THE HISTORY OF CATALONIA

1000 BC the Neolitic Ibers

In Catalonia there were some Iberic tribes who lived off the earth, they knew how to melt copper and tin. These tribes were called ilergetes in Lleida, ausetans in Vic etc.

The Merchants Who Arrived by Sea: The Old Age

One day the iber villagers who lived by the sea were surprised to see people from far away arriving by boat to trade products with them. These were Greek and Phoenetian people who very quickly established cities by the sea such as Empúries. The ibers learned the alphabet and how to make coins from them.

The Romans Organise the Country: The Old Age

A bit later, Catalonia was invaded by the Romans. They conquered the Spanish Peninsula. Cities established by the Romans still exist such as Tarraco or nowadays Tarragona. The Roman colonization forced the way of life, the language and the culture to change. There were also some advantages such as more public buildings such as roads (via Augusta). One day the Barbarians arrived from Germany and started to invade the Roman Empire. The Romans built walls to defend themselves from the Barbarians. For example, in Barcelona they built a wall with rectangular towers. Christianity also arrived in Catalonia at this time but it conflicted with the Romans’ beliefs. They did not believe that there were rich and poor or that they were children of God.

THE HISTORY OF CATALONIA The Birth of Catalonia: The

Middle Ages

The sarraïns invaded the Spanish Peninsula, but the Christians in the Pyrenees were helped by the King of France Carlemany who came to help the people of Catalonia. They beat the sarraïns and some of the territories were given to Counts who were given the responsibility to rule and defend them. Some of these counties are Rosselló, Cerdanya, Urgell, Empúries, Ausona and Barcelona, which make up the ‘old’ part of Catalonia. The other part that was re-conquered by the Moros is known as ‘new’ Catalonia. A count from Barcelona who was called Guifré “el Pilós” brought together counties from ‘old’ Catalonia to repopulate the area after people fled the Moros.

Monks, Knights and Peasants: The Middle Ages

The monks lived in the monasteries praying and writing books, the Knights protected the land and fought in the wars, and the peasants worked the land under the authority of the Knights. In 888 the Ripoll monastery was founded. The counts from Barcelona expanded their territories inside and outside of Catalonia. One of them Ramon Berenguer III married Countess Dolça of Provence in France, and was able to extend the territory beyond the Pyrenees. They also moved more people to Tarragona because the Moros had left. Since 985 the counts from Barcelona were independent from the kings of France.

Kings of Aragó and Counts of Barcelona: The Middle Ages

In 1137 Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Catalonia and Peronella the daughter of the King of Aragó married, so the two territories became linked. Around this time Ramon Berenguer IV also took back Lleida and Tortosa from the Muslims, whereas Jaume I conquered Mallorca and València. During the Middle Ages, the cities grew and in order to lead them the municipal councils were created. Another important organization was the Court, which was formed by counts, knights, bishops and craftsmen. All of them were responsible of proposing new laws to the King which were a benefit for the village. Three representative people of the Court were responsible for making deals. They were the congressmen and formed “La Generalitat”. Saint George was the master of this organization and of Catalonia too.

THE HISTORY OF CATALONIA Life in Medieval Cities: The

Middle Ages From 1200 on, cities became important again.

Times for anxiety and wars: The Modern Ages

Ferran I of Castella conquered Aragó and Catalonia. He had problems with the Catalan people and their traditions. Later Ferran II and Isabel of Castella get married, thanks to this the Catholic King and Queen brought the two territories together. This king was also very strict and this was bad for the Catalan peole who were not allowed to participate in the conquest of America.

The Unorganized Country: The Modern Ages

The grandson of the Catholic King and Queen, Carles, became the King of Spain also taking control over the parts of Europe and America that Spain had conquered. In these times there were lots of bandits in Catalonia. The country as a whole was unorganized, with the expulsion of the Moros worsening the situation. Spain was fighting Holland and the German princes, and many soldiers were sent to Catalonia to fight but the Generalitat’s laws forbid this. However the King of Spain forced them to accept the soldiers using the excuse of being at war with France. This lead to the War of the ‘Segadors’. After this riot, there was a war lasting eleven years in which the Catalan people were allied with the French. In order to end the war, Spain and France signed the ‘pau dels Pirneus’ and the border established. The last Habsburg king, Carles II died without any children resulting in the war of succession. The Catalan people were in favour of Carles of Austria, who was fighting against Felip, the grandson of the King of France. On the 11th September 1714 Barcelona surrendered to the troops of Felip.

THE HISTORY OF CATALONIA The Reconstruction of the Country: The Modern and

Contemporary Ages Felip V was the first king of the new Bourbon dynasty. He unified all the regions of Spain and the Catalan language was officially forbidden. In the 18th century, many ships and boats were sent to America to trade. At this time work was plentiful and people had lots of work. The first railway was built between Barcelona and Mataró and the first modern textiles factories were opened. The iron and engineering industries were also established and grew.

The Catalonia of Our Grandparents: Contemporary

Agedd Between 1902-1931 Alfons XII ruled Spain. During the First World War Spain remained neutral. Catalonia profited from the war because they were able to sell war materiel to the other countries. After that the Second Spanish Republic was established and the Generalitat was first lead by Francesc Macià and then Lluís Companys. However due to the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, the autonomous government of Catalonia disappeared. When Franco died Joan Carles I became King, democracy was restored and the autonomous government of Catalonia was re-established. The first president of the Generalitat was Josep Tarradellas who returned from exile. The Catalan people voted in the referendum to approve ‘Estatut d’Autonomia de Catalunya’.

Nowadays Nowadays Catalonia is in danger of losing its autonomous government. This is the age that you are going to be part of.