Catalan people

This article refers to both the Catalans as an ethnic group and to those speakers of the Catalan language who may not be identified as being Catalan.

The Catalans are an ethnic group or nation concentrated in Spain's autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as other adjacent and nearby Mediterranean areas including Andorra, Land of Valencia, the Balearic Islands, and Catalunya Nord in France. Most (especially in Spain) are speakers of the Catalan language; today, virtually all them also speak the official language of their respective states. The language policy in both countries has often favored Spanish and French languages, to the point where some Catalans no longer speak their historic language.

Other related Catalan-speaking groups live in Valencia (where some view Valencian as a distinct language; the official Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua considers Valencian and Catalan a single language, but prefers to call that language valencià), Mallorca, and Alghero, Sardinia in Italy. The Catalans, though somewhat related to the larger group of Spanish people and to Occitans, are in many ways a group unto themselves with qualities that make them something of a transitional group.

Collectively, the Catalan-speaking territories are sometimes called the Catalan Countries (Catalan: Països Catalans); that term is seen by some as having Catalan nationalist connotations. Due to internal politics in Spain and, to a lesser extent, historical reasons, many of the inhabitants of Valencia and the Balearic Islands do not consider themseleves to be Catalan. This may be partially a response to their perception that Catalan nationalism is an expansionist menace to their own local identities.

Historical background

The history of Catalonia entails major events that have shaped the western Mediterranean and local histories that often overlap with those of modern Spain and France. The area that is now Catalonia was inhabited by early Iberian and Basque peoples and later Celts who morphed into a localalized variant known as Celtiberians by the 8th century BCE. These groups came under the rule of various invading groups starting with the Phoenicians and Carthaginians who set-up colonies along the coast including Barcelona itself. Following the Punic Wars, the Romans replaced the Carthaginians as the dominant power in Catalonia by 206 BCE and established Latin as the official language and imparted a distinctly Roman culture upon the local population that merged with Roman colonists from throughout the Roman Empire. An early precursor to the Catalan language began to develop from a local vulgarized form of Latin following the collapse of the Roman Empire. Various Germanic tribes arrived following nearly six centuries of Roman rule which had completely transformed early Catalonia into a Latin region. The Visigoths established themselves in the 5th century CE and would rule the area until 718 when Muslim Arab-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 and Frankish rule became established over much of northern Catalonia. Larger wars with the Muslims began with the Spanish March which led to the beginnings of the reconquest by Catalonian forces of most of Catalonia by year 801. It was during this period that a Catalan national identity fully emerged as Barcelona became an important center of Christian forces in the Iberian peninsula.

Catalonia emerged from the conflicts in Muslim Spain as a regional power as Germanic rulers entrenched themselves in the region during the Carolingian period. Rulers such as Wilfred the Hairy became rulers of a larger territory encompassing Catalonia. The Crown of Aragon included Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. The marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon and the expulsion of the Muslims from Spain in 1492, tied Catalonia politically to the fate of Spain, while a regional culture continued to survive and thrive.

Some sporadic regional unrest led to conflicts as with the 1640 revolt by the Catalans known as the Reapers' War. This conflict embroiled Spain in a larger war with France as many Catalan nobles allied themselves with Louis XIII. The war continued until 1659 and ended with the Peace of the Pyrenees which effectively partitioned Catalonia as the northern territories came under French rule, while the south remained under Spanish control. Still restive under Spanish rule, the Catalans again sought to break-away from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession that started in 1705 and ended in 1714 and left Catalonia solidly under Spain. The Catalan failure to secede from Philip V's monarchy culminated in the surrender of Barcelona on September 11, 1714, which came to be commemorated as Catalonia's National day.

During the Napoleonic Wars, much of Catalonia was seized by French forces by 1813 as France ruled the entire region briefly until driven out by British and Spanish armies in 1814. Catalan uprisings continued throughout the 19th century to no avail. 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 Civil War from 1932 until Francisco Franco's nationalist forces retook Catalonia by 1939. It was not until 1975 and the death of Franco that the Catalans began to fully regain their right to a national identity, which was established by the Spanish Constitution of 1978. Since this period, Catalan nationalism has emerged as a political force mainly in Spain that seeks to attain greater autonomy and/or independence for Catalans in Spain and France and solidarity with Andorra.

Geography

The vast majority of Catalans reside in Spain where they number over 6,500,000. At least 100,000 known Catalans live in France, while over 31,000 live in Andorra and 20,000 are found in Italy. An indeterminate number of Catalans moved to the Americas during the height of the Spanish Empire with notable groups found in the Eastern United States and Cuba as well as throughout Latin America.^*

Culture and society

The Catalans continue to exhibit a distinct regional culture shaped by a history often set apart from their neighbors and due to their interaction with both France and Spain. Described by author Walter Starkie in The Road to Santiago as a subtle people, he sums up their national character with a local term seny meaning common sense or a pragmatic attitude towards life. The masia or mas is a defining characteristic of the Catalonian countryside and includes a large house, land, cattle, and an extended family, but this tradition is in decline as the nuclear family has begun to replace the old ways. While Catalans in Spain have attained considerable rights including the right to speak their ancestral language and declare themselves as a distinct people not unlike the Basques, the situation in France has been drastically different as French policies have favored assimilating the Catalans which has greatly reduced the number of ethnic Catalans who still identify themselves within the French Republic. The only country where Catalans enjoy complete independence is the tiny state of Andorra where Catalan is the official language.

Language

The Catalan language is a distinct Iberian Romance language with various distinct qualities of its own. Various dialects (which some consider separate languages) include Valencian and the Catalan spoken on the Balearic Islands. In addition, Catalan shares a close relationship with the Spanish language as well as French and Occitan. The number of Catalan speakers is well over 7 million, but exact figures are difficult to obtain - especially for those in Latin America and France who speak Catalan only as their second langauge.

Food

A Catalan dish is called ouillade, a rice dish sometimes served with chicken.

Religion

The majority of Catalans are Roman Catholic, while significant numbers of Catalans profess either no religion or appear to be atheists and agnostics.

Social conditions

The regions inhabited by the Catalans are very well developed. Catalonia has traditionally been, and still is, one of the richest and most well developed regions of Spain. In Spain, the Catalonian city of Barcelona is the most industrialized metropolis and is both a regional capital and a magnet for various migrants from other regions in Spain as well as foreign immigrants. Catalonian natives have made numerous contributions from art and architecture to film and science.

Identity and nationalism

Due to the continued identification with a distinct national identity, many support Catalan nationalism or Catalan independentism in Spain and, to a lesser extent, in France.

References

Balcells, Albert et. al. Catalan Nationalism : Past and Present (Palgrave Macmillan, 1995).
Collier, Basil. Catalan France (J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1939).
Conversi, Daniele. The Basques, the Catalans and Spain: Alternative Routes to Nationalist Mobilization (University of Nevada Press, 1997).
Guibernau, Montserrat. Catalan Nationalism: Francoism, Transition and Democracy (Routledge, 2004).
Hargreaves, John. Freedom for Catalonia?: Catalan Nationalism, Spanish Identity and the Barcelona Olympic Games (Cambridge University Press, 2000).
Simonis, Damien. Lonely Planet Catalunya & the Costa Brava (Lonely Planet Publications, 2003).
Starkie, Walter. The Road to Santiago (John Murray, 2003).
Michelin THE GREEN GUIDE France (Michelin Travel Publications, 2000).

Online references

Catalan people | Ethnic groups in Europe | Ethnic groups in Spain | French society | Spanish society

Katalończycy | Каталонцы

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