Catalonia is my country. Catalonia has a long history, which goes back to the middle ages. Along the centuries government institutions were created and a civil law was slowly established. Catalonia lost its political institutions on September 11, 1714, after the war of succession to the throne of Spain, whose last episode was a long siege of Barcelona by the armies of the king of France Louis XVI and his nephew the French pretender Philip V. Not only the Catalan institutions were suppressed , but Catalan, the language of Catalonia, was forbidden in public activities. Catalan people has, however, conserved their language, in spite of the prohibition which has perdured for centuries. After the end of Franco’s dictatorship a democratic constitution of Spain was proclamed in 1978 and Catalan became an official language in Catalonia, together with Castilian (Spanish), the official language of the Kingdom of Spain.

After more than 39 years of democracy the independentist movement in Catalonia has gained since 2010 a big momentum. Massive demonstrations for independence have taken place on September 11, the national day of Catalonia, during the period 2012-2014, including a human chain in 2013 that traversed the whole country along 400 km. The police estimated the participation in 1.800.000 people (the population of Catalonia is 7.300.000 people). The spectacular rise of the strive for independence is due to several factors and is not easy to make them explicit and explain them to people unaware of the political dynamics of the Kingdom of Spain. The next few posts include books and articles that may help interested people in understanding the present political strive of Catalonia. Interested readers may also consult a through book by Germà Bel, whose English translation can be found in Amazon : “Disdain, Distrust and Dissolution: The Surge of Support for Independence in Catalonia”, (The Canada Blanch/Sussex Academic Studie), Jan 15, 2015.

@article{nokey,

title = {La Catalogna verso l’indipendenza},

author = {Joan Verdera},

url = {http://mat.uab.cat/web/jvm/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/Cat_verso_Mauceri.pdf},

year  = {2015},

date = {2015-04-04},

urldate = {2015-04-04},

abstract = {Vorrei contribuire con questo testo a spiegare agli italiani interessati l'origine e la natura del movimento per l'indipendenza della Catalogna. C'\`{e} sempre stata in Catalogna, dalla perdita dello stato nel 1714, una manifestazione politica, pi\`{u} o meno rilevante, della necessit\`{a} di ricuperare l'indipendenza. Forse mai cos\`{i} potente come ora. Non \`{e} facile spiegare le ragioni di questo stato di cose. La stampa italiana riporta molto spesso solo la prospettiva "spagnola", tra l'altro perch\'{e} gli inviati speciali risiedono a Madrid. Poi c'\`{e} il fatto che il cittadino italiano applica alla considerazione dei problemi politici della Catalogna un pregiudizio, d'altra parte inevitabile, che nasce dall'esistenza di determinate forze politiche radicate nel nord dell'Italia. Qualsiasi parallelismo tra il movimento indipendentista catalano e la realt\`{a} politica italiana \`{e} totalmente escluso e uno degli obbiettivi di questo articolo \`{e} chiarire questo fatto, che sfugge perfino a molti politici italiani. Qualche mese fa l'ex presidente del consiglio Romano Prodi fu intervistato dalla radio pubblica catalana. L'ultima domanda \`{e} stata su come lui giudicava l'attuale situazione politica catalana e l'inizio della risposta \`{e} stato "Tutte queste indipendenze...". Se dopo la lettura di queste pagine il lettore arriva alla conclusione che non c'\`{e} in Europa un caso come il catalano mi considerer\'{o} pienamente soddisfatto. },

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@book{nokey,

title = {What’s up with Catalonia},

url = {http://mat.uab.cat/web/jvm/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/09/WhatsupCAT1.pdf},

year  = {2013},

date = {2013-01-01},

urldate = {2013-01-01},

publisher = {Catalonia Press},

abstract = {This a collection of short essays on different aspects of the life of catalan society, written by politicians, activists, academics and writers. It may help people, even those familiar with the country, in reaching a better understanding of what is going on in Catalonia nowadays. I like particularly the article written by F.Xavier Vila on the language (" It has always been there", p. 31and that of Andreu Domingo on immigration ("Catalonia, land of immigration", p.39). },

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {book}

}