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Barcelona (province)

Barcelona (province)

Barcelona is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Barcelona. 4,906,117 people live in the province (2002), of whom fewer than a third live in the municipality of Barcelona. Some other cities and towns in Barcelona province include L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Badalona, Cerdanyola, Martorell, Mataró, Granollers, Sabadell, Terrassa, Sitges, Igualada, Vic, Manresa, Berga. See also List of municipalities in Barcelona. The province contains the following comarques:
- Alt Penedès
- Anoia
- Bages
- Baix Llobregat
- Barcelonès
- Garraf
- Maresme
- Osona
- Vallès Oriental
- Vallès Occidental The province is famous for its architecture. Category:Geography of Catalonia Category:Provinces of Spain

Spain

The Kingdom of Spain (Spanish and Galician: Reino de España or España; Catalan: Regne d'Espanya; Basque: Espainiako Erresuma). To west (and, in Galicia, south), it borders Portugal. To south, it borders Gibraltar and Morocco. To the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it borders France and the tiny principality of Andorra. It includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the cities of Ceuta and Melilla in north Africa, and a number of uninhabited islands on the Mediterranean side of the strait of Gibraltar, known as Plazas de soberanía, such as the Chafarine islands, the "rocks" (peñones) of Vélez and Alhucemas, and the tiny Isla Perejil (disputed). In the Northeast along the Pyrenees, a small exclave town called Llívia in Catalonia is surrounded by French territory.

History

Main article: History of Spain

Prehistory

The aboriginal peoples of the Iberian peninsula, consisting of a number of separate tribes, are given the generic name of Iberians. This may have included the Basques, the only pre-Celtic people in Iberia surviving to the present day as a separate ethnic group. The most important culture of this period is that of the city of Tartessos. Beginning in the 9th century BC, Celtic tribes entered the Iberian peninsula through the Pyrenees and settled throughout the peninsula, becoming the Celtiberians. The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians successively settled along the Mediterranean coast and founded trading colonies there over a period of several centuries. Around 1,100 BC Phoenician merchants founded the trading colony of Gadir or Gades (modern day Cádiz) near Tartessos. In the 8th century BC the first Greek colonies, such as Emporion (modern Empúries), were founded along the Mediterranean coast on the East, leaving the south coast to the Phoenicians. The Greeks are responsible for the name Iberia, after the river Iber (Ebro in Spanish). In the 6th century BC the Carthaginians arrived in Iberia while struggling with the Greeks for control of the Western Mediterranean. Their most important colony was Carthago Nova (Latin name of modern day Cartagena).

Roman Empire

The Romans arrived in the Iberian peninsula during the Second Punic war in the 2nd century BC, and annexed it under Augustus after two centuries of war with the Celtic and Iberian tribes and the Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginian colonies becoming the province of Hispania. It was divided in Hispania Ulterior and Hispania Citerior during the late Roman Republic; and, during the Roman Empire, Hispania Taraconensis in the northeast, Hispania Baetica in the south and Lusitania in the southwest. Hispania supplied the Roman Empire with food, olive oil, wine and metal. The emperors Trajan, Hadrian and Theodosius I, the philosopher Seneca and the poets Martial and Lucan were born in Spain. The Spanish Bishops held the Council at Elvira in 306. Many of Spain's present languages, religion, and laws originate from this period.

Muslim Spain

Main articles: Al-Andalus and Reconquista In the 8th century, nearly all the Iberian peninsula, which had been under Visigothic rule, was quickly conquered (from 711), by Muslims (the Moors), who had crossed over from North Africa, as part of the conquests of the Christian kingdoms there by the religiously inspired Umayyad empire. Only three small counties in the north of Spain kept their independence: Asturias, Navarra and Aragon, which eventually became kingdoms. Very soon the Muslim emirate split into small kingdoms. Christian and Muslim kingdoms fought and allied among themselves, with the Christians driving the Moorish forces out of the northern most parts of the peninsula within a few decades. The Muslim taifa kings competed in patronage of the arts, and the Jewish population of Iberia set the basis of Sephardic culture. Much of Spain's distinctive art originates from this seven-hundred-year period, and many Arabic words made their way into Castilian (Spanish) and Catalan, and from them to other European languages. The Moorish capital was Córdoba, in the southern portion of Spain known as Andalucía. During the time of Arab occupation, large populations of Jews, Christians and Muslims living in close quarters, and at its peak some non-Muslims were appointed to high offices. Though its tolerance has been exaggerated and romanticised by 19th century scholars it did produce some real achievements. At its best it produced great architecture, art, and Muslim and Jewish scholars played a great part in reviving the study of ancient western culture and philosophy, making their own important contributions to it, and becoming one of the most important ways by which these studies were revived in Europe. However there were also restrictions and imposts on non-Muslims, which tended to grow after the death of Al-Hakam II in 976, and worsened after the fall of Al-Andalus in 1031. Later invasions of stricter Muslim groups from north Africa even led to persecutions of non-Muslims, forcing some (including some Muslim scholars) to seek safety in the then still relatively tolerant city of Toledo after its Christian reconquest in 1085. 1085] The long, convoluted period of expansion of the Christian kingdoms, beginning in 722, only eleven years after the Moorish invasion, is called the Reconquista. As early as 739, the northwestern region of Galicia, which became one of the most important centres of western medieval Christian pilgrimage, Santiago de Compostela, had been liberated from Moorish occupation by forces from neighbouring Asturias. The 1085 conquest of the central city of Toledo had largely brought to an end the reconquest of the northern half of Iberia. The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 heralded the collapse, within a few decades, of the great Moorish strongholds, such as Seville and Córdoba, in the south-west. By the middle of the thirteenth century most of the Iberian peninsula had been reconquered, leaving only Granada as a small tributary state in the south. It ended in 1492, when Isabella and Ferdinand captured the southern city of Granada, the last Moorish city in Spain. The Treaty of Granada [http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/treaty1492.html] guaranteed religious toleration toward Muslims while Jews were expelled that year. At Ferdinand's insistance the Spanish Inquisition had been established and Tomás de Torquemada was appointed as its first Inquisitor General in 1482. Behind much of the real religious intolerance was always the ever present fear that the Muslims might assist another Muslim invasion. Furthermore Aragonese labourers were angered by the use of Moorish workers by landlords to undercut them. A 1499 Muslim uprising was crushed and was followed by the first of the expulsions of Muslims, in 1502. The year 1492 was also marked by the discovery of the New World. Isabel I funded the voyages of Columbus. In their contests with the French army, Spanish forces relied more on well trained, highly mobile, regular soldiers and eventually achieved success with the organised tactical use of hand guns against armoured French knights, in the Italian Wars from 1494. Already considerable powers, these wars saw the emergence of the new combined Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Aragon as a European great power.

From the Renaissance to the 19th Century

Until the late of the 15th century, Castile and Léon, Aragon and Navarre were independent states, with independent languages, monarchs, armies and, in the case of Aragon and Castile, two empires: the former with one in the Mediterranean and the latter with a new, rapidly growing, one in the Americas. The process of political unification continued into the early sixteenth century. It was the unification of these separate Iberian empires that became the base of what is in now referred to as the Spanish Empire. By 1512, most of the kingdoms of present-day Spain were politically unified, although not as a modern, centralized state (in contemporary minds, "Spain" was a geographic term meaning Iberian Peninsula, which includes Portugal, not the present-day state called Spain). The grandson of Isabella and Ferdinand, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor but called in Spain Carlos I, extended his crown to other places in Europe and the rest of the world. The unification of Iberia was complete when Charles V's son, Philip II, became King of Portugal in 1580, as well as of the other Iberian Kingdoms (collectively known as "Spain" at that time). During the 16th century, under the reigns of Charles V and Philip II, Spain became the most powerful nation in Europe. The Spanish Empire covered most territories of South and Central America, Mexico, some of Eastern Asia (including The Philippines), the Iberian peninsula (including the Portuguese empire from 1580), southern Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. It was the first empire about which it was said that the sun did not set. It was a time of daring explorations by sea and by land, the opening up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the beginning of European colonization. Not only did this lead to the arrival of ever increasing quantities of precious metals, spices and luxuries, and new agricultural plants, that had a great influence on the development of Europe, but the explorers, soldiers, traders and missionaries also brought back with them a flood of knowledge that radically transformed the European understanding of the world, ending conceptions inherited from medieval times. The treasure fleet across the Atlantic and the Manila galleons across the Pacific made it the wealthiest and most powerful nation in Europe, but the rapidly rising influx of silver and gold from the colonies in the Americas throughout the 16th century ultimately resulted in economically damaging rampant inflation and led to economic depression by the 17th century. Religious and dynastic wars supported by the Spanish crown, especially in the Netherlands, also greatly burdened the empire's economy. 17th century] In 1640, under Philip IV, the centralist policy of the Count-Duke of Olivares provoked wars in Portugal and Catalonia. Portugal became an independent kingdom again, taking with it its empire, and Catalonia enjoyed some years of French-supported independence but was quickly returned to the Spanish Crown, except Roussillon. A series of long and costly wars and revolts followed in the early 17th century, and began a steady decline of Spanish power in Europe from the 1640s. Controversy over succession to the throne consumed the country and much of Europe during the first years of the 18th century (see War of the Spanish Succession). It was only after this war ended and a new dynasty—the French Bourbons—was installed that a true Spanish state was established when the absolutist first Bourbon king Philip V of Spain in 1707 dissolved the parliamentarist Aragon court and unified the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon into a single, unified Kingdom of Spain, abolishing many of the regional privileges and autonomies (fueros) that had hampered Habsburg rule. The British abandoned the conflict after Utrecht (1713), which led to Barcelona's easy defeat by the absolutists in 1714. The National Day of Catalonia still commemorates this defeat. Of note during the 17th century was the cultural efflorescence now known as the Spanish Golden Age. Historically, the period of the mid 17th century to the mid 20th century was a failure for Spain compared to north western Europe. The extended, lingering decline of the Spanish empire was due in large part, ironically, to its spectacular successes in the 15th and 16th centuries that led to the centuries of the treasure fleets bringing back silver and gold into the country from the American mines. These shipments engendered inflation (a fact noticed by the School of Salamanca) that ate away at Spanish trades and commerce by causing local goods to be uncompetitive, and eventually making the country almost totally dependant upon imports by the mid seventeenth century, which proved disasterous as the silver mines became exhausted. Greatly worsening matters were the constant wars defending the world empire against envious European rivals, internal successions and the European wars (Eighty Years War and Thirty Years War), where Spain's resources were constantly drained defending the Habsburg's dynastic and religious interests, including the Counter Reformation. From the early 17th century the government sought to meet its needs by tampering with the silver content of the currency, leading to severe bouts of inflation and deflation. The terrible burden of taxes on the productive classes of the country, and the financial instability led to the collapse of the Castilian economy to the point where people reverted to bartering in the 1620s. A severe decline in food production ensued. The result was a steep real economic and demographic decline during the 17th century, especially in empire's overburdened lynchpin, Castile, aggravated by failed harvests and plagues. Habsburg policies that entrenched the privileges and exemptions of the nobility (with its roots back in the Castilian War of the Communities) and the Church (as part of support of the Counter Reformation), with a great extension of Church lands, also played a decisive part in the undermining the Spanish economy and in curtailing the spread of modern thought. This was in stark contrast to the diminishing status of both institutions in rivals France, England and the Netherlands. The resentment of ordinary peasants and labourers would find expression in implicating the nobility of Moorish ancestory and the churchmen of hypocrisy. These accusations found their way into the theatre and literature of the time. The beggary that grew rapidly from the late 16th century forced many to live by their wits and inspired the popular picaresque genre of literature. Following the wars of Spanish succession at its commencment, the 18th century saw a long, slow recovery, with an expansion of the iron and steel industries in the Basque country, some increase in trade and a recovery in food production and population. The Bourbons drew on the French system in trying to modernise the administration and economy, in which it was more successful in the former than the latter. However in the last two decades of the century there was a rapid growth (from a relatively low base) in general trade after the opening up of free trade within the empire (ending the south's monopoly), and even the beginnings of an industrialisation of the textile industry in Catalonia. But this promising late eighteenth century surge was shortlived, being totally disrupted by the turmoil of the Napoleonic Wars at the beginning of the 19th century, that preceeded the loss of the vast mainland American territories and plunged the country into endemic political instability, which lasted until 1939. The Napoleonic incursion led to a fierce guerilla war (Peninsular War) and saw the first wide spread appearance of Spanish nationalism. In the latter half of the 19th century, Spanish Catalonia became a center of Spain's industrialization. Pockets of relative modernity in Catalonia and the north would appear, but Spain's relative economic and political decline overall mirrored in general the fate of other regions of southern Europe such as Portugal, the Italian states, the Balkans, and much of central and eastern Europe, as much of the rapidly growing global oceanic trade, pioneered by the Iberian countries, was diverted to northwestern Europe. Spain lost all of its remaining old colonies in the Caribbean region and Asia-Pacific region at the end of the 19th century, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines, and a large number of Pacific islands to the United States after the Spanish-American War of 1898. However "the Disaster" of 1898, as Spanish-American War was called, led to Spain's cultural revival (Generation of '98) in which there was much critical self examination, and relieved it from the burden of its last major colonies. However political stability in such a dispersed and variegated land, caught between pockets of modernity and large areas of extreme rural backwardness and strongly differentiated regional identities would elude the country for some decades yet, and was ultimately imposed only by a brutal dictatorship in 1939.

20th century

The 20th century initially brought little peace; colonization of Western Sahara, Spanish Morocco and Equatorial Guinea was attempted. A period of dictatorial rule (1923 - 1931) ended with the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic. The Republic offered political autonomy to the Basque Country and Catalonia and gave voting rights to women. However, in July 1936, against a backdrop of increasing political polarization, anti-clericalism and pressure from all sides, coupled with growing and unchecked political violence, the Republic was faced with an attempted military coup d'etat led by right-wing army generals. Although the coup initially failed, the ensuing Spanish Civil War ended in 1939 with the victory of the nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco and supported by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and the United States of America, increasingly concerned about communism. The Republican side received tepid support from European democracies, which left the Soviet Union and idealist voluntary International Brigades as the only supporters of the legitimate democratic Republican rule. The Spanish Civil War has been called the first battle of the Second World War. After the civil war, General Francisco Franco ruled a nation exhausted politically and economically. During the Second World War Franco, under extreme pressure (Hitler had brought his army to the border of Spain after invading France), opted to remain neutral arguing that Spain could not afford a new war, but, as a concession to his civil war backer, authorised volunteers to go to the Russian front to fight the Soviet Union in an anti-Communist crusade in what came to be known as the Blue Division. The resentment of Franco's brutality towards the more modern pro-Republican regions of Catalonia and the Basque country, whose distinctive languages and identity he suppressed during his long reign, continues to fuel strong separatist movements to this day. The only official party in Spain at the time of Franco´s regime was the Falange party founded by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. Primo de Rivera denied his party was fascist, calling fascism fundamentaly false. His political philosophy was based on Catholicism, saying that man "carries eternal values" and carries "a soul that is capable of damning or saving itself". He called for "the greatest respect for...human dignity, for the integrity of man and for his liberty." Primo de Rivera called for what he called "organic democracy". Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera was executed in Alicante in 1936. After World War II, being one of few surviving fascist regimes in Europe, Spain was politically and economically isolated and was kept out of the United Nations until 1955, when it became strategically important for U.S. president Eisenhower to establish a military presence in the Iberian peninsula. This opening to Spain was aided by Franco's opposition to communism. In the 1960s, more than a decade later than other western European countries, Spain began to enjoy economic growth and gradually transformed into a modern industrial economy with a thriving tourism sector. Growth continued well into the 1970s, with Franco's government going to great lengths to shield the Spanish people from the effects of the oil crisis. Upon the death of the dictator General Franco in November 1975, his personally-designated heir Prince Juan Carlos assumed the position of king and head of state. With the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the arrival of democracy, some regions — Basque Country, Navarra— were given complete financial autonomy, and many — Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia and Andalusia— were given some political autonomy, which was then soon extended to all Spanish regions, resulting in a quite decentralized territorial organization in Western Europe. Remaining dysfunctionalities, such as unlimited financial strain on contributor regions such as Catalonia make their people aim for a more equilibrated system, such as those enjoyed in Germany, where finantial contribution to the whole can never exceed 4% of a Land's GDP. In the Basque Country pro-peace Basque and Spanish nationalisms coexist with radical nationalism supportive of the terrorist group ETA, which remains one of the biggest problems faced by Spanish citizens. Adolfo Suárez González, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo Bustelo, after an attempted coup d'état in 1981, Felipe González Márquez (when Spain joined NATO and European Union), José María Aznar López and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero have been prime ministers of Spain.

21st century

On March 11, 2004, a series of bombs exploded in commuter trains in Madrid, Spain. These resulted in 191 people dead and 1,460 wounded. It also had a significant effect on the upcoming elections in Spain, due in part to the ruling government's insistence that the ETA was the prime suspect in the bombings, even as the evidence of Muslim extremist terrorism rapidly emerged from the police investigation and the international press. see the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings article for more information :See also: List of Spanish monarchs, Kings of Spain family tree

Politics

Main article: Politics of Spain Politics of Spain.]] Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament, the Cortes Generales or National Assembly. The executive branch consists of a Council of Ministers presided over by the President of Government (comparable to a prime minister), proposed by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections. The legislative branch is made up of the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) with 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms, and a Senate or Senado with 259 seats of which 208 are directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to also serve four-year terms. Spain is, at present, what is called a State of Autonomies, formally unitary but, in fact, functioning as a Federation of Autonomous Communities, each one with different powers (for instance, some have their own educational and health systems, others do not) and laws. There are some differences within this system, since power has been devolved from the centre to the periphery asymmetrically, with some autonomous governments (especially those dominated by nationalist parties) seeking a more federalist—or even confederate—kind of relationship with Spain, now the Central Government is dealing with autonomous governments for the transfer of more autonomy. This novel system of asymmetrical devolution has been described as a coconstitutionalism and has similarities to the devolution process adopted by the United Kingdom since 1997. The terrorist group, ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom), is attempting to achieve Basque independence through violent means, including bombings and killings of politicians and police. Although the Basque Autonomous government does not condone any kind of violence, their different approaches to the separatist movement are a source of tension between the federal and Basque governments. On 17 May 2005, all the parties in the Congress of Deputies, except the PP, passed the Central Government's motion of beginning peace talks with the ETA with no political concessions and only if it gives up all its weapons. PSOE, CiU, ERC, PNV, IU-ICV, CC and the mixed group -BNG, CHA, EA y NB- supported it with a total of 192 votes, while the 147 PP parliamentaris objected. On February 20th 2005, Spain became the first country to allow its people to vote on the European Union constitution that was signed in October 2004. The rules states that if any country rejects the constitution then the constitution will be declared void. The final result was very strongly in affirmation of the constitution, making Spain the first country to approve the constitution via referendum (Hungary, Lithuania and Slovenia approved it before Spain, but they did not hold referenda).

Administrative divisions

Administratively, Spain is divided into 50 provinces, grouped into 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities with high degree of autonomy.

Autonomous communities

autonomous communities Main article: Autonomous communities of Spain Spain consists of 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autónomas) and 2 autonomous cities (ciudades autónomas; Ceuta and Melilla).
- Andalusia (Andalucía)
- Aragon (Aragón)
- Principality of Asturias (Principáu d'Asturies in Asturian/Principado de Asturias in Spanish)
- Balearic Islands (Illes Balears in Catalan / Islas Baleares in Spanish)
- Basque Country (Euskadi in Basque/País Vasco in Spanish)
- Canary Islands (Islas Canarias)
- Cantabria
- Castile-La Mancha (Castilla-La Mancha)
- Castile and Leon (Castilla y León in Spanish)
- Catalonia (Catalunya in Catalan/Cataluña in Spanish/ Catalunha in Aranese)
- Extremadura
- Galicia (Galicia or Galiza in Galician)
- La Rioja
- Madrid
- Murcia
- Navarre (Nafarroa in Basque/Navarra in Spanish)
- Land of Valencia (Comunitat Valenciana in Valencian /Comunidad Valenciana in Spanish, as official denominations).

Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Spain The Spanish kingdom is also divided into 50 provinces (provincias). Autonomous communities group provinces (for instance, Extremadura is made of two provinces: Cáceres and Badajoz). The autonomous communities of Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Navarre, Murcia, and Madrid (the nation's capital) are each composed of a single province. Traditionally, provinces are usually subdivided into historic regions or comarcas (main article: Comarcas of Spain).

Places of sovereignty

There are also five enclaves (plazas de soberanía) on and off the African coast: the cities of Ceuta and Melilla are administered as autonomous cities, an intermediate status between cities and communities; the islands of the Islas Chafarinas, Peñón de Alhucemas, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera are under direct Spanish administration. The Canary islands, Ceuta and Melilla, although not officially historic communities, enjoy a special status.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Spain Geography of Spain Mainland Spain is dominated by high plateaus and mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees or the Sierra Nevada. Running from these heights are several major rivers such as the Tajo, the Ebro, the Duero, the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir. Alluvial plains are found along the coast, the largest of which is that of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia, in the east there are alluvial plains with medium rivers like Segura, Júcar and Turia. Spain is bound to the east by Mediterranean Sea (containing the Balearic Islands), to the north by the Bay of Biscay and to its west by the Atlantic Ocean, where the Canary Islands off the African coast are found. Spain's climate can be divided in four areas:
- The Mediterranean: mostly temperate in the eastern and southern part of the country; rainy seasons are spring and autumn. Mild summers with pleasant temperatures. Hot records: Murcia 47.2 °C, Malaga 44.2 °C, Valencia 42.5 °C, Alicante 41.4 °C, Palma of Mallorca 40.6 °C, Barcelona 39.8 °C. Low records: Gerona -13.0 °C, Barcelona -10.0 °C, Valencia -7.2 °C, Murcia -6.0 °C, Alicante -4.6 °C, Malaga -3.8 °C.
- The interior: Very cold winters (frequent snow in the north) and hot summers. Hot records: Sevilla 47.0 °C, Cordoba 46.6 °C, Badajoz 45.0 °C, Albacete and Zaragoza 42.6 °C, Madrid 42.2 °C, Burgos 41.8 °C, Valladolid 40.2 °C. Low records: Albacete -24.0  °C, Burgos -22.0 °C, Salamanca -20.0 °C, Teruel -19.0 °C, Madrid -14.8 °C, Sevilla -5.5 °C.
- Northern Atlantic coast: precipitations mostly in winter, with mild summers (slightly cold). Hot records: Bilbao 42.0 °C, La Coruña 37.6 °C, Gijón 36.4 °C. Low records: Bilbao -8.6 °C, Oviedo -6.0 °C, Gijon and La Coruña -4.8 °C.
- The Canary Islands: subtropical weather, with mild temperatures (18 °C to 24 °C Celsius) throughout the year. Hot records: Santa Cruz de Tenerife 42.6 °C. Low records: Santa Cruz de Tenerife 8.1 °C.

Most populous metropolitan areas

Celsius Celsius # Madrid 5 603 285 # Barcelona 5 328 395 # Valencia 1 465 423 # Sevilla 1 294 081 # Málaga 1 019 292 For a more complete list, see List of cities in Spain List of cities in Spain

Territorial disputes

Territories claimed by Spain

Spain has called for the return of Gibraltar, a tiny British possession on its southern coast. It changed hands during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1704 and was ceded to Britain in perpetuity in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

Spanish territories claimed by other countries

Morocco claims the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the uninhabited Vélez, Alhucemas, Chafarinas, and Perejil islands, all on the Northern coast of Africa. Morocco points out that those territories were obtained when Morocco could not do anything to prevent it and has never signed treaties ceding them. Portugal does not recognize Spain's sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza. Spain and Portugal disagree on the interpretation of the outputs of the Congress of Vienna (1815), which according to Portugal stated the return of the territory to Portugal. Spain claims it is a de jure sovereignty according to International law.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Spain Economy of Spain Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is 87% that of the four leading West European economies. The centre-right government of former Prime Minister Aznar successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency, the euro, on 1 January 1999. The Aznar administration continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment fell steadily under the Aznar administration but remains high at 9.8% as of August 2005 - but this (still unacceptable) level must be seen in the light of levels of over 20% at the start of the 1990s. Growth of 2.4% in 2003 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering European economy, and has steadied since at an annualised rate of about 3.3% in mid 2005. The Prime Minister Rodríguez Zapatero, whose party won the election three days after the Madrid train bombings in March 2004, plans to reduce government intervention in business, combat tax fraud, and support innovation, research and development, but also intends to reintroduce labour market regulations that had been scrapped by the Aznar government. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and reducing unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain over the next few years. According to [http://www.worldbank.org/data/databytopic/GDP.pdf World Bank GDP figures]from 2004, Spain has the 8th largest economy in the world. There is general concern that Spain's model of economic growth (based largely on mass tourism, the construction industry, and manufacturing sectors) is faltering and may prove unsustainable over the long term. The first report of the Observatory on Sustainability (Observatorio de Sostenibilidad) - published in 2005 and funded by Spain's Ministry of the Environment and Alcalá University - reveals that the country's per capita GDP grew by 25% over the last ten years, while greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 45% since 1990. Although Spain's population grew by less than 5% between 1990 and 2000, urban areas expanded by no less than 25% over the same period. Meanwhile, Spain's energy consumption has doubled over the last 20 years and is currently rising by 6% per annum. This is particularly worrying for a country whose dependence on imported oil (meeting roughly 80% of Spain's energy needs) is one of the greatest in the EU. Large-scale unsustainable development is clearly visible along Spain's Mediterranean coast in the form of housing and tourist complexes, which are placing severe strain on local land and water resources.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Spain Demographics of Spain Demographics of Spain Demographics of Spain Demographics of Spain The Spanish Constitution, although affirming the sovereignty of the Spanish Nation, recognizes historical nationalities. The Castilian-derived Spanish (called both español and castellano in the language itself) is the official language throughout Spain, but other regional languages are also spoken. Without mentioning them by name, the Spanish Constitution recognizes the possibility of regional languages being co-official in their respective autonomous communities. The following languages are co-official with Spanish according to the appropriate Autonomy Statutes.
- Catalan (català) in Catalonia (Catalunya), the Balearic Islands (Illes Balears), Valencia (València) and Aragon's eastern strip (Aragó).
- Basque (euskara) in Basque Country (Euskadi), and parts of Navarre (Nafarroa). Basque is not known to be related to any other language.
- Galician (galego) in Galicia (Galicia or Galiza).
- Occitan (the Aranese dialect). Spoken in the Vall d'Aran in Catalonia. Catalan, Galician, Aranese (Occitan) and Spanish (Castilian) are all descended from Latin and have their own dialects, some championed as separate languages by their speakers (the Valencià of València, a dialect of Catalan, is one example). There are also some other surviving Romance minority languages: Asturian / Leonese, in Asturias and parts of Leon, Zamora and Salamanca, and the Extremaduran in Caceres and Salamanca, both descendants of the historical Astur-Leonese dialect; the Aragonese or fabla in part of Aragon; the fala, spoken in three villages of Extremadura; and some Portuguese dialectal towns in Extremadura and Castile-Leon. However, unlike Catalan, Galician, and Basque, these do not have any official status. In the touristic areas of the Mediterranean costas and the islands, German and English are spoken by tourists, foreign residents and tourism workers. Many linguists claim that most of the Spanish language variants spoken in Latin America (Mexican, Argentinian, Colombian, Peruvian, etc. variants) descended from the Spanish spoken in southwestern Spain (Andalusia, Extremadura and Canary Islands).

Identities

The Spanish Constitution of 1978, in its second article, recognizes historic entities ("nationalities," a carefully chosen word in order to avoid "nations") and regions, inside the unity of the Spanish nation. But Spain's identity is sometimes, in fact, an overlap of different regional identities, some of them even conflicting. Castile is considered by many to be the "core" of Spain. However, this may just be a reflection of the fact that the Castilian national identity was the first one to be quashed by the Spanish Empire in the revolt of the Communards (comuneros). The opposite is the case of a large part of Catalans, Basques and, in some measure, Galicians, who quite frequently identify primarily with Galicia, Catalonia and the Basque Country first, with Spain only second, or even third, after Europe. For example, according to the last CIS survey, 44% of Basques identify themselves first as Basques (only 8% first as Spaniards); 40% of Catalans do so with their autonomous community (20% identify firstly with Spain), and 32% Galicians with Galicia (9% with Spain). Even more remarkable, almost all comunities have a majority of people identifying as much with Spain as with the Autonomous Community (except Madrid, where Spain is the primary identity, and Catalonia, Basque Country and Balearics, where people tend to identity more with their Autonomous Community). Even Castille-Leon has 57% of people regarding themselves as much Spaniards as they are Castillians. The situation is even more confusing, since there are regions with ambiguous identities, like Navarre, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, etc. There has been a lot of internal migration (rural exodus) from regions like Galicia, Andalusia and Extremadura to Madrid, Catalonia, Basque Country and the islands. Spain became a unified crown with the union of Castile and Aragon in 1492 and the annexation of Navarre in 1515. Until 1714, Spain was a loose confederation of kingdoms and statelets under one king, until King Philip V (Felipe V) removed the autonomous status of the Aragonese crown. Navarre and the Basque Provinces, however, kept a high degree of autonomy within their legal and financial system (Fueros). Moreover, the creation of a unified state in the 19th and 20th centuries has led to the present situation, which is apparently simple, but sometimes extremely confusing. During the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1936), Catalonia and the Basque country were given limited self-government, which was lost after the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) and restored in 1978 during the transition to democracy. [http://www.cis.es/File/ViewFile.aspx?FileId=1712 Survey of the latest CIS (Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas) survey from which concrete data of this article have been extracted]

Minority groups

Since the 16th century, the most important minority group in the country have been the Gitanos. Other historical minorities are Mercheros (or Quinquis) and Vaqueiros de alzada. The latter, meaning "Mountain cow-breeders" dwell in mountain ranges in the Principality of Asturias and have kept historically apart from the valley dwellers. The number of immigrants or foreign residents has tripled to 3.69 million in less than five years, according the latest figures (2005) of National Statics Institute. They currently make up around 8.5 per cent of the official total population. The rise of population in Spain in recent years was largely due to them. Nearly half of all immigrants have neither residence nor work permits. According to [http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/hispanic/world_international/pns_immigration_shift_1204.asp Imdiversity.com (2003 statistics)], the largest foreign minorities are Romanian(500,000 - 1,000,000 unnoficially) Ecuadorians (375 000), Moroccans (365 846), Argentines (300,000) Colombia

Autonomous communities of Spain

 Spain's fifty provinces (provincias) are grouped into seventeen autonomous communities (comunidades autónomas), in addition to two African autonomous cities (ciudades autónomas) (Ceuta and Melilla).

Formation and powers

Centralism, nationalism and separatism played an important role in the Spanish transition. For fear that separatism would lead to instability and a dictatorial backlash, a compromise was struck among the moderate political parties taking part in the drafting of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The aim was to appease separatist forces and so disarm the extreme right. A highly decentralized state was established, compared both with the previous Francoist regime and with most modern territorial arrangements in Western European nations. The autonomous communities have wide legislative and executive autonomy, with their own parliaments and regional governments. The distribution of competences is different for every community, collected in the "autonomy statute" (estatuto de autonomía). There is a de facto distinction between "historic" communities (Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, and Andalusia) and the rest. The historic ones initially received more functions, including the ability of the regional presidents to choose the timing of the regional elections (as long as they happen at most 4 years apart). As another example, the Basque Country and Catalonia have full-range police forces of their own: Ertzaintza in the Basque Country and Mossos d'Esquadra in Catalonia. Other communities have a limited-bailiwick one or none at all. The Constitution recognizes the historical rights of regions in general terms. This is a reference to the special status of certain regions with respect to the whole as a result of past agreements between the central government and the region, some times centuries ago. It is understood that those rights need to be actualized through the estatuto de autonomía. This explains why the Basque Country and Navarre collect taxes and negotiate with the Spanish government on how much they must contribute to the state's treasury while the rest receive allocations according to the "transferred" government functions. The initial intent was not that every part of Spain should become part of an autonomous community, but that only the "historic" communities would be created. However, shortly after the Constitution was approved, a wave of creation of autonomous communities ensued. This was dubbed café para todos ("coffee for everybody") by critics of the decentralization. There has been a tendency for "slow-track" communities to aspire to the function range of their elders. Even in communities without a separatist tradition, the local branches of parties fight for more power and budgets. Current points of disagreement are tax collection and representation at institutions of the European Union. The Spanish Constitution of 1931 gave autonomy to Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country, but the Spanish civil war crushed this experiment.

List

Here is a list of the communities and provinces.
See also:
- List of Spanish autonomous communities by area
- List of Spanish autonomous communities by population
- List of ISO 3166 codes for Spanish autonomous communities and provinces The map is stable, though some minorities claim separate communities for León, Orihuela and Álava. Also, there is an enclave of Burgos (Castilla y León) inside Álava (País Vasco), called Condado de Treviño where some inhabitants would like to leave Burgos and join Álava.

Plazas de soberanía

There are five "places of sovereignty" (plazas de soberanía) near Morocco, under direct Spanish administration:
- Ceuta and Melilla have a status between plain cities (they can produce regulations to execute Acts, with higher regulation competencies than normal city councils) and autonomous communities (these cities cannot produce autonomous Acts).
- Islas Chafarinas,
- Peñón de Alhucemas,
- and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera

See also


- Flags of the autonomous communities of Spain

External link


- [http://www.rulers.org/spanautc.html Spanish autonomous communities] (Rulers.org)
- [http://www.spanish-airport-guide.com Airports In Spain] Spain, Autonomous communities of Category:Geography of Spain
- Category:Subdivisions of Spain ko:에스파냐의 자치 지방 ja:スペインの地方行政区画 simple:Autonomous communities of Spain

Catalonia

:There is a separate article on the historic territory of Catalonia. :For the part of historical Catalonia which is now part of France, see Northern Catalonia. Catalonia (Catalan: Catalunya; Spanish: Cataluña; Aranese: Catalonha) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities that constitute Spain. Its territory corresponds to most of the historic territory of the former Principality of Catalonia. The autonomous community of Catalonia covers an area of 31,950 km² with an official population of 6.8 million (2004). Immigrants represent 6.8 % of total population. Catalonia was officially recognised as a nationality in the Catalan Statute of Autonomy enacted in 1979 pursuant to the Spanish Constitution of 1978. Official languages are Catalan, Castilian (also known as Spanish), and (in Val d'Aran) Aranese.

Administration and Government of Catalonia

The Generalitat is the institution of government in Catalonia. It consists of a Parliament, a President and an Executive Council. [http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/en/generalitat/generalitat/index.jsp] The Parliament of Catalonia has 135 seats and serves as the legislative body of government.[http://www.parlament-cat.net/portal/page?_pageid=34,33596&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL] The President and the Executive Council serve as the executive authority and are elected by the Parliament. The Government of Catalonia comprises 16 departments or ministries. [http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/en/generalitat/departaments.jsp] See comarques of Catalonia for the official division in comarca (roughly equivalent to counties), used by the Generalitat. Local administration consists also of municipalities. Catalonia is divided in four provinces: Barcelona, Girona (Gerona in Spanish), Lleida (Lérida in Spanish, Lhèida in Aranese), Tarragona.Tarragona

Restoration of Catalan self-government

After Franco's death (1975) and the adoption of a democratic constitution in Spain (1978), Catalonia recovered its autonomous status (lost with the fall of the Second Spanish Republic at the conclusion of the Spanish Civil War in 1939). With a few exceptions, most of the justice system is administered by national judicial institutions. The legal system is common to all Spanish territories except for the civil law, which is regulated and administered independently within Catalonia [http://civil.udg.es/normacivil/catalunya.htm]. Catalan civil law regulates an ombudsman (Síndic de Greuges) [http://www.sindicgreugescat.org] to handle problems that may arise between private citizens or organizations and the Generalitat or other local governments. The region has gradually achieved a greater degree of autonomy since 1979. After the Navarre and the Basque Country regions, Catalonia has the greatest level of self-government in Spain. The Generalitat holds exclusive jurisdiction in various matters of culture, environment, communications, transportation, commerce, public safety and local governments. [http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/en/generalitat/generalitat/competencies/exclusives.jsp] In many aspects relating to education, health and justice, the region shares jurisdiction with the Spanish government. [http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/en/generalitat/generalitat/competencies/concurrents.jsp] One good example of Catalonia's degree of autonomy is its own police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra (literally 'squad lads'), which is currently in the process of taking over most of the role within Catalonia of the Guardia Civil and Policía Nacional, which are under the authority of the Spanish national government. However, even at the end of the transition process in 2008 [http://www.gencat.net/mossos/cme/desplegapdf/despleg.pdf], the Spanish government will keep a few agents in the region for matters relating to terrorism and immigration. Like the Mossos d'Esquadra, national police forces are under the authority of the government of Catalonia [http://www.gencat.net/mossos/cme/organitzacio/contingutpdf/FuncPGME.pdf]. As an autonomous community of Spain, Catalonia has no official status or recognition at an international level. However, as the region has progressively gained a greater degree of autonomy in recent years, the Catalan Government has opened some representative offices overseas. Most of these carry out limited functions such as the promotion of Catalan culture, trade and foreign investment, and even the contracting of foreign labour (with a view to easing problems with illegal immigration). [http://www.copca.com][http://www.cidem.com/cidem/cat/elcidem/info/cidem_en.jsp][http://www.copec.es/][http://nosaltres.vilaweb.com/info/vilaweb/vilaweb.generar_directori?p_idint=670561]

Language

Catalonia is the original heartland of Catalan, and remains the most important and largest territory where the language is spoken. Catalan is one of the two official languages of Catalonia, as laid down in the Catalan Statute of Autonomy [http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/cat/generalitat/estatut/index.jsp]: the other is Castilian (Spanish), which is the majority language throughout Spain (its official status confirmed by the 1978 Spanish Constitution). Catalonia has regulated its institutions and their various competences within the framework provided by the Spanish constitution in the "Sau Statute." The similarity of Spanish and Catalan eases bilingualism, but they are certainly not dialects of a single language. Catalan is regarded by most linguists as being an Ibero-Romance language (the group that includes Spanish), but it has many features of Gallo-Romance languages such as French. Occitan, in its Aranese variety (a dialect of Gascon) is official and subject to special protection in the Val d'Aran (Aran Valley), which is notable, as this small region of 7,000 is the only place where Occitan (spoken mainly in France and some Italian valleys) has full official status.

Literacy

According to the 2001 Linguistic Census [http://www6.gencat.net/llengcat/socio/docs/censling2001.pdf], about 5,900,000 people in Catalonia, nearly 95% of residents, understand the Catalan language. The percentage of people aged two and older who can speak, read and write Catalan is as follows:
Over the last 20 years, knowledge of Catalan has advanced significantly in all these areas, with the ability to write it having experienced the most pronounced increase, from 31.6% of the population in 1986 to 49.8% in 2001. By age groups, those between 10 and 29 have the higher level of Catalan-language literacy (e.g., 98.2% aged 10–14 understand it, and 85.2% can write it); this is attributed to these individuals having received their full education in Catalan. Geographically, Catalan is most understood in northwest Catalonia (Alt Pirineu, Val d'Aran), at 97.4%, followed by south and western Catalonia, whereas Barcelona's metropolitan area sees the lowest knowledge, at 93.8%. The situation is analogous for written-language skills, with central Catalonia scoring the highest percentages (61.4%), and Barcelona the lowest (46.4%). Barcelona is one of the centres of the Spanish book industry in Spanish and the main one for Catalan-language publishing.

Social Use

According to a study carried out in 2003 by the Generalitat de Catalunya [http://www6.gencat.net/llengcat/socio/docs/usos2003.pdf], Catalan is used by 50.1% of the population in everyday situations. Significantly, over 55% of respondents use Spanish to address their parents (versus 42% who choose Catalan). This is attributed to massive immigration from southern Spain from the second half of the 20th century until the 1980s, as a consequence of which many Catalans have one or both parents from outside Catalonia. However, a majority (52.6%) use Catalan with their children (42.3% Spanish). This can be attributed to some Spanish-speaking citizens shifting from their mother tongue to Catalan at home. Outside the family, 48.6% of the population indicate that they address strangers exclusively or preferentially in Catalan, while the proportion of those who use Spanish is 41.7%. 8.6% claim to use both equally. See Catalan language for further information.

Aranese

According to the 2001 Aranese Linguistic Census [http://www6.gencat.net/llengcat/aran/docs/a_aran_cens.pdf], knowledge of Aranese in the Occitan-speaking territory of Aran is as follows:
Comparing to previous data from 1996, the number of those able to understand Aranese has declined slightly (90.5% in 1996), while at the same time there has been a marginal increase in the number of those able to write it (24.97% in 1996). By age groups, the largest percentage of those with knowledge of Aranese is in the 15-19 and 65-69 groups (both above 96%), while those aged 30-34 score lowest (just over 80%). Literacy is higher in the 10-19 group with over 88% declaring themselves able to read, and 76% able to write Aranese. Those over 80 are the least literate, with only about 1.5% of them being able to write the language. According to their place of origin, it is significant to note that in the Val d'Aran those born outside Spain outnumber Spaniards born outside Aran and Catalonia in the active use of Aranese (17% of non-Spaniards can write Aranese, while the percentage for Spaniards excluding Catalans is 10%). Aranese]

Politics of Catalonia

:See also Politics of Catalonia The first Catalan constitutions are of the Corts of Barcelona from 1283. The last ones were promulgated by the court of 1702. The compilations of the constitutions and other rights of Catalonia followed the Roman tradition of the Codex. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Catalonia was one of the main centres of Spanish industrialisation. The struggle between the Barcelonese conservative bourgeoisie and the working class, often immigrants from the rest of Spain, dominated Catalan politics. Catalan nationalist and federalist movements arose in the nineteenth century, and when the Second Republic was declared in 1931, Catalonia became an autonomous region. Following the fall of the Second Republic after the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, the authoritarian dictatorship of General Francisco Franco annulled Catalonia's autonomy statute and prohibited any official promotion or recognition of the Catalan language (although its private everday use was never proscribed). During the last decade of Franco's rule, there was a resurgence of nationalist sentiment in Catalonia as in the other 'historic' region of the Basque provinces. Following Franco's death in 1975 and the restoration of full democracy by 1978, Catalonia regained its status as an autonomous region within Spain. The Catalan nationalist leader Jordi Pujol came to power in the first regional elections in 1980 and his two-party coalition, Convergence and Unity (Convergència i Unió or CiU), won successive elections for 23 years. Terra Lliure ("Free Land"), which was essentially a terrorist group, sought to achieve independence through violence against Spanish interests and the wider population, but it never achieved the infamy or reach of the Basque terrorist organisatoin ETA, and disbanded after negotiations with the national government. Following the 1996 national elections in Spain, and despite his long track-record as a Catalan nationalist (especially during the Franco era), Pujol surprised many by lending CiU's support to the minority government formed by the conservative - and essentially centralist - People's Party (Partido Popular or PP) led by José María Aznar. Some nationalist factions became increasingly dissatisfied with Pujol's rule, especially the ERC. At the same time, the Party of Catalan Socialists (Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya or PSC), a sister-party of Spain's main socialist party (Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol or PSOE) based in the industrial heartland of Barcelona, began to enjoy renewed electoral popularity. One of the 'fault-lines' in contemporary Catalan politics arises from the fact that Barcelona, with its strong metropolitan economy, continues to attract migrants from all over Spain and Latin America. As a result, Spanish remains the language spoken by the majority of Barcelona's inhabitants, particularly in working-class areas. By contrast, Catalan remains the predominant language in middle-class and upper-class urban areas, as well as among the region's rural population. The PSC has to some extent become the party of those who resent the dominance of middle-class Catalan nationalists over Barcelona. In any case, while Catalan has undoubtedly experienced a spectacular revival since the death of Franco, the dominant presence of Spanish-speakers will continue to make universal or exclusive use of Catalan unlikely. Recently there has been an influx of African and East European immigrants, but this has not yet influenced the political scene, even though the demographic impact of immigration can clearly be seen on the streets. At the regional elections held on November 16 2003, at which Pujol retired, the combined parties of the left defeated the CiU for the first time and Pasqual Maragall i Mira became President of the Generalitat. Maragall's Socialists, however, actually lost seats: the big winners were the Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya or ERC), which favours full Catalan independence, and the Greens. While PSC mantains the post of President of the Generalitat (Maragall), ERC nominates the conseller primer (prime minister) — currently, Bargalló. Maragall's government is a somewhat uneasy coalition between the PSC, the ERC, and the ICV.

Current political issues

Unlike the autonomous communities of Navarre and the Basque Country, Catalonia lacks its own fiscal system; thus the economic financing of the regional administration depends almost entirely on funds raised by national-government taxation and budgeted to Catalonia. This has become a mainstream issue, particularly as the the proposed reform of the Catalan Statute of Autonomy is currently the subject of intense political debate at regional and national level. From an economic perspective, the regional government aims to achieve a high degree of fiscal autonomy (based on the argument that the region pays in more to the national Spanish coffers than it receives). There is currently (Autumn 2005) a raging political controversy in Spain as a result of the Catalan parliament's proposed draft of a replacement Autonomy Statute (supported by some 90% of the parliament's elected deputies) which seeks to define Catalonia as a 'nation'[http://www.gencat.net/nouestatut/]. The polemic centres on the politically sensitive issue of whether such a definition (though already implicit in the constitutional reference to the historic "nationalites" of Spain) can be said to harbour separatist overtones contrary to Article 2 of Spain's 1978 Constitution, that states "the indissoluble unity of Spain."

Parties


- CiU — Convergència i Unió (Convergence and Unity) - federation
  - CDC — Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (Democratic Convergence of Catalonia)
  - UDC — Unió Democràtica de Catalunya (Democratic Union of Catalonia)
- ERC — Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia)
- ICV-EUiA — Iniciativa per Catalunya-Verds – Esquerra Unida i Alternativa (Green Initiative for Catalonia-Left United Alternative)
- PP — Partit Popular (People's Party)
- PSC-PSOE — Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya-Partido Socialista Obrero Español (Socialist Party of Catalonia-Spanish Socialist Workers' Party)

Summary of votes and seats

Votes and seats are compared with those won at the 1999 election. Voters: 5,307,837 Voting: 3,319,276 62.5% Invalid votes: 8,793 00.3% Valid votes: 3,310,483 99.7% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Party Votes % Seats ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Convergència i Unió 1,024,425 30.9 (-06.8) 46 (-10) Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya 544,324 16.4 (+07.7) 23 (+11) Iniciativa Verds-Esquerra Alternativa 241,163 07.3 (+04.8) 9 (+06) Partit Popular 393,499 11.9 (+02.4) 15 (+03) Partit Socialista de Catalunya 1,031,454 31.2 (-06.6) 42 (-10) Others 75,618 02.3 - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 3,310,483 135 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Geography

:See also :Category:Geography of Catalonia The Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia borders on Comunidad Valenciana to the south, Aragon to the west, France and Andorra to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east and southeast. Mountains:
- Catalan Pyrenees: Val d'Aran in the north face, Pica d'Estats 3141 m., Puigmal 2911 m., Cerdagne depression, Perthus pass (near the ancient Roman road).
- Catalan Litoral mountains: Montseny, Montserrat, Montsant.
- Iberic system: Maestrat. Montserrat Major rivers:
- Fluvià
- Ter
- Llobregat
- Foix
- Francolí
- Gaià
- Ebre and its tributaries: Noguera, Segre, Valira.

Environmental Policy

Awareness of environmental problems tends to be much lower in Catalonia (and in Spain as a whole) than in northern Europe. CO2 emissions in Catalonia have increased by 40% since 1992 and 60% of the region's electricity comes from aging nuclear power stations (a figure exceeded in Europe only by France and Lithuania). Despite Catalonia's change of government in 2004 from a conservative CiU/PP alliance to a "red/green" tripartite coalition of PSC, ERC, and ICV parties, there is little evidence of greater concern for the environment. The ICV was put in charge of the Ministry of the Environment but has largely continued the outgoing administration's environmentally-unfriendly policies. The Ministry's decision to build the controversial Bracons tunnel through an area of outstanding natural beauty, and a scheme to site an incinerator burning 90,000 metric tonnes of industrial waste [http://www.valldelges.net/en] in a heavily-populated valley are just two cases in point. Although Catalonia participates in many international environmental forums, the political will to pursue "green" polices is generally lacking. This may be explained by the greater acceptance of political corruption found in southern Europe, the fragility of public institutions, and a lack of genuine commitment to grass-roots democracy.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Catalonia

There are several UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Catalonia:
- Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
- "La Patum" of Berga (2005)
- Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco, Tarragona
- Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí
- Parc Güell, Barcelona
- Palau Güell, Barcelona
- Casa Milà, Barcelona
- Poblet Monastery, Poblet, Tarragona province
- Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona
- Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona

See also


- .cat
- Barcelona
- Catalan Countries
- Cuisine of Catalonia
- Education in Catalonia
- Famous Catalan People
- Flags of non-sovereign nations
- History of Catalonia
- Principality of Catalonia

External links


- [http://www10.gencat.net/gencat/AppJava/en/catalunya/laclau/english/index.jsp The key to Catalonia]: Site of the Generalitat de Catalunya
- [http://www.idescat.es/idescat_ang.htm Statistical information from Idescat (Catalan Institute of Statistics)]
- [http://www.lodgephoto.com/galleries/spain/ Photographs of Catalonia including Barcelona, Girona, Besalu] and surrounding countryside
- [http://flickr.com/groups/catalunya/ Catalunya images at flickr.com]
- [http://www.catalanencyclopaedia.com/ Catalan Hyperencyclopaedia]: Encyclopaedia with information about Catalonia in English
- News media in English
  - [http://www.barcelonareporter.com/ Barcelona Reporter]: news and views from the Catalan capital
  - [http://www.cataloniatoday.info/ Catalonia Today] - Catalan newspaper in English Category:Catalonia Category:Catalan Countries Category:Autonomous communities of Spain Category:NUTS 2 Statistical Regions of Europe Category:European countries zh-min-nan:Catalunya ko:카탈루냐 지방 ja:カタルーニャ州 simple:Catalonia

Lleida (province)

Lleida is a province of eastern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Zaragoza (Saragossa), and Huesca, and France and Andorra. Of the population of 385,092 (2004), about 30% live in the capital, Lleida. Some other towns in Lleida province are La Seu d'Urgell (site of the archbishop who is the coprince to Andorra), Mollerussa, Cervera, Tàrrega. There are 231 municipalities in Lleida. See List of municipalities in Lleida. In this province there is the Val d'Aran, a special comarca with more autonomy. The Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici national park is located in Lleida. The province enjoys a thriving fruit-growing industry, including pears and peaches. Lleida is the local Catalan name, and also the official Spanish name according to the Spanish Government. However the form Lérida is also acceptable in Spanish. It is a bilingual, predominantly Catalan-speaking province, with a characteristic dialect with lo, los as the masculine definite article. The local dialects are part of Western Catalan, and as such shares some features with Valencian (whose dialects are also part of Western Catalan). Image:Lleida-15-1 seu vella.jpg Image:Lleida-12-2 claustre.jpg Image:Lleida-13-2 seu vella capitel.jpg Category:Geography of Catalonia Category:Provinces of Spain

Girona (province)

Girona (Spanish: Gerona) is a province of eastern Spain, in the northern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Barcelona and Lleida, and by France and the Mediterranean Sea. 598,112 people (2002) live in the province. Its capital is Girona, where just over an eighth of the population of the province lives. Some towns in Girona province include Figueres, Puigcerdà, Olot, Banyoles, Blanes, Ripoll, Camprodon. See also List of municipalities in Girona. Part of the territory of Girona, the municipality of Llívia, is an exclave separate from the rest of Spain and surrounded by France. The comarques of the province of Girona are:
- l'Alt Empordà
- la Baixa Cerdanya
- el Baix Empordà
- la Garrotxa
- el Gironès
- el Pla de l'Estany
- el Ripollès
- la Selva Category:Geography of Catalonia Category:Provinces of Spain

Barcelona

Coat of arms of Barcelona Flag of Barcelona
Barcelona within Barcelonès
Barcelona within Barcelonès
Population (2003)1,582,738
Area100.4 km2
Population density (2001)15,764/km2
Barcelona is the capital city of Catalonia and the second most populous city in Spain. It is located in the comarca of Barcelonès, along the Mediterranean coast () between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs. It is 160 km (100 mi) south of the Pyrenees mountain range. The population of the city proper is 1,583,256 (est. 2003), while the population of the urban area is 4,042,000 (est. 2000). Population of the entire metropolitan area (urban area plus satellite towns) is 4,667,000 (est. 2003), although this only covers 3,235 km² (1250 mi²) around the city. There are approx 5.3 million people in 7600 km² (2900 mi²) surrounding the city. The mayor of Barcelona is Joan Clos.

History

Legend attributes the Carthaginian foundation of Barcino to Hamilcar Barca, father of Hannibal. About 15 BC, Romans redrew the town as a castrum (a Roman military camp) centred on the "Mons Taber", a little hill nearby the contemporary city hall (Plaça de Sant Jaume). The Roman Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino was outshone by the province's capital Tarragona but some important Roman remains are exposed under the Plaça del Rei, entrance by the city museum, Museu d'Història de la Ciutat and the typically Roman grid-planning is still visible today on the map of the historical centre, the Barri Gótic ("[Visi]Gothic Quarter"). Some remaining fragments of the Roman walls have been incorporated in the cathedral butted up against them [http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/spain/barcelona/walls/walls.html]; the basilica La Seu is credited to have been founded in 343. The city was conquered by the Visigoths in the early 5th century, by the Moors in the early 8th century, reconquered from the emir in 801 by Charlemagne's son Louis who made Barcelona the seat of Carolingian "Spanish Marches" (Marca Hispanica), a buffer zone ruled by the Count of Barcelona. Barcelona was still a Christian frontier territory when it was sacked by Al-Mansur in 985. 985 The counts of Barcelona became increasingly independent and expanded their territory to include all of Catalonia, later formed the Crown of Aragon who conquered many overseas possessions, ruling the western Mediterranean Sea with outlying territories as far as to Athens in the 13th century. The forging of a dynastic link between the Crown of Aragon and Castile marked the beginning of Barcelona's decline. The city is home to the University of Barcelona, founded in 1450. The city was devastated after the Catalonian Republic of 1640 - 1652, and again during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714. King Philip V of Spain demolished half of the merchants' quarter (La Ribera) to build a military citadel, as a way of both punishing and controlling the rebel city. Official use of Catalan language was forbidden, and the University withdrew. Barcelona and the province of Catalonia were annexed by the French Empire of Napoleon after he invaded Spain and put his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. It was returned to Spain after Napoleon's downfall. During the 19th century, Barcelona grew with the industrial revolution and the introduction of many new industries. During a period of weaker control by the Madrid authorities, the medieval walls were torn down and the citadel of La Ribera was converted into an urban park: the modern Parc de la Ciutadella, site of the 1888 "Universal Exposition" (World's Fair). The exposition also left behind the Arc de Triomf and the Museu de Zoologia (a building originally used during the fair as a cafe-restaurant). The fields that had surrounded the artificially constricted city became the Eixample ("extension"), a bustling modern city surrounding the old. World's Fair The beginning of the 20th century marked Barcelona's resurgence, while Catalan nationalists clamoured for political autonomy and greater freedom of cultural expression. Barcelona was a stronghold for the anarchist cause -anarchist opposition to the call-up of reservists led to the city's Tragic Week in 1909- siding with the Republic's democratically elected government during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). It was overrun by Francisco Franco's forces in 1939, which ushered in a reign of cultural and political repression that lasted decades. The protest movement of the 1970s and the demise of the dictatorship turned Barcelona into a centre of cultural vitality, enabling it to become the thriving city it is today. While it may still be the second city of Spain, it has a charm and air that is unique and prized. A decline in the inner city population and displacement towards the outskirts and beyond raises the threat of urban sprawl. The city has been the focus of the revival of the Catalan language. Despite massive immigration of Castilian speakers from other parts of Spain in the second half of the 20th century, there has been notable success in the increased use of Catalan in everyday life. Barcelona was the site of the 1992 Summer Olympics. The city's controversial 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures was held between May and September of the same year, lasting a marathon 141 days. See also: List of Counts of Barcelona

Events


- 1888 Universal Exposition (World's Fair)
- 1909 Tragic Week
- 1929 International Exposition (World's Fair)
- 1936 People's Olympiad, cancelled because of the Spanish Civil War
- 1952 Eucharistic Congress
- 1962 In late September, major flooding kills 800+ people in the surroundings
- 1992 Summer Olympics
- 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures

Demographics

2004 Universal Forum of Cultures The city of Barcelona being the second largest in Spain, has a fair amount of immigrants numbering 230,942. Many of them are from Spain's former posessions in Latin America, mostly Ecuador, Argentina, and Colombia. Vast amounts of Moroccan and Eastern Europeans particularily immigrants from Romania, and the Ukraine.

Geography

To its north, the city borders the Besòs river and the municipalities of Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Sant Adrià de Besòs; to the south it borders the Zona Franca, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Esplugues de Llobregat; to the east is the Mediterranean; and to the west are Montcada i Reixach and Sant Cugat del Vallès. Tibidabo, a prominent peak to the northwest, is visible from much of the city. Barcelona is divided into several districts. The following list favors Catalan-language names over Spanish-language names; as of 2004, they are the most commonly used and the only official ones:
- Ciutat Vella (old city): the Raval (also known as the Barri Xinès), the Barri Gòtic, and the Barri de la Ribera.
- The Eixample: Sant Antoni, Esquerra de l'Eixample ("the left side of the Eixample" with the sea at your back), Dreta de l'Eixample ("the right side of the Eixample"), Barri de la Sagrada Família
- Sants - Montjuïc: Can Tunis, Montjuïc, Hostafrancs, Sants, Poble Sec
- Les Corts
- Sarrià - Sant Gervasi: Pedralbes, Sarrià, Sant Gervasi, Vallvidrera
- Gràcia: Vallcarca, Barri de la Salut, Gràcia, El Camp d'en Grassot
- Horta-Guinardó: Horta, Barri del Carmel, La Teixonera, El Guinardó
- Nou Barris: Can Peguera, Porta, Canyelles, Ciutat Meridiana, Guineueta, Prosperitat, Vallbona, Verdum, Vilapicina, Roquetes, Trinitat Vella, Trinitat Nova, Torre Baró, Torre Llobeta and Turó de la Peira.
- Sant Andreu: Barri del Congrés, Sant Andreu de Palomar
- Sant Martí: Fort Pius, Sant Martí de Provençals, Poble Nou, La Verneda, el Clot

Tourist attractions

Barcelona offers a unique opportunity for the tourist on foot to walk from Roman remains to the medieval city, and then to the modern city with its open thoroughfares and grid-iron street pattern. The historic city center is fairly flat, while the modern city fans out towards the surrounding hills, bordered by steep streets that are vaguely reminiscent of those found in San Francisco. San Francisco A notable feature is Les Rambles, a boulevard that runs from the city center to the waterfront, thronged with crowds until late at night and lined by florists, bird sellers, street entertainers, cafeterias, and restaurants. Walking along Les Rambles one can see the world-famous opera house El Liceu, the food market of La Boqueria and the Plaça Reial (literally Royal square), with its arches and palm trees, amongst other interesting buildings. It is also worth keeping an eye out for pickpockets, for whom the boulevard is a favourite haunt. Les Rambles ends at the old harbour, where a statu