In the United States on September 11, we mourn the horrific tragedy that occurred on that terrible day in 2001. In the region of Catalonia, it is the National Day of Catalonia, or La Diada, which also is a remembrance day, the day that Barcelona fell to the Bourbons and Catalonia was forced to become a part of Spain.
In the early 1700s, Catalonia was in the midst of the War of Spanish Succession. Charles II of Spain had died without an heir, which left Duke Phillip of Bourbon and Archduke Charles of Habsburg claimants to the throne. The war was basically a civil war with the western part of Spain mostly supporting the Bourbon claim and the eastern part of Spain mostly supporting the Habsburg claim.
Catalonia was afraid that under Phillip, they would face political oppression. Catalonia actually supported Phillip until 1705 when a treaty was signed with Great Britain to allow the Habsburgs to land there. The Bourbons were expelled and Archduke Charles began calling himself Charles III and “set up court in Barcelona”. All was not well though, as the Bourbons began to take over in 1707, leading to the conquest of Valencia and Aragona and allowing an invasion of Catalonia.
Archduke Charles’s brother was the Holy Roman Emperor until his death in 1711, when Charles assumed the throne. Europe did not like the idea of one person occupying both the Spanish and Imperial thrones, which led to peace talks to end the War of Spanish Succession. The war was “ended” with the Treaty of Utrecht, but they did not consider the wishes of Catalonia at all. The war may have been over in Europe, but not in Catalonia.
Great Britain betrayed Catalonia. They gained territory from the Treaty of Utrecht and pulled their troops out of Catalonia, leaving the defense of Barcelona to amateurs. With no military, the everyday people of Catalonia were forced to defend their land. The siege lasted from July 1713 until September 1714. On September 11, 1714, Barcelona surrendered to Phillip V’s forces.
Phillip V was an absolutist and created the Nueva Planta Decrees, which forced Catalonia to submit their lands to Castile. Catalans lost much of their sovereignty, as they were a constitutional land, and were no longer had a choice over their legal, economic, and monetary systems. Castilian became the official language that was used over their native Catalan tongue.
Today, Catalans are fighting for their independence. Currently there is a vote set for November 9, when the citizens will vote for whether or not they want to secede from Spain and reform their own country (much like Scotland). On La Diada, the Catalan people often perform demonstrations to symbolize their struggle and show how much they want their independence.
In 2012, the city of Barcelona had 1.5 million people peacefully demonstrated their desire for Independence by marching through the city with their estelada flags. The Catalan people are tired of reaping many resources for the Spanish government and not getting enough back in return. An important thing to note is that even with 1.5 million Catalans marching, there were no problems with violence – completely peaceful.
Last year, the Catalans formed a human chain called “Catalan Way” or Via Catalana. The chain extended for about 250 miles across the region, from the border with France to the border of Valencia. This was another way that Catalans drew the world’s attention to their area in a peaceful manner to showcase their wish for an independent Catalonia.
Not everyone is for this separation. Of course Mariano Rajoy, the Prime Minister of Spain, has come out many times and said the vote for independence is illegal. Even within Catalonia, there are emigrants from other regions that still have ties to Spain or others don’t think Catalonia could survive economically on their own. I have a few opinions of myself, but I do see both sides of the story and try to keep out of it myself since it’s not my country. We will see what the outcome is on November 9th!
