Some Catalan/Spanish history I said I would post. Read this if you want to better understand the conflict that is going on today.
In the 15th century, Ferdinand II and Isabella I married, unifying Aragon and Castile. They were independent kingdoms, with their own laws, but they were unified. In the War of Spanish Succession in the 18th century, Spain invaded and took over Catalonia, ending the Crown of Aragon. Felipe V of Bourbon wrote the Nueva Planta decrees, which you can read more about if you want to, but it essentially abolished all Aragon nationality in favor of uniform Spanish.
The 19th century was full of wars, power struggles, violence, and coup d’états. In the late 1800s, in the midst of anarchy, Catalonia has an industrial revolution, and a big cultural renaissance, largely thanks to a man named Valentí Almirall. Catalan language was coming back, as well as other parts of the culture from the Middle Ages. In 1913, the Commonwealth of Catalonia was formed which was a step towards autonomy, but in the 1920s, Primo de Rivera became dictator. Spain was fighting a war with Morocco, and losing. The king at the time, Alfonso XIII irresponsibly sent his soldiers into a horrific defeat while he was playing golf. Most people wanted us to get out of there. In the chaos, he (Primo de Rivera) led the military and took over parliament, declaring himself dictator. King Alfonso XIII basically let him do it.
The current king is Felipe VI, who is the son of Juan Carlos (grandson of Alfonso XIII). Juan Carlos was handpicked by Franco to be his successor, because Franco thought he was more likely to continue the regime than his father (Infante Juan), so the ties to fascism today are very real and deliberate.
Primo de Rivera ended the Commonwealth and began to repress all things Catalan. The language, names, and especially labor movements. The economy suffered for decades after this until Catalunya became the tourist and industrial hotspot for Spain.
In between Primo de Rivera and Franco, we had Francesc Maciá and Lluís Companys as the presidents of Catalonia, who were responsible for reviving Catalan (and Basque) autonomy, language and culture during the Second Spanish Republic. Until Franco took over and continued where Primo de Rivera left off. Towards the end of Franco’s life, he picked Juan Carlos to succeed him, who remained on the throne until just 6 years ago.
Although monarchism and fascism don’t usually go together, Spanish monarchs and fascists have historically wanted the same thing; a nationalist state where they pretend like other cultures don’t exist (or are vastly inferior). For centuries, Catalan people have been fighting for DEMOCRACY and self-government in the form of a republic as a way to escape the repression of culture.
Exiling and arresting political prisoners, nationalist/fascist ideology is nothing new, as it has been going on for 100+ years. This is not really a secret, considering the current monarch is a descendant of Felipe V, who wrote the nueva planta decrees to begin with.
Self determination is not a crime.
This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
@NenaRussa Yes too many words - I have access to the internet too, and history is history. Deal with the fact that you are Spanish and call it a day already.. You are not a selected race or group of people and calling yourself Catalin is meaningless today.
@NenaRussa Not a significant error. You go back far enough and we are all from Africa. You do not have independence from Spain - and that makes you Spanish and your religion is catalin (notice I spelled it with an I ) It's like saying for example an American living in California is said to be Californian but that person is American .... Understand ? Dumbbell ?
