Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
After the last of Guifré el Pelós' dynasty, Martí I, died heirless in 1410, Barcelona saw its
star diminish, when Catalonia effectively became part of the Castilian state, under the rule
of Fernando from the Aragonese throne and Isabel, queen of Castilla. Impoverished and dis-
affected by ever-growing financial demands from the crown, Catalonia revolted in the 17th
century when Catalan peasants gathered on La Rambla outside the walls of the city and
began rioting.
They attacked and murdered the viceroy Santa Coloma and sacked and burned his minis-
ters' houses in what was later known as the Guerra dels Segadors (Reapers' War). Under
French protection, Catalonia declared itself to be an independent 'republic'. Anarchy ruled
over the next few years, until Barcelona was finally besieged into submission by Castile.
Little was gained from the effort, though the event was later commemorated as the first
great Catalan drive towards independence. The song 'Els Segadors' written down in the 19th
century (but with an oral tradition dating back to the 1600s) officially became Catalonia's
'national anthem' in 1993.
Although 11 September reflects the tragic fall of the city, the day is still commemorated
as the Diada, the National Day of Catalonia - often a day of political rallies and demon-
strations, with independence very much on the agenda.
War of the Spanish Succession
Although Catalonia had only limited autonomy in the late 1600s, things grew worse at the
turn of the 18th century when it supported the wrong side in the War of the Spanish Succes-
sion. Barcelona, under the auspices of British-backed archduke Charles of Austria, fell after
an 18-month siege on 11 September 1714 to the forces of Bourbon king Philip V, who estab-
lished a unitary Castilian state.
Angered at Catalonia's perceived treachery, the new king abolished the Generalitat and
leveled a whole district of medieval Barcelona to build a huge fort (the Ciutadella) to watch
over the city. The recently excavated ruins beneath El Born Centre Cultural (which opened
in 2013) show what life was like for those living in the 1700s on the future site of the Ciut-
adella. Their lives changed irrevocably as their homes were destroyed and they were relo-
cated to the soulless new geometric grid of Barceloneta. Not surprisingly, the citadel became
the city's most hated symbol among most Catalans.
Teaching and writing in Catalan was banned, as Philip V proceeded with a widespread
plan of 'castlianisation', in hopes of crushing future dissent. What was left of Catalonia's
possessions were farmed out to the great powers.
