In today's Europe, the topic of independence of Catalonia in Spain is the hottest, and it may even lead to armed conflict for a time. The history between Catalonia and Spain is indeed full of twists and turns, and its complexity is far less than that of England and Scotland. And this has to start from the long era of reconquest in medieval Spain.

▲ The most representative football team in Catalonia has a "disharmonious" picture in the stands in Barcelona.

Catalonia is located in the northeast of Iberian Peninsula, near the Pyrenees. Geographically, it is located in a relatively remote area of Spain today. However, in the Middle Ages, Catalonia was an important Christian area on the Iberian Peninsula. At this time, the south was called Andalusian region, which was ruled by Muslims in the Middle Ages. The famous "recapture" movement in Spanish history was actually a jihad against these Muslims until Andalusia, which originally belonged to Christians, was recaptured. Catalonia is naturally one of these Christian countries and regions.

▲ Catalonia independence

Catalonia, like the northern Iberian Peninsula, is an area that broke away from Muslim rule earlier. In 80 1 year, Catalonia was captured by Louis, the son of Charlemagne. Louis did not directly incorporate this land, which was in the front line of confrontation with Muslims, into West Frank, but enfeoffed Barcelona with Barcelona as the core. Barcelona made great efforts to develop shipping through the geographical advantages of Catalonia, and once became a relatively rich Christian country in the northern Iberian Peninsula. 1 137, Princess Pedro Nya, heir to the throne of Aragon Kingdom, married Bellenger IV, then Earl of Barcelona, and Aragon Kingdom and Barcelona "Kingdom" joined hands. Their son was Alfonso II, and Aragon started the Barcelona dynasty.

▲ Re-conquest Movement

▲ Aragon kingdom symbol

This time, the United States has brought great benefits to the entire Aragon kingdom, including Catalonia. During the Barcelona dynasty, Aragon regained Valencia in the reconquest movement, and occupied Mallorca, Corsica, Sardinia, Naples, Athens and Provence in France through marriage and war, all of which were extremely important in the Mediterranean region.

▲ Aragon crossbowman

However, with the rise of the kingdom of Castilla, a Christian country in Iberian Peninsula, in the war of reconquest, Castilla began to try to exert influence on Aragon, a Mediterranean power. 14 10, Martin I, the last monarch of Barcelona dynasty, died of illness. Because the king had no heir before his death, with the intervention of Castilla, the Aragon royal family elected Fernand from Castilla as the new king of Aragon, and Aragon began the Castilla dynasty. However, this resolution was strongly opposed by Barcelona, so Fernand's first task after taking office was to suppress the forces of Barcelona. During the John II period, the conflict between the royalists who supported Aragon's royal rule and the Constitutionalists in Catalonia intensified, and finally the Catalan civil war broke out.

▲/kloc-Catalan court in the 0/5th century.

After the outbreak of the civil war, the bottom nobles and serfs in Catalonia resolutely stood on the side of the Aragon royal family and held riots against it. But at the same time, Catalonia received military assistance from France, forcing Aragon to reach a military alliance with Britain and Burgundy. But through diplomatic means, John II succeeded in driving the French out of Catalonia. Later, under Aragon's offensive, Barcelona was forced to surrender to Aragon's army. Although John II later pardoned a large number of Catalans, the Black Death and the subsequent plague in Aragon caused Catalonia to lose almost 37% of its population.

▲ John II

If the Catalan civil war in John II's era can be regarded as an accidental event, then the marriage between Ferdinand II and Isabella of Castile brought about the union of Aragon and Castile, which brought great impact to Catalonia. Although Ferdinand II and Isabella led the Spanish army to destroy Granada, the last Muslim kingdom, there was deep distrust between Aragon and Castilla under the surface of harmony. Especially with the discovery of the New World, the nobles of Castilla and even Isabella tried their best to protect the interests of Castilla. As Spain entered the Habsburg era, Spain was dragged into the hegemonic war between France and Habsburg.

▲ The War between Habsburg and France

Under the pressure of war and the provocation of the French, Catalonia once again showed an independent tendency. Catalonia's political system itself has a certain tendency of independence, and the monopoly of the former Castilian aristocrats on American economic interests makes it difficult for Catalonia to obtain the huge economic benefits brought by the New World. The nobles of Catalonia are naturally more and more dissatisfied with the Spanish government, and the rulers of the Habsburg dynasty, whose eyes are firmly attracted by the European war, can hardly notice the cracks under their feet. Finally, during the Thirty Years War, a serious rebellion broke out in Catalonia.

▲ Catalan farmers who set off rebellion

Because the main force of this rebellion is farmers in Catalonia, and the weapons they use are mostly agricultural tools such as sickles, this rebellion is also called "Reaper War". These farmers attacked the local troops belonging to Castilla and shouted the slogan "Born in the earth, died in bad politics". After that, the local government in Catalonia responded quickly. They formed an alliance with Habsburg's old enemy, France, and formally declared Catalonia an independent republic, which was supported by France.

▲ Thirty Years' War

Catalonia is a strategic place between Spain and France. Spain naturally does not allow a local regime that is pro-French. Moreover, during the Thirty Years' War, there was such a serious rebellion in China that the Habsburg rulers of Spain could not sit idly by. The Spaniards assembled an army of 26,000 men and went to Barcelona to counter the rebellion. On the way, they went to many cities and executed a large number of rebels. They once defeated the rebels in Mar Taurel. But later, in the Battle of Montehuichi, the Spanish army was defeated by Catalan rebels and French cavalry, which caused great casualties. However, because the peasant uprising in Catalonia became more and more uncontrollable, Catalonia had to start trying to seek French rule in this area to resist Spain and suppress the peasant uprising. The brutal rule of the French over Catalonia also caused strong dissatisfaction in Catalonia. After that, the French and Catalan armies began to move south, but they all failed to attack tarragona, Lerida and Tutsa in Spain. Of course, compared with Catalonia, France's rule in Roussillon, north of the Pyrenees, was quite successful. 1652, after the Spanish army finally conquered Barcelona after many twists and turns, Spain and France took the Pyrenees as the boundary, so France successfully annexed Lu Xirong, but the French actually didn't care what would happen to Barcelona or even Catalonia.

▲ The legendary cardinal Li Sailiu in charge of France.

Later, in the battle for the Spanish throne, Catalonia wrongly sided with Habsburg, which made Catalonia's rights greatly suppressed by the new Bourbon dynasty in Spain after the war. Philip V, the new king of Spain, abolished the mechanism of the United Kingdom of Spain and completely turned Catalonia into an ordinary province of the Kingdom of Spain. Catalonia and Spain were completely tied together until a new storm swept Spain again.

History can be traced back to a long time ago.