Chapter 2081： Catalan past

More than 300 years after Barcelona was merged into the Kingdom of Aragon, the queen prince of Castile, the beautiful and intelligent princess Isabel, was unwilling to follow the will of her brother to marry the king of Portugal, insisting on being with herself The favorite Crown Prince Ferdinand of Aragon gets married.

Thus, in 1469, Isabel broke through numerous obstacles to marry Ferdinand, and a few years later the two inherited their respective kingdoms.

Then, the two most powerful Christian countries on the Iberian Peninsula, Castile and Aragón, merged in form, and Isabel and Ferdinand were called "Twin Catholics."

However, this "merger" is very loose. The two countries have not established a "unified central joint ZF". On the contrary, the administrative management of the two countries is still operating independently without interference with each other, which is typical of disagreements.

The wealth of Aragon does not belong to Castile, and the New World discovered by Castile has nothing to do with Aragon.

At this time, Castile-Aragón was still in the "Common Confederacy Period", and Aragon in particular had a looser state of organization than the centralized Castile.

After becoming part of the Kingdom of Aragon, with this marriage, Catalonia, which is now an autonomous ZF, was merged into a larger national organization and became the "Double Catholic Kings" in name. The territory of the descendants of the "Twin Kings".

And what about Navarre? This small country, which has always been ill-conditioned, is still struggling in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the northern part of the peninsula. The land area is still so large that it is an 18-lane runner that no one cares about. Who cares if they die.

But through marriage, in the middle of the 16th century, a French family took over the royal family of Navarre, and Navarre’s fate was reversed.

This family is the famous Bourbon family. Later, the emperor of France and the king of the Spanish kingdom came from this huge family.

In 1492, under the military attack of the "Twin Catholic Kings", Granada, the last *zheng right of the Iberian Peninsula, surrendered.

The "Recovery of Lost Lands" that lasted for nearly 800 years finally came to fruition. Except for the land occupied by Navarre in the north and the Kingdom of Portugal in the southwest, the Iberian Peninsula is formally under the control of the "Twin Catholic Kings". Formed the territory of the contemporary kingdom of Spain.

The situation is the same as before. Although the two kingdoms of Castile and Aragon have merged, the merger is only formal. In terms of system and culture, not only the two kingdoms are separated, but they are under the rule of the two kingdoms. The cities underneath are also separated from each other.

Even the name "Kingdom of Spain" is rarely used by the government or the people.

However, the "Twin Catholic Kings" and their successors seem to care less about the social and cultural integration within the kingdom.

Almost at the same time as "completion of the "Recover Lost Land Movement", news came from Columbus on a long voyage. On the other side of the vast ocean, the New World was discovered.

Soon, it was human nature to like the new and dislike the old, and the eyes of the "Twin Catholic Kings" and their successors were drawn to the far side of the ocean.

On the other hand, the Reformation Movement also arose at this time. Out of gratitude to the Holy See and loyalty to the Catholic faith, Castile-Aragón was active in safeguarding the authority of the Catholic Church.

Pillage, war, diplomacy, and the country's expenditures are increasing day by day. To maintain such a "cause" requires expanding financial resources.

As a result, Catalonia, which is in a state of high autonomy, has become a big fat meat in the eyes of the successor of the "Twin Catholic Kings". After all, Catalonia at this time has a much higher level of economic development than other parts of the kingdom.

Driven by interests, the measures taken by the central government towards localities appear rigid and rigid, ignoring any cultural and psychological factors.

In the middle of the 17th century, King Philip IV forcibly ordered Catalonia and other areas ruled by the former Kingdom of Aragon to reform the tax system following the model of Castile.

This move triggered strong dissatisfaction in Catalonia and launched a riot. Although the riot was finally suppressed, the seeds of discord were planted. How similar is this scene to a few years ago?

In 1700, King Carlos II of Castile-Aragon died without an heir, and his will let the grandson of the French emperor Louis XIV of the Bourbon dynasty, namely his grandnephew Feili, Duke of Anjou, inherit the throne.

However, Leopold I, the king of the Habsburg dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire, claimed that his son, Grand Duke Charles, was the legitimate heir to the throne. There was nothing to say. There was no better way to fight for the throne, so the war immediately followed. break out.

During the war, Castile-Aragón, with Feili, Duke of Anjou, as the king, fought side by side with France, but Catalonia stood on the side of the Habsburg dynasty, and was squeezed too hard before. Cathay didn't want to fight with you at all.

In this protracted battle, Castile-Aragon and Catalonia are completely opposed.

As a result of the war, Castile-Aragón lost almost all its enclaves outside the Iberian Peninsula, but defeated Catalonia.

In order to strengthen the control of Catalonia and express punishment, Catalonia’s autonomy and constitution were abolished.

For Catalonia, the failure of the two wars did not make them abandon their desire for independence. The trauma of the war and dissatisfaction with the kingdom's policies have further deepened the gap with the central government, and the centrifugal force has grown day by day.

After that, when the central ZF was running smoothly and the kingdom's overall economic situation was better, Catalonia was quieter. And when the development of the entire kingdom falls into a disadvantaged situation, Catalonia will jump out and do things.

Since the Bourbon family inherited the throne of Castile-Aragon, the kingdom’s strategy has begun to reverse.

The kingdom no longer blindly maintains the authority of the Catholic Church as its own responsibility, and instead focuses on national construction.

The new King Philip V hopes to imitate France and establish a strong centralization in his country. This is indeed an improvement compared to before. However, copying foreign models and ignoring the national conditions of his own country has caused the actual effect to deviate.

In the 19th century, the wave of nationalism swept across Europe, and every country was transforming into a nation-state and establishing a new identity. The history that people see today is constructed under the influence of this trend of thought.

You can try to imagine that if Isabel did not marry Ferdinand, but chose the King of Portugal, would there be no "Spain" on the Iberian Peninsula, but "Portugal" and "Aragon" "The juxtaposition?

In 1837, the constitution of the monarchy was passed, and Castilla-Aragon finally ended the 300-year Confederacy era and established a unitary modern state.

The queen at the time, Isabella II from the Bourbon family, decided to use the new title of "The Kingdom of Spain".

And her previous title was: "The Honorable Isabella II, who has received the grace of God, is Castile, Leon, Aragon, Two Sicily, Jerusalem, Navarre, Granada, Toledo Lords of Valencia, Galicia, Majorca, Seville, Sardinia, Cordoba, Corsica, Murcia, Menorca, Jaén..."

——Just a title that lists all the territories together.

At this point, the "Kingdom of Spain" was really born. At the official level, history began to build with the "Kingdom of Spain" as the core; the "Spanish nation" began to appear more and more in official propaganda.

In Catalonia at this time, the memories established in the past conflicts have been faintly painful, and along with the wave of nationalism, the nationality of Catalonia has also awakened.

Catalan became the working language of local media and theaters; Catalan national history was constructed by local historians.

And every resolution of the Central ZF of the Kingdom of Spain aimed at strengthening the "Spanish national identity" in Catalonia has in turn strengthened the local people's recognition of the "Catalan nationality".

Since the beginning of the 20th century, Catalonia has had several independence movements, especially during the Spanish Civil War.

However, with the establishment of Franco's dictatorship ZF, Catalonia's freedom was once again imprisoned in a cage, and it was not until 1979 that it became an autonomous region again. However, the status of the autonomous region cannot be satisfied by Catalonia.

Politicians have their own ambitions, and the people have their demands. Catalonia is no longer willing to use its economic results to pay for Spain's backward areas.

Catalonia's desire for independence from ancient times to the present may seem abrupt. Leaving aside the various contradictions in history, in fact, a clear cause can be found geographically.

Where Catalonia is located, the corresponding geographic unit is the lower Ebro River plain.

The Ebro River is the mother river in northeastern Spain. UU Reading is in the middle reaches of the Aragon region where Catalonia once went to. It is located both upstream and downstream of the same big river. Nya and Aragorn have developed a high degree of kinship, so they can be peacefully unified in their marriage.

But these two regions and the rest of Spain are really not very familiar.

Looking west from the Ebro River basin, there is an Iberian mountain range with an average elevation of only more than 1,000 meters, but it is enough to form a geographic barrier.

Only by crossing this mountain can you reach the central plateau in central Spain. The exchanges between the two in ancient times were quite limited, which allowed the local culture represented by Catalan to have long-term roots.

The Central Plateau is Spain's most important geographic plate, accounting for 60% of its land area.

Although it is located inland and far from the sea, it has a dry climate and underdeveloped agriculture. After all, it is the center of the Iberian Peninsula and has rich mineral resources. Therefore, the unification of the peninsula can only be dominated by Madrid. Unity also relies on a strong central ZF.

txt download address:

phone-reading: