USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42)
USS Franklin D. Roosevelt was the second of three Midway-class aircraft carriers. To her crew, she was known as "Swanky Franky," "Foo-De-Roo," or "Rosie," with the last nickname the most popular. Roosevelt spent most of her active deployed career operating in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the United States Sixth Fleet; the ship was scrapped shortly afterward. She was the first aircraft carrier of the United States Navy to be named in honor of a President of the United States. Franklin D. Roosevelt was laid down at New York Naval Shipyard on 1 December 1943. Sponsor Mrs. John H. Towers, wife of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet, christened the ship Coral Sea at the 29 April 1945 launching. On 8 May 1945, President Harry S. Truman approved the Secretary of the Navy's recommendation to rename the ship Franklin D. Roosevelt in honor of the late president, who had died four weeks earlier. Roosevelt was commissioned on 27 October 1945, at the New York Naval Shipyard. Capt. Apollo Soucek was the ship's first commanding officer.
During her shakedown cruise, Roosevelt called at Rio de Janeiro from 1 to 11 February 1946 to represent the United States at the inauguration of Brazilian president Eurico Gaspar Dutra, who came aboard for a short cruise. During April and May, Roosevelt participated in Eighth Fleet maneuvers off the East Coast, the Navy's first major postwar training exercise. On 21 July 1946, Roosevelt became the first American carrier to operate an all-jet aircraft under controlled conditions. Lieutenant Commander James Davidson, flying the McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom, made a series of successful take-offs and landings as Roosevelt lay off Cape Henry, Virginia. Jet trials continued in November, when Lt. Col. Marion E. Carl, USMC, made two catapult launches, four unassisted take-offs, five arrested landings in a Lockheed P-80A. Fleet maneuvers and other training operations in the Caribbean preceded Roosevelt's first deployment to the Mediterranean, which lasted from August to October 1946. Roosevelt, flying the flag of Rear Admiral John H. Cassady, Carrier Division 1, led the U.
S. Navy force that arrived in Piraeus on 5 September 1946; this visit showed U. S. support for the pro-Western government of Greece, locked in a civil war with Communist insurgents. The ship received thousands of visitors during her calls to many Mediterranean ports. Roosevelt returned to American waters and operated off the East Coast until July 1947, when she entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard for an extensive overhaul. At that time, her quad 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns were replaced by 40 3-inch Mark 22 guns in Mark 33 twin mountings. From September 1948 to January 1949, Roosevelt undertook a second tour of duty with U. S. Naval Forces, Mediterranean. In 1950, Roosevelt became the first carrier to take nuclear weapons to sea. In September and October 1952, she participated in Operation Mainbrace, the first major NATO exercise in the North Atlantic. Roosevelt operated with other major fleet units, including the aircraft carriers USS Midway, USS Wasp, HMS Eagle, as well as the battleships USS Wisconsin and HMS Vanguard.
Roosevelt was reclassified CVA-42 on 1 October 1952. On 7 January 1954, she sailed for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to undergo extensive reconstruction. Too large to pass through the Panama Canal, Roosevelt rounded Cape Horn and arrived at the shipyard on 5 March 1954, she was temporarily decommissioned there for her refit on 23 April 1954. Roosevelt was the first of her class to undergo the SCB-110 reconstruction, at a cost of $48 million, she received an enclosed "hurricane bow," one C-11-2 and two C-11-1 steam catapults, strengthened arresting gear, an enlarged bridge, a mirror landing system, a 482-foot angled flight deck. SPS-8 height finding radar and SPS-12 air search radar were mounted on a new tubular mast; the aft elevator was relocated to the starboard deck edge, the forward elevator was enlarged, all elevators were uprated to 75,000 lb capacity. Aviation fuel bunkerage was increased from 350,000 to 450,000 gallons. Standard displacement rose to 51,000 tons; as weight compensation, several of the 5-inch Mark 16 anti-aircraft guns were landed, leaving only 10, the 3,200-ton armor belt was removed.
Hull blisters were added to cope with the increased weight. Roosevelt recommissioned on 6 April 1956. After post-refit trials, Roosevelt sailed for her new homeport of Florida. In February 1957, Roosevelt conducted cold weather tests of catapults and the Regulus guided missile, in the Gulf of Maine. In July, she sailed for the first of three consecutive Sixth Fleet deployments, her assignments in the Mediterranean added NATO exercises to her normal schedule of major fleet operations, found her entertaining a distinguished list of guests each year. During a 1958 mid-year overhaul, the 22 remaining 3-inch guns were removed. On 24 October 1958, Roosevelt supported USS Kleinsmith in the evacuation of 56 American citizens and three foreign nationals from Nicara, Cuba, as the Cuban Revolution came to a climax. In late 1960, the Control Instrument Company installed the first production Fresnel Lens Optical Landing System onboard Roosevelt, she recorded her 100,000th aircraft landing in March 1961. During a 1963 overhaul, six more 5-inch guns were removed.
While operating in the Eastern Mediterranean in the fall of 1964, Roosevelt lost a blade from one of her 20-ton propellers. She proceeded from Italy to New York with the number one shaft locked. After replacing the propeller at Bayonne, New Jersey, Roosevelt returned to the Mediterranean to complete her cruise. From August 1966 to January 1967, Roosevelt made her o
Cullera
Cullera is a municipality in Valencia in the Valencian Community, situated in the Ribera Baixa comarca. Cullera is situated at the mouth of 40 km from the capital of Valencia; the main neighbourhoods of Cullera are: El Brosquil. Cullera-Park. Cap-Blanc. El Dosel. El Estany. El Marenyet. Mareny de San Lorenzo. Mareny Blau. Bega de Mar, El Perelló, Corbera, Llaurí, Favara and Tavernes de Valldigna all neighbour Cullera, they are all in the province of Valencia. The mountain of Cullera, known as Munt de l'Or or Muntanya de l'Or, is the last mountain in the Iberian System before the Mediterranean Sea, it has an altitude of 233 meters. The historical parts of the city are to the south, the modern tourist district is to the east, looking to the sea; the San Lorenzo lagoon is a small lake situated north of the mountain. It once formed part of a much bigger lake; the lake now marks the southern limit of the Parque Natural de la Albufera. The economy in Cullera is traditionally based in agriculture, with rice and oranges as important crops.
Fishing a large part of the economy, has diminished in importance due to important tourism developments, both nationally and internationally, in the region. Castle: At the top of the mountain, dominating the city and the sea, there is a fortress built in the 13th century over the old Moorish fortress, it once was walled. Located there are the rest of the old towers, forming part of the old walled area on the mountain. Sanctuary of the Virgen del Castillo: Within the fortress, there is the sanctuary of the Virgen del Castillo, whose festival is celebrated the week after Passover. Church of the Saint Johns: A neoclassical temple from the 17th century built over an older Gothic temple. Inside, there is the interior of a bell tower; the temple has been restored. Torre del marenyet: An old watchtower built to watch the Júcar river, it was erected in the 15th century as a defense against barbary pirates. Cave of Dragut: This cave depicts the invasion of the Berbers in Cullera, it is said that the pirate Dragut was once there.
Air-raid shelter-Museum of the Mercat Municipal: A bomb shelter constructed under the Town's Market under the threat of air bombing during the Spanish Civil War. Hermitage of the stone saints: The building, situated on a hill surrounded by rice crops, was dedicated to these saints because they are related to the welfare of the crops. Nowadays, the Hermitage, built in the 18th century, has been reconverted into a museum dedicated to rice, from species to crops and tools, important for Valencian cuisine. Abric Lambert cave paintings: Named after its discoverer Lambert Oliver, the Abric Lambert is located in the north-west side of the mountain; the paintings are several figures painted in a dark red shade with cruciforms and comb-shaped figures that have been interpreted as animal and human figures. The typical food of the region is the so-called Mediterranean diet, characterized by a rich selection of vegetables. In Cullera's orchards, there are many citrus crops, as well as seafood of the nearby ocean.
Alongside the offerings of the orchards, not to mention the seafood, there are dozens of ways to prepare rice: arroz al horno, arroz a banda, etc. Le Bourget, France Ouroux-en-Morvan, France Jever, Germany Syktyvkar, Russia Mutiny at Sucro Instituto Valenciano de Estadística Castillo de Cullera https://web.archive.org/web/20060204235358/http://www.costamediterranea.com/dondeir/valencia/cullera.html http://www.valencians.com/valencia/rb/cullera This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed.. "Cullera". Encyclopædia Britannica. 7. Cambridge University Press. P. 617
Carcaixent
Carcaixent is a town and municipality in the province of Valencia, eastern Spain, with c. 20,000 inhabitants. Its origins go back to prehistoric Roman times, with some remainders in its area, it is located in 40 km south of the provincial capital Valencia. It is the birthplace of the orange growth and its flourishing commerce in the 19th and 20th centuries, its inhabitants live on agriculture and the service sector. Remains of Neolithic and Roman settlements have been found in the area of Carcaixent, although the municipality originated from a Muslim farmhouse. King Philip II awarded Carcaixent the title of University in 1576. After upgrading it to Villa Real, the king issued Royal Privileges granting it the right to vote in the Courts of Valencia. Economy and population boomed in Carcaixent in the 18th century thanks to the sound production of silk, although crops were replaced by orange trees in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Carcaixent was awarded the title of city in 1916. Monastery of Aguas Vivas: The construction that has come until nowadays, answers to the buildings from 16th and 17th centuries, the cloister, the new church, the sacristy and the bell tower.
The complete work reflects a solid construction in the center of which the empty space of the courtyard in which over the years, some remains have been annexed. The church of the convent, facing the south, was built in 1724. Hermitage of Sant Roc de Ternils: Firstly, the chape was dedicated to St. Bartholomew, built during the reconquest following the guidelines to maximize the space for the congregation of the faithful people, it is a construction with a single nave, with a plane front, open chapels between the buttresses and diaphragmed arches which holds the double-sloped roof made of Areabic tile. Inside, the only existing decoration is composed by paints in the joists with geometric shapes and rhombus with red and yellow stripes. Magatzem de Ribera: It is a construction built in the early 20th century, it was conceived as an orange store. In 1989, the Town Hall acquired the building; these functional requirements needed premises which main feature was the necessity of space and the width without being necessary the complex structures for the installation of machinery or elements generating energy.
Another of the characteristics is its location. The exact date of the building of the store is not known, but it should have been built between 1900 and 1910. Hort de Soriano is one of the most emblematic spots on Carcaixent’s agricultural and traditional landscape. Established over one hundred years ago, it contributed to increasing the value of certain rain-fed farmlands, where wells were dug out to introduce orange farming; the site was purchased by Carcaixent Council in 1991 and declared a municipal natural site to ensure its protection and tourist promotion. Among the range of facilities and leisure activities available at Carcaixent’s Hort de Soriano, there is a caravan area, a leisure area and a picnic area, spreading out over 6.8 hectares, a play area, sport area. There are several panels with information on four walking routes and a nature centre, with educational and environmental interpretation facilities; the orange is the fruit made from Spain, through Valencia, spreading throughout the rest of the world.
In Greek mythology the Garden of the Hesperides is a mythological grove where apples grew tended to by nymphs and a dragon. Hercules, the hero of classical literature, killed the guardian, entered the garden and plucked those golden apples –In years it was thought that the "golden apples" might have been oranges, a fruit unknown to Europe before the Middle Ages. Several scholars defend that the etymology of the word comes from the Sanskrit term narang and the Persian word narensh; when Arabs brought orange farming to the Iberian Peninsula, they called the fruits naranjah. The Region of Valencia maintained the orange-farming tradition after the Arabic period, with references to orange trees in the city of Valencia dating back to the 14th century. In fact, there is an Orange Courtyard inside Valencia’s 15th-century Silk Exchange market, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the first references to commercial orange plantations date back to the 18th century. According to the historical records, in 1781 parish priest Vicente Monzó and two acquaintances and scribe Carlo Maseres and pharmacist Jacinto Bodí, planted the first fields of orange trees in the municipal area of Carcaixent known as Les Basses del Rey.
The trees thrived in the land, favoured by the benign Mediterranean climate, adapted to Valencian soil both on rain-fed farmland and irrigated land fed by river Júcar, whose extensive irrigation channel distributed fertile water around the whole of the Ribera Alta. In the early 19th century, orange trees started to replace other crops, such as rice and mulberries, taking over as the main local crop. Wholesale exports of oranges commenced in this century, fuelled by the arrival of the railway that connected Valencia, Xàtiva, Algemesí, La Pobla Llarga and Carcaixent; the rail line from Carcaixent to Gandía and Dénia that opened in 1864 continued to operate until the early 1970s. The Carcaixent-Dénia line was one of the oldest narrow rail tracks in mainland Spain. Carcaixent has developed the Orange route to introduce national and foreign visitors to this interesting and celebrated agricultural and cultural legacy; the project analyses the history of the fruit, providing information on its origins and on the municipality of Carcaixent’s standing as the birthplace of oranges.
Visitors will learn about parish priest Monzó’s pioneer action, the different architectu
Xàtiva
Xàtiva is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km west of the Mediterranean Sea. During the Al-Andalus Islamic era, Arabs brought the technology to manufacture paper to Xàtiva. In the 12th century, Xàtiva was known for its schools and learning circles. Islamic scholar Abu Ishaq al-Shatibi's last name refers to Xàtiva where he died. Xàtiva was famous in Roman times for its linen fabrics, mentioned by the Latin poets Ovid and Catullus. Xàtiva is known as an early European centre of paper manufacture. In the 12th century, Arabs brought the technology to manufacture paper to Xàtiva, it is the birthplace of two popes, Callixtus III and Alexander VI, the painter José Ribera. It suffered a dark moment in its history at the hands of Philip V of Spain, after his victory at the Battle of Almansa during the War of the Spanish Succession, had the city besieged ordered it to be burned and renamed San Felipe.
In memory of the insult, the portrait of the monarch hangs upside down in the local museum of l'Almodí. Xàtiva was a provincial capital under the short-lived 1822 territorial division of Spain, during the Trienio Liberal; the Province of Xàtiva was revoked with the return to absolutism in 1823. Xàtiva is built on the margin of a fertile plain, on the southern slopes of the Monte Vernissa, a hill with two peaks crowned by Xativa Castle; the Collegiate Basilica, dating from 1414, but rebuilt about a century in the Renaissance style, was a cathedral, is the chief among many churches and convents. The town-hall and a church on the castle hill are constructed of inscribed Roman masonry, several houses date from the Moorish period. Other sights include: Royal Monastery of the Assumption and Baroque style, built during the 14th century and renovated in the 16th–18th centuries. Natal house of the Pope Alexander VI. Sant Feliu – 13th century church. Sant Pere -14th century church; the interior has a Coffered ceiling decorated in Gothic-Mudéjar style.
Hermitage of Santa Anna, in Gothic style Almodí, a 14th-century Gothic edifice now housing a Museum Casa de la Enseñanza, Xàtiva Sant Francesc The Republic of Sorió, where you could find the famous valencian version of the Olsen sisters, known for having sung in Maqueta Jove TV Show. In the summer, the village is blessed with the visit of an old friend of the sisters': the well-known Hanna Gorbana. Pope Calixtus III Pope Alexander VI Tomás Cerdán de Tallada Diego Ramírez de Arellano Jusepe de Ribera Jaime Villanueva Raimon Joan Ramos Toni Cucarella Feliu Ventura Route of the Borgias Official website Media related to Xàtiva at Wikimedia Commons Xàtiva travel guide from WikivoyageThere is plenty of information available about Xativa and the surrounding area on the English language website. "Játiva". Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University Press
Barx
Barx is a municipality in the comarca of Safor in the Valencian Community, Spain. Tackling the etymology of the place name "Barx" is no simple matter and has caused heated controversy between scholars of Roman and Moorish languages and dialects; the place name occurs in many forms in ancient texts. Moorish scholars contend. Humbler beginnings come out of other associated words and Christian scholars favour Perxe …an old word meaning'cabin' …corrupted into Berxe by Arab pronunciation. Tower or cabin, bordj or berxe, what is important is the fact that the historical existence of the name attests to the presence of a community with an ancestry that dates back to the first millennium; the long history of the village with its geographic isolation has caused two juxtaposed social attitudes to flourish alongside each other …the desire for contact with the outside world and a preference for the safety of isolation from it. Perched at a considerable height with respect to the whole natural district of the Commonwealth of Valldigna, Barx is the sole mountain community and this geographic semi-isolation has fostered a high degree of "cultural independence" and this is the key to understanding the peculiarity of the past and present of the village of Barx.
The Parpalló cave and the one at Malladetes constitute two of the more important sites in the Mediterranean peninsular region. The archaeological materials obtained from the caves attest to the area being occupied uninterrupted between 29,000 years ago and a date just 11,000 years ago; the people developed a hunter-gatherer way of life. The culture can be characterised by the elaborate utensils made from both bone. One of the singular aspects of the Parpalló cave is the rich collection cave paintings and limestone engravings depicting animals and other topics; the existence of these scenes confirms a high artistic and symbolic capacity of the ancient population. Video: Virtual tour of Barx village
Valencia
Valencia València, on the east coast of Spain, is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona, with around 800,000 inhabitants in the administrative centre. Its urban area extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 1.6 million people. Valencia is Spain's third largest metropolitan area, with a population ranging from 1.7 to 2.5 million depending on how the metropolitan area is defined. The Port of Valencia is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and the busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea; the city is ranked at Beta-global city in World Cities Research Network. Valencia is integrated into an industrial area on the Costa del Azahar. Valencia was founded as a Roman colony by the consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus in 138 BC, called Valentia Edetanorum. In 714 Moroccan and Arab Moors occupied the city, introducing their language and customs. Valencia was the capital of the Taifa of Valencia.
In 1238 the Christian king James I of Aragon conquered the city and divided the land among the nobles who helped him conquer it, as witnessed in the Llibre del Repartiment. He created a new law for the city, the Furs of Valencia, which were extended to the rest of the Kingdom of Valencia. In the 18th century Philip V of Spain abolished the privileges as punishment to the kingdom of Valencia for aligning with the Habsburg side in the War of the Spanish Succession. Valencia was the capital of Spain when Joseph Bonaparte moved the Court there in the summer of 1812, it served as capital between 1936 and 1937, during the Second Spanish Republic. The city is situated on the banks of the Turia, on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, fronting the Gulf of Valencia on the Mediterranean Sea, its historic centre is one of the largest in Spain, with 169 ha. Due to its long history, this is a city with numerous popular celebrations and traditions, such as the Fallas, which were declared as Fiestas of National Tourist Interest of Spain in 1965 and Intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in November 2016.
From 1991 to 2015, Rita Barberá Nolla was the mayor of the city, yet in 2015, Joan Ribó from Coalició Compromís, became mayor. The original Latin name of the city was Valentia, meaning "strength", or "valour", the city being named according to the Roman practice of recognising the valour of former Roman soldiers after a war; the Roman historian Livy explains that the founding of Valentia in the 2nd century BC was due to the settling of the Roman soldiers who fought against an Iberian rebel, Viriatus. During the rule of the Muslim kingdoms in Spain, it had the nickname Medina at-Tarab according to one transliteration, or Medina at-Turab according to another, since it was located on the banks of the River Turia, it is not clear if the term Balansiyya was reserved for the entire Taifa of Valencia or designated the city. By gradual sound changes, Valentia has in Castilian and València in Valencian. In Valencian, the grave accent ⟨è⟩ /ɛ/ contrasts with the acute accent ⟨é⟩ /e/—but the word València is an exception to this rule.
It is spelled according to Catalan etymology. Valencia stands on the banks of the Turia River, located on the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula and the western part of the Mediterranean Sea, fronting the Gulf of Valencia. At its founding by the Romans, it stood on a river island in 6.4 kilometres from the sea. The Albufera, a freshwater lagoon and estuary about 11 km south of the city, is one of the largest lakes in Spain; the City Council bought the lake from the Crown of Spain for 1,072,980 pesetas in 1911, today it forms the main portion of the Parc Natural de l'Albufera, with a surface area of 21,120 hectares. In 1976, because of its cultural and ecological value, the Generalitat Valenciana declared it a natural park. Valencia has a subtropical Mediterranean climate with short mild winters and long and dry summers, its average annual temperature is 18.4 °C. In the coldest month, the maximum temperature during the day ranges from 14 to 21 °C, the minimum temperature at night ranges from 5 to 11 °C.
In the warmest month – August, the maximum temperature during the day ranges from 28–34 °C, about 22 to 23 °C at night. Similar temperatures to those experienced in the northern part of Europe in summer last about 8 months, from April to November. March is transitional, the temperature exceeds 20 °C, with an average temperature of 19.3 °C during the day and 10.0 °C at night. December and February are the coldest months, with average temperatures around 17 °C during the day and 8 °C at night. Valencia has one of the mildest winters in Europe, owing to its southern location on the Mediterranean Sea and the Foehn phenomenon; the January average is comparable to temperatures expected for May and September in the major cities of northern Europe. Sunshine duration hours are 2,696 per year, from 15
Autonomous communities of Spain
In Spain, an autonomous community is a first-level political and administrative division, created in accordance with the Spanish constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy of the nationalities and regions that make up Spain. Spain is not a federation, but a decentralized unitary state. While sovereignty is vested in the nation as a whole, represented in the central institutions of government, the nation has, in variable degrees, devolved power to the communities, which, in turn, exercise their right to self-government within the limits set forth in the constitution and their autonomous statutes; each community has its own set of devolved powers. Some scholars have referred to the resulting system as a federal system in all but name, or a "federation without federalism". There are 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities that are collectively known as "autonomies"; the two autonomous cities have the right to become autonomous communities, but neither has yet exercised it.
This unique framework of territorial administration is known as the "State of Autonomies". The autonomous communities are governed according to the constitution and their own organic laws known as Statutes of Autonomy, which contain all the competences that they assume. Since devolution was intended to be asymmetrical in nature, the scope of competences vary for each community, but all have the same parliamentary structure. Spain is a diverse country made up of several different regions with varying economic and social structures, as well as different languages and historical and cultural traditions. While the entire Spanish territory was united under one crown in 1479 this was not a process of national homogenization or amalgamation; the constituent territories—be it crowns, principalities or dominions—retained much of their former institutional existence, including limited legislative, judicial or fiscal autonomy. These territories exhibited a variety of local customs, laws and currencies until the mid nineteenth century.
From the 18th century onwards, the Bourbon kings and the government tried to establish a more centralized regime. Leading figures of the Spanish Enlightenment advocated for the building of a Spanish nation beyond the internal territorial boundaries; this culminated in 1833, when Spain was divided into 49 provinces, which served as transmission belts for policies developed in Madrid. However, unlike in other European countries such as France, where regional languages were spoken in rural areas or less developed regions, two important regional languages of Spain were spoken in some of the most industrialized areas, moreover, enjoyed higher levels of prosperity, in addition to having their own cultures and historical consciousness; these were Catalonia. This gave rise to peripheral nationalisms along with Spanish nationalism; therefore and social changes that had produced a national cultural unification in France had the opposite effect in Spain. As such, Spanish history since the late 19th century has been shaped by a dialectical struggle between Spanish nationalism and peripheral nationalisms in Catalonia and the Basque Country, to a lesser degree in Galicia.
In a response to Catalan demands, limited autonomy was granted to Catalonia in 1914, only to be abolished in 1923. It was granted again in 1932 during the Second Spanish Republic, when the Generalitat, Catalonia's mediaeval institution of government, was restored; the constitution of 1931 envisaged a territorial division for all Spain in "autonomous regions", never attained—only Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia had approved "Statutes of Autonomy"—the process being thwarted by the Spanish Civil War that broke out in 1936, the victory of the rebel Nationalist forces under Francisco Franco. During General Franco's dictatorial regime, centralism was most forcefully enforced as a way of preserving the "unity of the Spanish nation". Peripheral nationalism, along with communism and atheism were regarded by his regime as the main threats, his attempts to fight separatism with heavy-handed but sporadic repression, his severe suppression of language and regional identities backfired: the demands for democracy became intertwined with demands for the recognition of a pluralistic vision of the Spanish nationhood.
When Franco died in 1975, Spain entered into a phase of transition towards democracy. The most difficult task of the newly democratically elected Cortes Generales in 1977 acting as a Constituent Assembly was to transition from a unitary centralized state into a decentralized state in a way that would satisfy the demands of the peripheral nationalists; the Prime Minister of Spain, Adolfo Suárez, met with Josep Tarradellas, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia in exile. An agreement was made so that the Generalitat would be restored and limited competencies would be transferred while the constitution was still being written. Shortly after, the government allowed the creation of "assemblies of members of parliament" integrated by deputies and senators of the different territories of Spain, so that they could constitute "pre-autonomic regimes" for their regions as well; the Fathers of the Constitution had to strike a balance between the opposing views of Spain—on the one hand, the centralist view inherited from Franco's regime, on the other hand federalism and a pluralistic view of Spain as a "nation of nations".
Peripheral nationalist
Spain
Valencian Community
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