catalonia A part of spain and apart from spain

Catalonia is the region of spain bordering Frnce and the Mediterranean wedged between the Pyrenees Mountains and roughly the Ebro River valley.

The region was settled by various Iron Age tribes (Iberians nearer the coast, Aquitanians a bit further inland) and by the 5th century BC was a nexus of Celtiberian civilization. The Romans arrived in 218 BC in the person of Gnaius Cornelius Scipio Calvus, aiming to cut off Hannibal’s supply routes during the Punic Wars. The Romans stayed, as they were inclined to do, for some 600 years. Roman rule was succeeded by the Visigoths, until about 720, then by Muslim rule until they were pushed south by the Franks under Charlemagne, who established the Spanish March as a border province of his Empire. In 801 Charlemagne’s son Louis conquered Barcelona from the Moors and established the County of Barcelona, and by around 900 a hereditary House of Barcelona ruled the area uner the Carolingians.

in 1137 the Count of Barcelona married the heiress to the throne of Aragon, creating a dynastic union between the region now known as Catalonia and the Kingdom of Aragon. The High Middle Ages are a mind-blowingly complex period that saw the power of Aragon expand in multiplle directions, both into adjacent lands and out across the Mediterranean.

in 1469, Isabella of Castille married Ferdinand of Aragon, spent the next 23 years driving the Moors south and finally out of Europe, in 1512 the Dual Monarchy went on to conquer the Kingdom of Navarre, finally uniting the territories we know as modern Spain. The Principality of Catalonia, under the Crown of Aragon, was finally part of Spain.

Today Catalonia is one of the constituent Autonomous Regions of Spain, with its own parliament and considerable independence from the central government. Still restless for full autonomy, it has voted to secede from Spain multiple times, most recently in 2017, although the result was not recognized by Spain or other world powers. The local language, Catalan, is widely used and is a mark of pride for this proud and fiercely independent people.

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