Page 37 - DIVA_1_2016

CULTURE

three centuries of linguistic and cul- Ionia, Mr. Artur Mas, for organizing
tural discrimination, which reached a non-binding opinion poll in 2014
its pinnacle under General Franco's (in which an overwhelming major-
36-year dictatorship. The second one ity of Catalans voted in favour of
says that a well-defined political en- independence) and has empowered
tity such as Catalonia should be ma- the Constitutional Court to impose
ture enough to govern itself with its criminal sanctions against Catalan
own voice in the European Union or political leaders and parliamentar-
the United Nations in order to ad- ians seeking to implement their elec-
dress the problems specific to it. Fi- toral pro-independence mandate. future Philip V of Spain. Once again,
nally, there is the strong belief that The struggle between a centralistic, Catalonia lost, and, as a consequence,
Catalonia would be better off eco- authoritarian Spanish state (of Cas- the new Bourbon king wiped out all
nomically by seceding. In particu- tilian matrix) threatening to under- Catalan institutions and forbade the
lar, proponents of the last argument mine economically and to subjugate official use of the Catalan language 4.
refer to the fact that Catalonia pays politically the Catalan nation may This effectively ended the Catalan
much more into Spain's central treas- have reached yet another peak, but it state structure and began a process of
ury than it gets back (subsequently is not new. In fact, it has been a con- cultural assimilation that continued
20
referred to as the fiscal imbalance). stant feature of Catalan history for at until the 11 century.
In the following paragraphs we shall least four centuries.
explore each one of these issues and The Catalan national conscience re-
will then try to answer the question Catalonia has an ancient history. emerged in the 19th century during
about the viability of an independent Greeks, Romans and Phoenicians the so-called Renaixenca ("Renais-
Catalan state. have all left their mark on the coun- sance"). The combination of cul-
try. Catalonia developed out of the tural and linguistic reawakening and
Catalonia: "Marca Hipanica a buffer zone cre- industrial and commercial vigour
A Historic Overview ated by the Franks to contain the provided the basis of the concept of
"Today Catalonia is a province of Arab advance in the Pyrenees and, Catalanism. This would lead for call
Spain. But what has Catalonia been? unlike Castile or any other Iberian for autonomy, then separation and
Catalonia has been the greatest na- territory, was part of Charlemagne's finally independence. During the
20th
tion in the world and I will tell you Holy Roman Empire. In the middle early century before the Spanish
why. Catalonia had the first parlia- Ages, as a central component of the Civil War from 1936 to 1939, Cata-
ment, long before England"3 Crown of Aragon, Catalonia became lonia enjoyed partial self-rule on
one of the most important powers in several occasions and a Catalan Re-
Presently, the pro-independence the Mediterranean Sea. In the 15t1, public within the Iberian federation
parties concurring to the December century the Crown of Aragon was was proclaimed twice. However, with
2015 elections have an absolute ma- united with the Kingdom of Castile Franco's victory in 1939, one of the
jority in the Catalan Parliament and through a royal marriage. Yet the darkest periods of Catalan history be-
have initiated the process of legislat- result was not a common state, but gan. Franco's dictatorial regime is key
ing the disconnection with the Span- a confederation of states with sepa- to understanding Catalonia today.
ish State. A draft Constitution for and rate parliaments, laws, language. In Along with the regime's ruthless and
independent Catalonia is expected to 1640, the War of the Harvesters was institutionalized violations of human
be put to a referendum in 2017. The fought against the increasing central- rights, Catalonia suffered a cruel and
central government in Madrid is istic Castilian government (the "Song systematic attempt at cultural annihi-
strongly opposed to the exercise of of the Harvesters" is today's Catalan lation. It endured repression of indi-
the right of self-determination argu- national anthem). At the same time, vidual and collective cultural rights,
ing that Spain's Constitution does not Portugal (then also attached to Cas-
foresee that right. The caretaker gov- tile) fought for independence and
In remembrance of their lost
4
ernment of the People's Party has in- won. Instead, Catalonia lost the war
liberties ("constitucions") Catalans
dicted the former President of Cata- and was forced to cede its northern have made a national celebration of
part to France. During the War of September 11, the humiliating day
Spanish Succession in the 18" centu- when Barcelona was forced to surren-
As stated by the internation- ry, Catalonia supported the Habsburg der to Philip V's forces (this celebration
3
ally renowned cellist and composer pretender to the Spanish throne, who was supressed during the dictatorship
Pau Casals in his speech before the favoured a federalized Spain, against of General Franco - 1936 -1975 - but
members of the United Nations in was restored after Franco's death an
the French Bourbon claimant, the
New York on 24 October 1971. remains the national holiday today!
INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMAT - DIVA 35