Catalonia: From Economic Crisis to Independence

In the early 1460s, when present-day Catalonia was part of the Kingdom of Aragon and before the marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon united the two kingdoms and gave birth to modern Spain in 1469, the social and political environment resembled very closely that of today, according to North American historian Gabriel Jackson.

In his book “The Making of Medieval Spain”, Gabriel Jackson, disciple of both Jaume Vicens Vives and Pierre Vilar, and a great connoisseur of the Catalan reality, since he spent more than twenty years living in Barcelona, describes the situation in these terms:

"The economic and social problems were complicated by dynastic and regional conflicts. In the 1460s, when, as has been seen (above p. 141) the merchant oligarchs of Barcelona rebelled against John II, they appealed to the populace on grounds of Catalan patriotism, and during the ensuing decade of civil war all social classes were divided over the regional question. Thus some landlords and their remensa enemies sided with the Aragonese monarch while other landlords and poorer peasants opted for an independent Catalonia. Similarly, some merchants and artisans chose Catalan nationalism over their pragmatic interests; others favoured John II, on grounds of the national unity of Aragon-Catalonia and the intelligent economic policies of the king. "

It seems to me that History teaches us that Catalonia doesn't feel comfortable within the framework of a supranational structure that overrides local decision-making when its economic and social role deteriorates, and resorts to patriotism as a defense strategy, pretending that the claim for independence is the cause of the unrest when it is actually its consequence.

The more I learn about our past the more I understand our present.