Catalonia is a very divisive region. In Catalonia, they will claim that Catalonia is independent from Spain. But in the rest of the world, they will claim that Catalan Independence is nothing but a joke.
Yet, according to the Catalan independence referendum of 2017, Catalonia is indeed independent. And thus, Catalan independence should be honored. This then begs the question- Is Catalonia really independent?
Brief History of Catalonia
The reason for Catalan independence, lies in the history of Catalonia.
Catalonia was the first part of Hispania, to be settled by the Romans. This is when most major cities in Catalonia were founded (although some were founded under the Phoneticians).
After the Roman Empire fell, the Moors became the rulers of Catalonia, until the Christians pushed the Moors out in the eleventh century.
Catalonia was folded into the Kingdom of Aragon, and later the Kingdom of Spain.
It was the Kingdom of Spain that has really caused Spanish-Catalan relations to boil. This was due to the Kings of Spain introducing new taxes, which hurt the trade-rich, agricultural lands of Catalonia the most.
This caused many Catalans to feel as though the Kings of Spain did not care about them, and that they were merely a means to an end.
So the Catalans caused revolt, after revolt, after revolt.
That was until Francisco Franco came into power. He stripped Catalonia of all its rights, and even made their language and culture illegal!
After Franco, the Bourbon monarchy of Spain was reintroduced. The Bourbons reinstated many of Catalonia’s old privileges, and even gave them more automony.
But most Catalans had resented the Spanish for allowing this to happen in the first place.
Still to this day, most Catalans outside of major hubs like Barcelona have strong anti-Spanish sentiments.
Why does Catalonia want its independence?
Catalonia wants its independence for two main reasons: to preserve its culture and history; and because it is funding the Spanish economy.
Normally, there is one or two centers for trade in a given country. Normally, this is the capital city, or a city near the capital city- except, not with Spain.
Don’t get me wrong, Madrid is an important business, financial and economic center for Spain. But Barcelona has one thing Madrid doesn’t: The Mediterranean.
65% of all Spanish trade goes through Barcelona, which makes Barcelona- and Catalonia by extension incredibly wealthy.
This also serves to make Catalonia the most prosperous region in Spain. Despite making up only 0.06% of Spain’s land mass, Catalonia makes up 19% of the Spanish economy.
Catalan Independence activists claim that Catalan taxpayers are essentially paying the Spanish government to prop up the poorer regions of Spain, without being given anything in return.
They claim that the poorest areas, like Andalusia and Extremadura are being propped up, solely by Catalan tax revenue. And yet, almost 50 years on, the scars of Franco can still be felt by many in Catalonia.
Would Catalonia be better off independent?
This is a divisive issue, not only in Spain and Catalonia, but also the rest of Europe and the United States.
Many Catalans believe that Catalan Independence would be more beneficial to Catalonia. This is because Catalonia would be able to make its own laws and taxes, without the oversight from Madrid.
This would enable Catalonia to become even more prosperous, increase wealth and lower unemployment.
They would also be able to reinforce investment into schools, infrastructure and healthcare. All of which, have been lacking in the furthest reaches of Catalonia.
They claim that by investing in these neglected areas, they can increase their overall national output. They claim that this would increase industry, tourism and manufacturing, which would in turn bring more wealth to the country.
They then claim that it would take between 3-5 years to get into the EU, where their economy would continue to go from strength to strength.
However, other Catalans disagree, stating that Catalan independence will do more harm than good to the Catalan economy.
They claim that Catalan independence will force them to invest money that they don’t have, in order to set up embassies, a central bank and begin printing their own passports, drivers’ licenses etc.
They claim that this would in fact cause Catalan national debt to rise to unstable levels. They claim that this would make it difficult to reinvest into infrastructure, healthcare and schools.
They also claim that this would prevent Catalonia from gaining EU member status, as certain GDP-debt ratios need to be met in order to enter.
Catalan Independence vote 2017
On October 1st 2017, Catalonia held a major referendum. There were only two options on the ballot- to leave Spain, or to remain part of Spain.
The Spanish government declared the vote illegal, and suppressed the vote. They sent in the Spanish National Police, where they raided polling stations, removing the ballot boxes.
This led to many altercations, where many people were hurt.
This has caused even more resentment between Catalans and Spanish.
According to the ballots that were collected before the raid, 2,044,038 people (92.01%) voted for independence and 177,547 people (7.99%) voted against.
The turnout for the vote in total was 43.03%.
Is Catalonia independent?
On paper, Catalonia should be its own country: it had a vote, where they voted to leave, they set up their parliament, government, police force etc. Yet, only South Ossetia recognizes Catalan independence.
And even South Ossetia itself, isn’t recognized by many countries.
However, before you say, “Aha! Catalonia isn’t independent then, is it?!” I ask that you look at this: Recognition usually happen several years after the declaration of independence.
Here are a few examples:
- Portugal: declares independence in 1640, 28 years later, Spain finally recognizes it.
- USA: declares independence in 1776, 7 years later, Great Britain recognizes it in the Treaty of Paris.
- Slovenia: declares independence in June 1991, only recognized by the European Union in January 1992.
- Kosovo: declares independence in February 2008 , and even now, 35 of the world’s largest countries such as China, Spain and Russia do not recognize it!
It is only logical to assume that Catalan independence will follow the same route! (Seeing as how three of the four examples were in Europe!)
When you think about one coherent bloc of countries that are the heart of the UN, Europe is that bloc. This makes all European nations important allies to non-European countries.
This means that countries will not encourage smaller parts of other countries to break away in Europe, as they would on other continents.
So we shouldn’t believe that countries like China, Russia or Canada will encourage Catalonia to declare independence. First, Catalonia will need to declare independence, then, other countries will recognize it!