Western Europe and Scandinavia
Catalans
Location: Catalonia, region of north-east Spain
Population: 5.7 million, 80% Catalan speakers
% of population: 14.5% of Spanish population
Religion: Catholic
Language: Catalan, Spanish, some French speakers
The Catalans are the native inhabitants of the former principality of Catalonia which was once a commercially
flourishing and independent political entity and is now divided into the provinces of Barcelona, Tarragona, Lerida and
Gerona. The Catalans, a mixture of Pyrenean and Mediterranean peoples, speak the Catalan dialect which has a greater
affinity with Provençal than Spanish, and French influence in Catalonia has been consistently strong. There are also
Catalan speakers outside Catalonia — in the Balearic Islands and the area around Valencia in Spain; in France, Andorra
and Sardinia.
The Franco era
Catalans have long been fiercely regionalistic and they repeatedly took part in Carlist and Republican revolts, the last of
which, in 1932, resulted in Catalonia being made an autonomous region within the Spanish state. The widely-spoken
local language and common culture were important factors in the shaping of a sense of national identity, and a literary
revival in the nineteenth century inspired Catalan intellectuals and middle-class groups to lead a Catalan nationalist
movement. Catalonia was, and remains, a prosperous region within Spain. Industry has thrived and Catalans enjoyed a
disproportionate share of the country’s industrial wealth, due largely to the activities of a local entrepreneurial class. The
increasing centralization of government was particularly resented by this politically aware group, especially as state
bureaucracy was far less efficient than local government bodies. The regional aspirations of the Catalans and Basques
were seen as a threat to Spanish unity by “nationalistic” political forces, led by General Franco, and Catalans supported
the defeated Republican forces in the Civil War of the 1930s.
Under the Franco regime Catalans suffered severe political and cultural repression. The Cata-lonian autonomous
government was abolished and its leader extradited from Vichy France and shot. Regional-based parties were banned.
Catalonia’s share of government funding dropped steadily and Catalan businessmen were actively discouraged from
investing surplus capital within Catalonia. The use of Catalan outside the home was banned as were street and shop
signs in Catalan. Any expression of Catalan culture was forbidden and teachers were expected to demonstrate “political
reliability” or face dismissal or compulsory transfer to other regions. During the 1950s there was some relaxation of
policy and the everyday unofficial use of Catalan was once again permitted as were some folk festivals. Large numbers of
immigrants from other, poorer, Spanish regions moved into Catalonia, however, particularly in the 1960s, until well
over 50% of its unskilled or semiskilled workforce was not Catalan.
During the 1950s Catalans were among the leaders of nationwide resistance to Franco’s rule. In this they were supported
by a large group of Catalan and Basque clergy who were mostly moderate Socialists or Christian Democrats and who
