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Even as Spanish police used forces to reject referrundum vote for independence of Catalonia on October 1, the Catalans seemed to be adament to go ahead with freedom movement. Here you can read about the movment and the history of Catalonia.
Located in the northeast of the Iberian peninsula, Catalonia has been a part of Spain since the 15th century. But Catalan separatists argue that they are a nation with a distinct language, culture and history separate. Independence, they say, will protect the Catalan nation from the encroachment of Spanish language and culture.
The Catalan language developed indenpendently of Spanish, deriding from the Latin spoken by Romans who colonised the area in the 2nd century BC. The Roman occupation harmonized the various cultures in the region into one.
Following the Muslim conquest of the Iberian peninsula in the 8th century, the inhabitants of the region turned to the Frankish leader Charlemagne for help. The province of the Spanish March was born, acting as a buffer between Muslim Hispania and Christian France.
The Muslim Moors took Barcelona again in 985 and, having received no support from the Franks this time, an independent state was proclaimed, taking the name Catalonia.
Catalonia emerged from the conflicts in Muslim Spain as a regional power, as Christian rulers entrenched themselves in the region. Catalonia became part of Spain since the 15th century when there was no successor to the throne.
There then followed periods of great instability, when Catalonia was under French protection after revolting against Spanish rule in the Franco-Spanish war. During the war of Spanish succession, Catalonia found itself alone and eventually fell to Spanish forces in 1714.
For centuries that followed, Catalan righst and the language were banned, universities closed and the Catalan nation was lost.
Its revival was helped by the industrial revolution.
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Located in the northeast of the Iberian peninsula, Catalonia has been a part of Spain since the 15th century. But Catalan separatists argue that they are a nation with a distinct language, culture and history separate. Independence, they say, will protect the Catalan nation from the encroachment of Spanish language and culture. additional input from DW