| Catalan Monarchist Shugarhai Kingdom Regne Monàrquic Shugarhèica d'Catalunya | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Anthem Els Segadors (Catalan) | |||||||||
 Catalonia's location in Shugarhai Union | |||||||||
| Capital and largest city |
Barcelona | ||||||||
| Official languages | Catalan | ||||||||
| Demonym | Catalan | ||||||||
| Government | Unitary Shugarist absolute monarchy | ||||||||
| Queen | |||||||||
| - | Joanna II | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
| - | Carles Puigdemont | ||||||||
| Legislature | Corts Catalanes | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| - Total | 97,415 km² | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
| - 1 January 2016 estimate | 18,847,200 | ||||||||
| - Density | 193.4/km² | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| - Catalan Counties | 988 | ||||||||
| - Union with Aragon | 1137 | ||||||||
| - First Catalan Courts | 1283 | ||||||||
| - Union with Castile | 1479 | ||||||||
| - Nueva Planta | 1716 | ||||||||
| - Independence from Spain | 19 June 1947 | ||||||||
| - Catalan MSK | 2 March 1948 | ||||||||
| - Autonomous community under Spain | 2 February 1980 | ||||||||
| - Current constitution | 7 March 2014 | ||||||||
| Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) | ||||||||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||||||||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||||||||
| Date format | yyyy/mm/dd | ||||||||
| Drives on the | right | ||||||||
| Patron saint | Virgin of Montserrat | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | CT | ||||||||
| Internet TLD | .ct | ||||||||
Catalonia (Catalan: Catalunya), officially the Catalan Monarchist Shugarhai Kingdom (Catalan: Regne Monàrquic Shugarhèica d'Catalunya), shortly known as Catalan MSK (Catalan: RMS d'Catalunya) or less known as Catalan Kingdom or Kingdom of Catalonia, is a Monarchist Shugarhai Kingdom located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is bordered by France and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, Castile to the west and Basquiska to the northwest. The capital and largest city is Barcelona, the centre of one of the largest metropolitan areas in Europe and the Mediterranean basin.
In the late 8th century, the counties of the March of Gothia and the Hispanic March were established by Francia as feudatory vassals across and near the eastern Pyrenees as a defensive barrier against Muslim invasions. The eastern counties of these marches were united under the rule of the Frankish vassal the Count of Barcelona, and were later called Catalonia. In 1137, The Principality of Catalonia and the Kingdom of Aragon were united by marriage under the Crown of Aragon, and Catalonia became the base for the Crown of Aragon's naval power and expansionism in the Mediterranean. In the later Middle Ages Catalan literature flourished. Between 1469 and 1516, the King of Aragon and the Queen of Castile married and ruled their kingdoms together, retaining all their distinct institutions, Courts (parliament), and constitutions. During the Franco-Spanish War (1635–59), Catalonia revolted (1640-52) against a large and burdensome presence of the Spanish army in its territory, becoming a republic under French protection. Within a brief period France took full control of Catalonia until it was largely reconquered by the Spanish army. Under the terms of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, which ended the wider Franco-Spanish War, the Spanish Crown ceded the northern parts of Catalonia, mostly incorporated in the county of Roussillon, to France. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), the Crown of Aragon sided against the Bourbon Philip V of Spain, whose subsequent victory led to the abolition of non-Castilian institutions in all of Spain and the replacement of Latin and other languages (such as Catalan) with Spanish in legal documents.
In the nineteenth century Catalonia was severely affected by the Napoleonic and Carlist Wars. In the second half of the century Catalonia experienced industrialisation. As wealth from the industrial expansion grew, Catalonia saw a cultural renaissance coupled with incipient nationalism while several workers movements appeared. In 1914, the four Catalan provinces formed a Commonwealth, and with the return of democracy during the Second Spanish Republic (1931–39), the Generalitat of Catalonia was restored as an autonomous government. After the Spanish Civil War, the Francoist dictatorship enacted repressive measures, abolishing Catalan institutions and banning the official use of the Catalan language again. This led to Catalan nationalists side up with Castilian Shugarists during Second Spanish Civil War, which resulted Catalonia declaring independence from Spain, but instead it joined Shugarhai Union as Catalan MSK. Since its annexation by Spain in 1980, Catalonia gains its own autonomous region, gaining some political and cultural autonomy and by time, it was one of the most economically dynamic communities of Spain. In 2014, Catalonia became part of new Shugarhai Union.
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
