Catalan Countries

Map of the Catalan countries

Territories of what is known, primarily by Catalan nationalists, as "Catalan Countries" (Països Catalans) are present in four different States:
STATE	REGION
Spain	Catalonia Valencia Balearic Islands Aragon (for Western Strip) Murcia (for Carxe)
France	Roussillon
Italy	File:Alghero-Stemma.png The city of L'Alguer
Andorra	Catalan is the official language

Grafitti at Belfast.

Grafitti Independència.

Grafitti at Argentona.

Grafitti at Vilassar de Mar.

The terms Catalan Countries (Catalan: Països Catalans) or Catalanofonia (quite similar, in the linguistic sense, to the French Francophonie, the Portuguese Lusofonia or the Spanish Hispanophone) includes all the territories where the Catalan language is spoken. This concept first appeared at the end of the 19th century and later was popularized by the Valencian writer Joan Fuster, in his book Nosaltres els valencians (We, the Valencians), in 1962. The Catalan Countries are divided in the following parts:

• The former Principality of Catalonia, comprising:
  • The current Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia (Catalan: Catalunya)
  • French Catalonia Northern Catalonia, located in southern France (Catalan: Catalunya Nord, often called Pays Catalan in French); it is more or less equivalent to the département of the Pyrénées-Orientales.
• La Franja, a Catalan-speaking region in the Autonomous Community of Aragon.
• The former Kingdom of Majorca : the Balearic Islands (Catalan: Illes Balears)
• The former Kingdom of Valencia: the Autonomous Community of Valencia (from the Valencian official name:Comunitat Valenciana).
• El Carxe, a Catalan-speaking region of the Autonomous Community of Murcia, in Spain.
• Andorra (geographically adjacent, linked by language, but also an apart co-principality since 13th century)
• The city of L'Alguer, in the Italian island of Sardinia, where Catalan is one of the official languages, along with Italian.

This territory does not coincide exactly with the places where Catalan is the native language. For example, in the north-western region of Catalonia known as Val d'Aran, a dialect of Occitan, Aranese, is spoken and considered the native language, although Spanish and Catalan are also spoken. In western and south-western areas of Valencia, Spanish is mainly spoken.

The term is politically charged, and tends to be closely associated with Catalan nationalism and Catalan independentism. The idea of uniting these territories in an independent state is supported by a number of political parties, being the most important in terms of representation ERC; then, tiny groups with no representation at the relative regional parliaments such as ERPV, PSAN, Estat Català, CUP amongst others, they also stand for the idea in various grades.

Different meanings and controversy

The estelada is often regarded as the flag of the Catalan Countries, especially the red-star version.

When the term is used in a strictly cultural/linguistic sense —analogously to La Francophonie— rather than in a nationalistic one, places such as L'Alguer are usually included within this definition. In this cultural sense, the non-Catalan-speaking areas of Valencia are excluded; the Val d'Aran may or may not be excluded.

The term is controversial because, on the one hand, some see the concept of the Catalan Countries as regional exceptionalism, counterpoised to a centralizing Spanish and French national identity; and on the other hand, others see it as an attempt by a Catalonia proper centered nationalism to lay a hegemonic claim to Valencia, the Balearic Islands, and the historically Catalan regions in southern France, whereas these three territories present a much less successful political Catalan nationalist sentiment than in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia.

In large areas included in the territories designated by some as "Catalan Countries", Catalan nationalist sentiment is uncommon or nonexistent. In the case of the Valencian Autonomous Community, Esquerra Repúblicana del País Valencià (ERPV) is the most relevant party explicitly supportive of the idea and, despite participating in elections in a number of Valencian cities, its representation is limited to two city councilors in the Sueca municipality; at the regional level, it has run twice (2003 and 2007) in the regional Parliament election, receiving less than 0.50% of the total votes (other minor political parties supportive of the concept have achieved so far lower results than ERPV). This is despite some of the major defenders or promoters of the "Catalan Countries" concept (such as Joan Fuster, Josep Guia or Vicent Partal) being born in the Valencian Autonomous Community (or indeed any given Catalan-speaking territory outside the present Autonomous Community of Catalonia).

The subject became very controversial during the politically agitated Spanish Transition what was to be come the Valencian Community, specially in Valencia City. The idea of an Autonomous Community was just one more possible scenario in territories like the Land of Valencia and so its later evolution was under much political scrutiny and debate. By the late 70s and early 80s, fearing what was seen as an annexation attempt from Catalonia, various local right wing politicians (originally from Unión de Centro Democrático and others which later on would gather in Unió Valenciana) fueled a violent Anti-Catalanist campaign against local supporters of the Catalan Countries idea, even including a handful of unsuccessful attacks with explosives against Joan Fuster and Manuel Sanchis i Guarner amongst others.

See also political issue surrounding Valencian

For some, in order to avoid an hypothetical federation of Catalan-speaking Autonomous Communities, a clause forbidding this kind of federation amongst Autonomous Communities was added during the writing of the new Spanish Constitution of 1978; those sources also claim this was motivated after military pressures. Nonetheless, the constitution does allow an exception to this rule, in an addendum to the constitution whereby the community of Navarre can join the Autonomous community of the Basque Country should the people chose to do so.

Given the preeminence of media in the 21st century, probably the most known project in this regard, if only vaguely related to the Catalan Countries, is the broadcasting of the Catalan TV3 (along with other Catalan television and radio channels in the Catalan Autonomous Community) throughout the Catalan-speaking area (except l'Alguer). This is due to a series of signal stations which repeat and extend the emissions beyond their normal range. In the case of the Balearics and Valencia, these stations were installed by two civic Catalan nationalist associations, Acció Cultural País Valencià ACPV and Obra Cultural Balear OCB. This has been a source of polemics, specially in the Valencian Community, since TV3 emissions were not legal in this territory according to the Spanish media regulations, thus, the regional government opposes this broadcasting, specially on the grounds that, reversely, Valencian Canal 9 can not be seen in Catalonia. Now it seems that a possible agreement with the Spanish government could allow complementary reception of all the Catalan-speaking television and radio channels between all three autonomous regions (IB3 in Mallorca and Canal 9 in Valencia).

History and evolution of the name. Alternate names

The Catalan Countries term was first documented in "Historia del Derecho en Cataluña, Mallorca y Valencia. Código de las Costumbres de Tortosa, I" (History of the Law in Catalonia, Mallorca and Valencia. Code of the Customs of Tortosa , I) written by the Valencian Law historian Bienvenido Oliver i Esteller. Soon, it became popular in Catalan Renaixença by the end of the 19th century as a synonym of "Catalan-speaking territories". This was further spread by the use of the term "Occitan Countries" from the Oficina de Relacions Meridionals (Office of Southern relationships) in Barcelona by 1933.

Another proposal which enjoyed some popularity during the Renaixença was "Pàtria llemosina" (Llemosine Motherland), proposed by Victor Balaguer as a federation of Catalan-speaking provinces; that was based on the formerly popular but wrong assumption that Catalan originated from the Occitan dialect of Limoges.

Later on, Joan Fuster essays, "Nosaltres els valencians" (We, the Valencians) and "Qüestió de noms" (A matter of names), both published in 1962, helped to its popularization and previous unsuccessful proposals such as "Comunitat Catalànica" (Catalanic Community) or "Bacàvia" (after Balearics-Catalonia-Valencia) faded away.

See also Catalan language history

See also

• Military history of Catalonia
• Muixeranga, proposed hymn for the Catalan Countries.
• Euskal Herria, a political-cultural concept covering the Basque areas of Spain and France.
• Nationalities in Spain

References

• Pere Grau, "El panoccitanisme dels anys trenta: l’intent de construir un projecte comú entre Catalans i occitans". El contemporani, 14 (gener-maig 1998), p. 29-35.
• Francesc Pérez Moragón, "El valencianisme i el fet dels Països Catalans (1930-1936)", L'Espill, núm. 18 (tardor 1983), p. 57-82.
• Jordi Ventura, "Sobre els precedents del terme Països Catalans", dins Debat sobre els Països Catalans, Barcelona: Curial…, 1977. p.347-359.
• Enric Prat de la Riba, Greater Catalonia. (Online in Catalan)
• Joan Fuster, Qüestió de noms. (Online in Catalan)
• Josep Guia, "És molt senzill, digueu-li Catalunya", Llibres del segle. Col·lecció "Què us diré", 22. ISBN 978-84-920952-8-5 (Online in Catalan - PDF)

Foot notes and External links

• "Catalan Countries" in the English version of the Catalan Hiperencyclopedia.
• Lletra. Catalan Literature Online
• The Spirit of Catalonia. 1946 book by Oxford Professor Dr. Josep Trueta