Ona Peral Català

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CATALAN CONSCIOUSNESS

You may be wondering who the Catalans are and why am I writing an essay about them,
and the answer is pretty simple, because I am one of them.

Originally, the term Catalans is used to define an ethnic group native from Catalonia, an
autonomous community of Spain. This definition can be more open and refer also to
other Catalan-speaking people outside of Catalonia, which we can find in such places as
Andorra, the Balearic Islands, Valencia…. From now on I am going to speak about
Catalans referring to those people who are from Catalonia. Since past centuries and with
great force during the last years, the Catalan nationalist sentiment has been growing
more and more, becoming an avant-garde phenomenon, and creating debate in the
bosom of Catalan and Spanish society.

On numerous occasions throughout history, Catalan society has felt different from the
rest of Spain, giving rise to a distant feeling, and creating a gap between these two
territories. The question you are all probably asking yourself is, where this difference
and this feeling comes from? What has led Catalans to want a nation and not feel part
of Spain? This question is not simple or easy to answer, many factors over the years have
intervened in the development and formation of this consciousness.

It all begins with the Renaissance around 1833, when it appears the will to overcome
the “Hispanicization” of Catalonia, the movement is starting from a cultural base that
later will be expanded. Before achieving political independence, cultural independence
was necessary. In that moment there is a clear will to become a new hoard of people
who regain language and consequently culture and history.

When Catalonia refers to recovering its history, it refers to the territory as a nation.
Within this topic, we can find several points of view depending on the consulted expert,
influenced many times by its ideological and political convictions. Some of them say that
the Catalan nation existed centuries ago, and others completely deny its existence.

The first true expression of Catalanism was in 1885 with the writing of "Memorial de
Greuges", a document that included a series of political and environmental claims. This
was a result of the collaboration between intellectuals and the Catalan industrial

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bourgeoisie. Through this we can see how Catalanism was at first linked to a certain
social class, mostly to the elites, who at that time were the ones that had the possibility
to acknowledge themselves and think further, beyond seeking to cover their basic needs
to survive.

Later on, the "Bases of Manresa", 1892, were elaborated. They are considered to be the
birthplace of political Catalanism. At the end of the 19th century, we can see how the
rise of a claim begins, a movement is starting. Looking at these two documents and
through other political indicators, it should be noted that Catalanism in its origins is a
Spanish movement, which is intended to be a project not only for Catalonia, but also for
Spain. It is the will for the organization of the state to adapt to the needs of the different
areas. There is a desire to recognize the plurinationality of Spain. We can see how this
started as regionalism, which would later become nationalism. This ideology begins to
take shape with their respective institutions and political representations. It is not just
an aspiration; a network is being articulated in order to institutionalize the demands and
enter to participate in the political system. In this context, later emerged two currents
of nationalism, a conservative branch linked to the ruling and wealthy class, and a
progressive one linked especially to the labour movement.

History often has no strength by itself, if it wasn’t for the feelings that it made awake
years ago that still remain today. It would be simply forgotten or taught but not fought.
Having said this it is of vital importance to understand that Catalanism is indeed a matter
of feeling, the sentiment is the most important component.

After all these political advances and the feeling that the movement was finally going to
be able to culminate, Spanish civil war imploded. This pushed back the Catalan
institutions and made solidarity and mutual aid the main theme of the moment.
Although the Catalan movement did not stop, the priority of the moment was to fight
against the national army in revolt, you needed to decide which side where you in, if in
the republican side or the fascist side. During the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent
Francoism, there was a ban on Catalan symbols, as well as language, cultural
expressions.... One of the events in which we can observe this repression is in the so-
called "Fets de Palau". These events took place at the Palau de la Musica Catalana during
the tribute to the Catalan poet Joan Maragall. The government ban on being able to

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perform the Cant de la Senyera led to several arrests by Franco's generals, and among
them there was Jordi Pujol, future president of the Generalitat de Catalunya and
prominent political figure. This is considered one of the moments of renaissance of
political Catalanism. A democratic demand with a Catalanist revindication in the
background it is being consolidated. Not in plain sight, but in the shadows, the
government was still operating and looking for a way to abolish the regime and re-
establish democratic freedom. Franco died and with him the regime. At this point, the
process of rebuilding Spain begins. This period of time was marked by tumultuous events
that endangered national stability more than once.

Since the end of the regime in 1975, and until the redaction of the Constitution in 1978,
one of the main debates is the national question. Both the Basque country and Catalonia
demand the restitution of the governmental powers as well as the statutes.

In September 1977, a large demonstration took place, the so-called 'The Million'
demonstration. This was made under the motto: “Llibertat, Amnistia, Estatut
d’Autonomia”, which translates to “Freedom, Amnesty and autonomy statute”. But how
was this possible after the dictatorship? Who persuaded all these people to go out to
the streets in defence of Catalonia if at the time media was in the hands of the state and
schools were controlled by the ministries; and the answer to this is: the great associative
fabric that Catalonia presents. This is another way of demonstrating how despite
wanting to exterminate the Catalanist sentiment, it has lasted even in the moments
when it couldn’t be disseminated. The feeling has not disappeared, but it has changed
its form in order to not be seen and persecuted. After the repression of Francoism, the
Catalanist movement resurfaced with strength and more desire than ever to keep
working in their cause. Like a Catalan singer said: “For a few hours we felt free, and who
has felt freedom has more strength to live”. Now they could speak openly about the
Catalan question, they could be listened and heard, and they were not going to waste
their opportunity.

As a result of the demonstration Catalunya was listened and “La Generalitat” was
restored, but even so, not the statute. This will create further problems and remain as
one of the most controversial topics, that finally will come to an end in 2006 when the
statute will be approved after fighting for it many years. For the first time many Catalans

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felt heard, something that wouldn’t last longer. This event could have possibly planted
the seed that has marked all the mass demonstrations of recent years, hoping that, like
it happened in 1977 the Catalan people would be listened to.

According to Joan Maragall’s declarations, even though Spain was at that time a country
without little to no force, fewer colonial markets, and a deconstructed structure,
Catalunya was not using this to leave them at their mercy, because they also had a lot
to lose. They were trying to leave because “they are dreamers who aspire to integrate
into their history, their rights, their language, their character, a portion of immaterial
things that constitute his poetry, neglecting, underestimating the practical
consequences that their poetic integration could bring”.

Catalan sentiment, in its current agitation, is nothing other than the instinct of change,
the necessity of a renewal. Spain should have started a work to recompose a new
country, rethinking and modernizing politics, listening to the demands and securing the
minorities in the country to prevent conflict, combating only provoked to accelerate the
total decomposition of Spanish nationality.

Years later, a Catalanist sentiment more linked to independence and the existence of a
nation will be developed, and the term catalanity will be colloquially used to define the
nationalist desire of this region. It should be noted that Catalanism and independence
are two very different things, but they both have the nationalist gene.

The core of the Catalan question is the legal and effective recognition of its national
reality. The Spanish constitution of 1978 speaks of a single Spanish nation, but it includes
the term nationalities without saying what are or developing the attributions. This
constitution is characterised by an open and poorly defined character, leaving room for
discretion and plurality of opinions. This tool can both favour and damage the state.
According to the interpretation given to the issues dealt with, they can be understood
from different points of view.

The return of democracy in Spain led to the emergence and development of the pre-
existing Catalan national reality, but today, more than 40 years after the constitution
was approved, this reality does not have the legal recognition that would correspond to
it according with the majority will of the Catalans. The lack of recognition is the basis of

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the problems. Although Spain defines itself as a plurinational state, in practice, in the
political system we see it is reluctant to adapt the political, economic, social and cultural
reality of Catalonia to the constitutional order, which has led many Catalans to think
that the only possible way is independence. If we also consider the current context,
where we define the 21st century as the axis of all change and respect for different
opinions, we obtain the will to want to vote, to decide one's future, or at least, to make
the will of a people heard.

But why this has not been efficiently applied? Plurinationality is very attractive on paper,
but in the reality, it implicates the transference of competences, giving more decision-
making power to the autonomous communities and renouncing a centralised state. This
frightens a country like Spain, afraid of the existence of different nationalities and their
ability to revolt against the state. For this reason, attempts have been made to promote
a series of policies aimed at reducing and hindering the preservation of national
identities. This has been made in a very discreate way, and under the slogan of seeking
to guarantee the integration of all people in the territory. In this situation we can find a
Spanish-led policy that sought to make 25% of Spanish compulsory in classrooms. This
percentage would be equivalent to a value higher than that intended solely for the
Spanish language classes, implying that some other subject should be taught in Spanish.
We see how this constant mention of respect to the constitution, used as a political
weapon by the political opposition, is violated by the state itself when it comes to the
article 3.3. "The wealth of the different linguistic modalities of Spain is a heritage that
will be the object of special respect and protection". Again, Spain decides to project a
more tolerant image than the one that actually exists. Basically, the aim of this policy of
defamation relies in the fact that identity is linked to language, and subsequently the
identity is linked to the nationalist sentiment. They attempt to eliminate and blur those
components that can lead people to become a group, they seek to remove identity to
solve the problem.

Bringing us back to the feeling, Catalans have often felt rejection by Spanish population,
this has been a problem caused mainly by the press and the media, which have always
attempted to create a major division and dedicated themselves to disseminating an
erroneous image of Catalunya and Catalans. Some media, along with various political

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parties, have led to the idea that in Catalonia Spanish symbols are rejected, and that
Spanish are deprived of speaking their language and are not welcome. This picture could
not be further from reality. There is a project to promote the use of Catalan with the
intention to preserve the language, whose speakers have been decreasing over the
years, it is the search to keep up with the identity and not fall into oblivion. This has
been criminalized by many parties who seek to create a false idea in order to promote
their speeches and gain more voters to go against Catalunya. Many newspapers title
their articles with sensationalist premises that only contribute to misinformation and
misinterpretation of the facts. We can find some examples in the ABC diary: “The same
as Franco, but in reverse: persecution of Spanish in Catalonia”, “The exclusion of
Spaniards in Catalonia”… This brings with it a reaction, and that is the rejection of the
Spanish state and the proliferation and growth of independentist ideas. While it is true
that if Spain managed to do its own and remove the identity link the problem could be
solved, the feeling is too deeply rooted to be forgotten and the way it is managed is only
causing more problems. Spain should listen to national reality and instead of trying to
hide it, help preserve it. This could contribute to Catalans not seeking so desperately a
way out of the problem and perhaps that many of them decided to stay within the
Spanish borders.

The first attempt to demonstrate the will of the Catalans was on November 9 th, 2014,
under the legislature of the president of the Generalitat Artur Mas. This event is known
as 9N, on that date a popular consultation was held in Catalonia, in which you could vote
until November 25. Its objective was to find out the opinion of Catalan citizens on
whether Catalonia should be a State and whether that State should be independent or
not. For the inclusion of all, this consultation was made both in Spanish, as well as in
Catalan and Aranès, the 3 languages present in the territory of Catalonia. This was held
even after being suspended by the constitutional court. 2.3 million people went to the
polls, of these, 80.76% voted Yes-Yes, that equals to Catalonia as a state and Catalonia
as an independent state. As can be seen, this vote was not massive enough, but it
revealed the panorama of the last years. Although it is true that the percentage of voters
was not a majority, it was intended that given the high number of people who had said
they wanted an independent Catalonia, some project would be promoted to determine

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the causes of this opinion and see how Spain could collaborate in order to satisfy the
demands of the Catalan population. Spain decided to ignore the results, but could they
continue to deny such a solid and persistent political reality? The answer is no. In the
following years Catalunya will try to make their way in the international panorama and
media, with slogans such as: “We want or own independent state”, or “Catalonia is NOT
Spain”.

As I mentioned the feeling has never gone away and due to all these problems, in 2017
the independentist movement reached its climax with the holding of the referendum of
1st of October. This date marked a before and after in the history of Catalonia. From that
moment many things would change, people would take the streets forcefully than ever
and many politicians would be imprisoned.

On October 1, 2017, the government of Catalonia called a referendum on self-

determination, this was done despite having been suspended by the constitutional court
on September 7. Therefore, it is true that in legal terms, it was finally held irregularly we
should note and remark the reasons to be celebrated despite the opposition of the
central state. In previous elections, the programs of the pro-independence parties
included negotiation with the Spanish state and the intention of holding a self-
determination referendum to see the opinion of Catalonia, so politicians decided to
push forward the will of their voters. If we do an internal reflection, when we vote we
hope that the politicians keep their word and what they promised, and they did so. The
idea may sound more approachable to ones, but at the end of the day it is the job of a
politician to exercise, comply and listen to his constituents.

The preparation was done in secrecy, and the celebration was marked by police
repression by the hand of the Civil Guard and the National Police. How would you feel if
for the mere fact of voting you were beaten, pushed, and hurt? This is the response of
a "democratic" state to a demand fully seconded by a large part of the population. The
violence with which the act of voting was responded awakened the conscience of the
Catalans even more. It that moment they finally believed that they were no longer
welcomed in Spain, they realized that no matter how many years passed their voice
would still not be heard. From that moment on, the politicians who orchestrated the

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referendum were imprisoned and a series of demonstrations raged in the streets for
weeks.

According to statements made by lawyers and politicians, this referendum was held
illegally, and as much as the Catalans do not like to admit it, it was like that. It must be
pointed out, that it was not illegal because the constitution prohibited it, but because
the legal procedure was not followed. If we make a general observation of the premises
advocated by the Constitution, we find different articles related to this event. In article
1.1 Spain defines itself as a "social and democratic State of Law, which advocates as
higher values of its legal system freedom, justice, equality and political pluralism."
Freedom was clearly violated when population only wanted to express their will, and for
justice, although it can be argued that the politicians infringed the higher norm of the
state, their trials were not conducted in terms of equality and transparency.

If we continue with the review of the text, we see that article 2 mentions how "The
Constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation, homeland common
and indivisible of all Spaniards, and recognizes and guarantees the right to autonomy of
the nationalities and regions that make it up and solidarity among all of them". Based
on a first reading, apparently it would seem that here we have found the limit to holding
an independence referendum, but this is not the case. In order to understand this, we
must look at article 92, corresponding to the second chapter of the elaboration of the
laws. “1. Political decisions of special importance can be subjected to a referendum
advisory to all citizens. 2. The referendum will be called by the King, by proposal of the
President of the Government, previously authorized by the Congress of Deputies.” I
think that at this point we could determine that the independence of Catalonia is
definitely a political decision of special importance, the problem is that Spain is not
willing to take the step and grant a consultative referendum for fear of the result.

The constant attempt to silence the demands and ignore the people has led to a non-
stop growing movement, that it never disappears and always persists. On October 1, not
only the independence was defended, but also the universal civil right to vote. How can
a referendum or a bilateral political negotiation be left out of the options of a full
democracy to solve the problem? How can it be that the Spanish constitution approved
in 1978 has undergone few to no changes? Spain should ask itself what they have done

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to provoke this and what can they do to avoid it, not to repress it. Yes, the referendum
could have been illegal, but at what point does wanting to vote has become a
criminalized act. We must understand that for the Catalans to be able to exercise such
a right without opposition there should be a reform of the constitution. Catalan society
has always sought a change in Spain that has never happened. Catalans have always
been one step ahead when it comes to social demands and fighting for their ideals. All
these precedents only show how the oppression of minorities causes more problems
than solutions and instead of weakening them, it makes them stronger.

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Consulted sources

Joan Maragall: El sentimiento catalanista, La Lectura, enero de 1902, pp. 80-85.

18 de maig. A «La Villa», de l’àlbum “Raimon 50” (Raimon). (s. f.). Viasona.
https://www.viasona.cat/grup/raimon/raimon-50/18-de-maig-a-la-villa

Antoni Bassas: La nació en portada, El debat de Catalunya i Espanya a la premsa (1.aed.)

(2022). Rosa Dels Vents.

BOE.es - BOE-A-1978-31229 Constitución Española. (s. f.).

https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1978-31229

Notes from my class of Catalan and Spanish politics:

[…]“The other vector is what was initially called "regionalism", but which was
consolidated as nationalism in the middle of the 19th century. Catalan nationalisms,
Basque and, more incipiently, Galician. Configuring themselves as ideologies with their
respective institutions and political representations.

In this context the Catalanist League, represented by the conservative branch, want to
strengthen the state in the social issue but collaborate less with the national articulation
with the state. They already present a clear representation of two dimensions, a national
debate and a social debate. In the social sphere, two major currents of nationalism, one
more conservative and the other more progressive, especially more linked to the labor
movement, are beginning to emerge, especially in the Catalan case.” […]

“This change from Navarro to Suárez, who begins to govern in July 1976, comes with the
proposal to make a reform. This is not defined. The great demand for democratization
ends up weighing on the decision. Undertake a strategy of openness and modernization.
Proposes the political reform law to be approved by the Francoist courts. This political
reform law is presented as a bridge law towards democracy. The courts approve it, it is
later ratified in a referendum on December 15, 1976 by the population. This law calls for
free and competitive elections, held in June 1977.

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This whole process is indeed linked to deep negotiations between Francoist elites and
the anti-Francoist leaders. Dialogues and pacts.” […]

“National question: Catalonia and the Basque Country demand the restitution of
governmental powers and the Statutes. There is no restitution of the statutes, but there
is a restitution of the Generalitat before the Constitution. The generality is a pre-
constitutional institution, then with Josep Tarradellas as president." […]

"Zapatero comes from a different political culture than the historical leaders of the
Socialist Party. He claims the figure of his republican grandfather and takes the memorial
policies on a personal level and has an approach to the idea of Spain through a more
plural that facilitate the support of certain minority currents of socialism that share this
same idea. It is a different approach and there is an opening, that of the proposal of a
plural Spain, which allows the modification and reform of the Statute of Catalonia ." […]

"During these times, in 1997, with the movement of the Mother of Ten from Montserrat,
part of Catholicism is mobilized and then there is the Torres i Bages group. This is
beginning to tune in to democracy, the young people who are part of it they are very
educated people, pro-European and in a certain way share the "trauma" of the civil war.
Their opposition to the dictatorship is more in ethical than political terms, and they are
consolidating a certain democratic demand with Catalanist demands. This is where it
appears with great force the figure of Jordi Pujol.

Jordi Pujol was in this group and his figure grew with the well-known palace events.
These events took place at the Palau de la Musica Catalana during the tribute to the
Catalan poet Joan Maragall. This event is considered the rebirth of political Catalanism
and the beginning of Jordi Pujol's political career. The government ban on being able to
perform the Cant de la Senyera led to several arrests by Franco's generals, and among
them was Jordi Pujol, future president of the Generalitat de Catalunya. " […]

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Seminar of the historian, politician and expert teacher Agustí Colomines i Companys:

“Catalanness is defined by speaking a specific language. It is a cultural type of

Catalanism. Catalanism can be defended by various people, not strictly tied to the
territory, while Catalanity is different, you need sentiment and identity. The renaissance
(1833) aims to overcome the Castilianisation of Catalonia in 1830. The renaissance in
the first instance is of a culturalist type.

Before achieving political independence, cultural independence was necessary. There is

a clear and obvious will to become a new batch of people who recover the language and
consequently culture and history. We seek in history the example of the ideal society
that we would like in the present.”

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