Commission Report on the Language Policy of Aragon was published. The Catalan-speaking lands are thus reduced to a total of 57 municipalities with an area of 4,137.2 km² with a population of 45,984. The situation is reversed according to the Gran Enciclopedia Aragonesa with the Franja having an area of 5,370 km², all the municipalities which it adds to those of the Avant-project and of Ribagorza and therefore belong to the Province of Huesca. The table to the details the population nuclei and official area. Population centres belonging to the municipality of Graus, population figures according to Ayuntamiento, area according to GREC. net. Population centres belonging to the municipality of Capella, population 2004, area according to GREC. net. Population centres belonging to the municipality of Graus, population according to Ayuntamiento, area according to GREC. net. There is no policy on official toponymy in the Franja
La Franja
–
A graffiti on a road sign in
Bisaurri. The road sign is written in Spanish and the graffiti says " En català " (In Catalan)
La Franja
–
The
Catalan /
Valencian cultural domain
26.
General Council of Andorra
–
The General Council is the unicameral parliament of Andorra. It is sometimes referred to as the General Council of the Valleys because it was the name and to distinguish it from similarly named bodies in the Val dAran. The parish lists and the national list are independent of one another and this is a recent development, originally, the seven parishes had each returned four deputies. The Council appoints a presiding officer, titled the Síndic general, and a deputy, the current Síndic general is Vicenç Mateu Zamora of the Democrats for Andorra. The General Council elects the Head of Government, who presides over the Executive Council, the Head of Government appoints the remaining seven members of the Executive Council. The current Head of Government, is Antoni Martí, political parties are a recent innovation, the first party was formed in 1976, and they only gained legal recognition in 1992. The most recent Andorran parliamentary election was March 2015, the General Council has the second-highest proportion of women legislators, and the highest in the developed world. Exactly half of its members are women, the first parliament in Andorra was established in 1419, as the Consell de la Terra. Councillors were elected by the population, and the council appointed syndics to manage the administration of the principality, the General Council was dissolved on their order in June 1933, and a special election called to re-elect it. The opportunity was taken to change the laws, at this point, all men over twenty-five could vote. In 1970, the vote was extended to women over twenty-five, in 1971 the qualifying age for all electors was lowered to twenty-one, women gained the right to run for office in 1973, and in 1978 a referendum was held on the matter of further reform. Later that year, a parish was formed, bringing the numbers of councillors to twenty-eight. In 1982, the Executive Council was created, comprising the Executive Council President, List of First Syndics of the General Council of the Valleys List of General Syndics of the General Council of the Valleys Politics of Andorra List of legislatures by country Official website
General Council of Andorra
–
General Council of Andorra Consell General d'Andorra
27.
Generalitat of Catalonia
–
The Government of Catalonia or Generalitat de Catalunya is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia in Spain is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Generalitat had responsibility for an annual budget of €24 billion in 2006, rising to €33 billion in 2010. The Generalitat of Catalonia stems from the institution which ruled, in the name of the King of the Crown of Aragon. The first Catalan constitution is that of the Corts of Barcelona from 1283, another medieval precedent- the Diputació del General de Catalunya – which the 1931 legislators felt was appropriate for invoking as a legitimising base for contemporary self-government. Then, by the early 18th century, as the Nueva Planta decrees were passed in Spain, the president of the Generalitat at the time, Lluís Companys, was tortured and executed in October 1940 for the crime of military rebellion. Artur Mas, the leader of the Convergence and Union alliance, has been the president of the government since mid-December 2010. His party did not obtain a majority in the 2010 election. His election as president was enabled by support of the Socialists Party of Catalonia, on 18 June 2006, a reformed version was approved of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and went into effect in August. The current president of the Generalitat is Carles Puigdemont, previous president Artur Mas was recently charged by the Spanish government for civil disobedience, after he organised and staged a referendum on independence in 2014. The autonomous government consists of the Executive Council, the President, some people wrongly apply this name only to the executive council, however, Generalitat de Catalunya is the system of Catalan autonomous government as a whole. The region has achieved a greater degree of autonomy since 1979. After Navarre and the Basque Country regions, Catalonia has the greatest level of self-government in Spain, the Generalitat holds exclusive and wide jurisdiction in various matters of culture, environment, communications, transportation, commerce, public safety and local governments. In many aspects relating to education, health and justice, the region shares jurisdiction with the Spanish government, with few exceptions, most of the justice system is administered by national judicial institutions. The fields of law that are subject to autonomous legislation have been codified in the Civil Code of Catalonia consisting of six books that have successively entered into force since 2003. As an autonomous community of Spain, Catalonia is not recognized as a state by any sovereign state. However, as Catalonia has progressively gained a degree of self-government in recent years. For the most part, these relationships are with the governments of other powerful entities such as Quebec or California. In addition, like most Spanish autonomous communities, Catalonia has permanent delegations before international organizations, altogether, Catalonia has well over 40 representative offices worldwide
Generalitat of Catalonia
–
Bank note from the Generalitat de Catalunya, 1936
Generalitat of Catalonia
–
Seal of the Generalitat de Catalunya
28.
Generalitat Valenciana
–
The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self-government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organized. It consists of seven including the Corts Valencianes, the President of the Generalitat. Its functions are regulated by the Valencian Statute of Autonomy, there is also an office in Brussels appointed by the Generalitat Valenciana lobbying before the European Union. The current President of the Generalitat is Alberto Fabra, who was born in Castellón and he assumed presidency in July 2011 and took office in Les Corts in the same month. The Generalitat Valenciana was created in 1418 and it acted, along with the Monarch shared with the other territories of the Crown of Aragon, as the ruling body of the Kingdom of Valencia. Originally its posts were designated for three year terms, in 1510, the process of designating posts was reorganized, becoming more automatic and less elective. This re-organization stayed the same until 1709, when it was abolished as a consequence of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Generalitat Valenciana was not re-established until 1982, after the corresponding Valencian Statute of Autonomy was approved. El Consell consists of eight members, each the leader of an institution, the Department of Treasury and Public Administrations is responsible for finance, the Valencian business sector, public service, and information technology and management communication. The Department of Health is responsible for services and public health. The Department of Social Welfare is responsible for policies affecting social services, dependence, the disabled, family, children, adoptions, youth, women and it represents the people of Valencia via the members of parliament. These members are elected using a universal, direct, free and it is made up of 75-100 members, which are determined by the Statute of Autonomy and through the voting process. The Statute of Autonomy also requires any candidate running for a Seat must stand for a party or coalition that obtains more than 5% of the votes in all the Autonomous Community. The D’Hondt method is used to distribute Seats, in the VIII Term,35 members of Parliament were elected in the Alicante district,24 members in the Castellon district, and 40 in the Valencia district. The Valencian Parliament Regulations were developed in addition to the Statute of Autonomy to govern the organization, on March 4,1983, the first draft of the Valencian Parliament Regulations was approved during the Transitional Phase. Since then, it has several modifications, which were approved by the Valencian Parliament on December 18,2006. The contemporary Corts Valencianes differs from its counterpart of the same name. The former Corts Valencianes was organized into three arms – Ecclesiastic, Military, and Royal – which had different duties than the Corts today, the Consell Valencia de Cultura is a consultation and advisory institution for the Generalitat Valenciana for affairs related to Valencian culture. It defends and promotes the cultural and linguistic values
Generalitat Valenciana
–
Emblem of the Generalitat Valenciana
29.
Politics of Andorra
–
The politics of Andorra take place in a framework of a parliamentary constitutional diarchy, and a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government, with the Head of Government of Andorra as chief executive, legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, before 1993, Andorras political system had no clear division of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches. A constitution ratified and approved in 1993 establishes Andorra as a parliamentary democracy that retains the President of France and Bishop of Urgell as co-princes. However, the head of government retains executive power, the two co-princes serve coequally with limited powers that do not include an individual veto over government acts. They are each represented in Andorra by a personal representative, under the 1993 constitution, the co-princes continue as heads of state, but the head of government retains executive power. The two co-princes serve coequally with limited powers that do not include veto over government acts, both are represented in Andorra by a delegate, although since 1993, both France and Spain have their own embassies. The way the two princes are chosen makes Andorra one of the most politically distinct nations on earth, one co-prince is the man or woman who is currently serving as President of France, currently Francois Hollande. The other is the current Roman Catholic bishop of the Catalan city of La Seu dUrgell, as neither prince lives in Andorra, their role is almost entirely ceremonial. In 1981, the Executive Council, consisting of the Cap de Govern, every four years, after the general elections, the General Council elects the head of government, who, in turn, chooses the other members of the Executive Council. Andorras main legislative body is the 28-member General Council, the sindic, the subsindic and the members of the Council are elected in the general elections to be held every four years. The Council meets throughout the year on certain dates set by tradition or as required, at least one representative from each parish must be present for the General Council to meet. Historically, within the General Council, four deputies apiece from each of the seven individual parishes have provided representation and this system allowed parishes with as few as 350 voters the same number of representatives as larger parishes with up to 2,600 voters. To correct this imbalance, a provision in the new constitution modifies the structure, under the new format, half of the representatives are chosen by the traditional system, and the other half selected from nationwide lists. A sindic and a subsindic are chosen by the General Council to implement its decisions and they serve three-year terms and may be reappointed once. Sindics have virtually no discretionary powers, and all decisions must be approved by the Council as a whole. Courts apply the laws of Andorra, supplemented with Roman law. Civil cases are first heard by the Court of Batlles – a group of four judges, Appeals are heard in the Court of Appeals
Politics of Andorra
–
Joan Enric Vives i Sicília current
episcopal co-prince of Andorra since 12 May 2003.
Politics of Andorra
–
Principality of Andorra
Politics of Andorra
–
François Hollande current
French co-prince of Andorra since 15 May 2012.
30.
Politics of Catalonia
–
Catalonia is a Spanish autonomous community with a high-level of self-government. Politics of Catalonia are primarily related to the autonomous Government of Catalonia institutional system, including the Parliament of Catalonia, the President, convergence and Union has been described as being long the regions dominant political party. Catalan politics is also noted, to an extent, for the influence exerted by the Socialists Party of Catalonia on its sister major party. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Catalonia was one of the centres of Spanish industrialisation. Catalan nationalist and federalist movements arose in the century. Its private everyday use was never officially proscribed by law but diminished because of the political situation, during the last decade of Francos rule, there was a resurgence of nationalist sentiment in Catalonia and other historic regions of Spain such as the Basque country. Following Francos death in 1975 and the restoration of democracy by 1978, Catalonia regained its autonomous status, ciUs hegemony was in spite of the major cities having been controlled by its main rival party, PSC. It was also in spite of what has been defined as the dual vote and this refers to the fact that elections results in Catalonia consistently vary depending on the elections type. Thus, elections for the Catalan regional Parliament have been won by the conservative nationalist CiU. However, the social democrat non-nationalist PSC-PSOE has been, and continues to be and this trend culminated in the 2003 elections which saw CiU ousted from the government for the first time in 20 years by means of a tripartite left-wing coalition. On the other side, Catalan remains the predominant language in middle-class and upper-class urban areas, as well as in the regions rural, all in all, Spanish remains the language spoken by a significant portion of Catalans, particularly in working-class areas. In any case, Catalan has undoubtedly experienced a revival since the death of Franco, it has become the language of the autonomous government and enjoys a prominence. But the dominant presence in areas of Spanish-speakers keeps blocking the Catalan nationalist desire of making Catalan language use universal. It began a campaign, consisting of hundreds of bombings which was brought to an end by harsh police operations in 1992. 4 of its members were killed in action and it caused an innocent victim in one of its bombings. Despite its similarities, the activities of Terra Lliure and the MCAN have not reached the strength and notoriety of ETA, at the 2003 regional elections CiU could not renew its absolute majority and PSCs Pasqual Maragall became President of the Generalitat by means of a left-wing tripartite coalition. Since CiU did not win a majority, the combined forces of all three left parties allowed the change in government. While PSC maintained the post of President of the Generalitat, ERC nominated the First Minister — Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira and, later on and this first tripartite rule became an uneasy coalition due to tensions between the PSC and ERC and internal tensions between PSC and PSOE as well
Politics of Catalonia
–
Independentism support Catalonia, according to ICPS
.jpg)
