National and regional identity in Spain

Both the perceived nationhood of Spain, and the perceived distinctions between different parts of its territory derive from historical, geographical, linguistic, economic, political, ethnic and social factors.

Autonomous communities and provinces of Spain

Present-day Spain was formed in the wake of the expansion of the Christian states in northern Spain, a process known as the Reconquista. The Reconquista, ending with the Fall of Granada in 1492, was followed by a contested process of religious and linguistic unification and political centralisation, which began under the Catholic Monarchs and continued intermittently into the 20th century. Peripheral nationalism in its modern form arose chiefly in Catalonia and the Basque Country during the 19th century. The modern division of Spain into Autonomous Communities embodies an attempt to recognise nationalities and regional identities within Spain as a basis for devolution of power.

From the Reconquista onwards, in most parts of the peninsula, territories have identified themselves as distinct from the rest of Spain in one of three ways. In the north: Galicia, León, Cantabria, Asturias, the Basque Country and Navarre; and the east: Aragon, Catalonia, Balearic Islands and Valencia distinguish themselves through claims of historical independence and, often, the presence of a native minority language. Many of these areas also identify with Christian kingdoms from the early Reconquista, before dynastic unions linked the provinces. In the south, some Andalusians claim a unique national identity, often based on the idea of a distinct Andalusian dialect of Spanish or, sometimes, because of the deeper impact of the Al-Andalus historical period there. In central Spain, entities have identities historically connected to the Kingdom of Castile.

Demands for greater autonomy or full independence remain in certain regions, conflicting with the view that decentralisation has already gone far enough.^[1] The most dramatic recent manifestations of separatism have been the violent campaign by the Basque ETA group in the late 20th century, and the unilateral Catalan declaration of independence in 2017.

Aspects of unity and diversity within Spain

Geographical

Topography of Spain

Extent of arid conditions in Spain

... the Peninsula strongly asserts a fundamental unity comprising considerable variety
— Madariaga, p. 177–8

Mainland Spain has been characterised historically by relative inaccessibility from outside and by difficult communication between different parts of it. "[W]alls and battlements divide within itself the territory which walls and battlements separate from other countries".^[2] In contrast to the "vast monotony" of the central plateau, the surrounding peripheral areas "present to the traveler every possible landscape".^[3] Diversity in forms of agriculture and its productivity are conditioned by the contrasts in rainfall between "wet" and "dry" Spain, and to the extent that irrigation has been introduced.^[4] In the past the peripheral regions benefited from cheap coastal transport, whereas transport costs and distance hindered the development of the central regions.^[5]

Historical

Roman and Islamic conquests

Muslim conquests, 732

The Iberian Peninsula, as Hispania, became subject to Rome in the third to first centuries BC. The Romans divided the peninsula into different provinces and introduced the Latin language, Roman law, and later Christianity to the majority of the peninsula. They were succeeded by a number of Germanic tribes. The most significant of these was the Visigoths, who attempted to unify the disparate parts of Iberia, focusing on the Roman legacy, especially the Roman law.^[6]^[7]

711AD marks the beginning of the Arab period. The vast majority of Iberia came under Islamic control fairly quickly. Over the next couple hundred years, the rulers of Muslim Spain, especially the Caliphate of Cordoba, were consolidating power and patronizing the arts and sciences, as well as experiencing relative religious tolerance.

Reconquista: Rise of the Christian states

Iberian polities in 1224

In the mountainous, rural northern regions to the north, the Christian rulers were regaining their footing, despite numerous internal conflicts, and they slowly expanded their control throughout the Reconquista, between the Battle of Covadonga c. 720 CE and the Fall of Granada in 1492.^[8]

During this period several independent Christian kingdoms and mostly independent political entities (Asturias, León, Galicia, Castile, Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia) were formed by their own inhabitants' efforts under aristocratic leadership, coexisting with the Muslim Iberian states and having their own identities and borders. Portugal, formerly part of León, gained independence in 1128 after a split in the inheritance of the daughters of Alfonso VI and remained independent throughout the Reconquista.

All these different kingdoms were ruled together, or separately in personal union, but maintained their particular ethnic differences, regardless of similarities through common origins or borrowed customs. These kingdoms sometimes collaborated when they fought against Al-Andalus and sometimes allied themselves with the Muslims against rival Christian neighbors.

Unification

Former Kingdoms within Spain

The common non-Christian enemy has been usually considered the single crucial catalyst for the union of the different Christian realms. However, it was effective only for permanently reconquered territories. Much of the unification happened long after the departure of the last Muslim rulers.^[9] Just as Christians remained in Arab Spain after the Muslim conquest, so too did Muslims and Arab culture remain after Christian conquest.^[10]

Eventually, the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon eclipsed the others in power and size through conquest and dynastic inheritance. The process of amalgamation can be summed up thus: From the west, Galicia and Asturias merged into León, which itself was incorporated in the Crown of Castile; from the east, Catalonia and Valencia merged into the Crown of Aragon.^[11] The Crowns of Castile and Aragon finally united in 1469 with the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs. After this, the Muslim Emirate of Granada was conquered in 1492, and Navarre was invaded and forced into the union in 1512, through a combination of conquest and collaboration of the local elites. Castile and Aragon remained in many ways distinct territories: Philip II and his Castilian officials marked the occasion of crossing into Aragon with a ceremony of laying down their symbols of authority.^[12]

During the Bourbon monarchy of the 18th century, the central authorities in Spain made various efforts towards centralisation, notably the Nueva Planta decrees extinguishing most of the ‘’fueros’’ – long-standing privileges and institutions of different territories.^[13] Some kingdoms, like Navarre and the Lordships of the Basque Country, did maintain constitutions based on their historical rights and laws, while other kingdoms revolted against this process of centralisation demanding a return of their derogated laws as well as better living conditions (Revolt of the Comuneros, Revolt of the Brotherhoods, Catalan Revolt).

19th- and 20th-century movements

The "historic regions" of Spain, as listed in the 1833 decree

In the 1833 territorial division of Spain, the nation was divided into 49 provinces – most of which have remained unchanged since then – which were grouped into 15 "historic regions", many of whose boundaries bear a strong resemblance to those of the present-day Autonomous Communities. The "historic regions", however, were not granted any administrative powers.^[14]

Carlism, a royalist Catholic reaction to the 19th-century liberal state, was strongest among poorer peasants in Navarre, the Basque Country, and rural areas of Catalonia. Nationalistic movements with significant support appeared in some parts of Spain – especially in the Basque Country and Catalonia – later in the 19th century, coinciding with the loss of the last parts of the Spanish Empire, the abolition of privileges, and some regions having advanced more than others in industrial development. The dictator Primo de Rivera moved against regional liberties and privileges, but the Second Republic (1931–6) made a start on restoring and extending regional autonomy.

Following the Spanish Civil War, the Francoist regime imposed Spanish as the only official language. The use of other languages was restricted, and all forms of regional autonomy and special privileges (except in Navarre) were suppressed. The attempt to "eradicate the linguistic and cultural diversity of Spain" went further than any previous regime, but only "led to the revitalization and spread of regionalist sentiments".^[15]

Autonomous communities

Autonomous Communities of Spain

In the Spanish transition to democracy after the Franco period, there were many movements for more autonomy in certain regions of the country, advocating full independence in some cases, and an autonomous "community" in others. Following the provisions of the 1978 Constitution, Spain was divided into seventeen autonomous entities, each comprising one or more of the fifty provinces. Various powers have been devolved from the centre to these “Autonomous Communities”, which have their own parliaments and governing institutions. This process created a decentralised state structure but not a federal one.^[15] While recognising a "right to autonomy", the Constitution reaffirmed the "indissoluble unity of Spain". There has been a "real decentralisation of power", at the expense of an "enormous and confusing variety of autonomy statutes".^[16]

Eight of the Autonomous Communities (Andalucia, Aragon, Basque Country, Canary Islands, Catalonia, Galicia, and Valencia) are officially designated as "nationalities", while the rest are defined as regions, historical regions, communities and historical communities. The designation as a "nationality" was originally confined to the "historic nationalities" of Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Galicia, which were selected to receive a greater degree of autonomy sooner,^[16] but later amendments have increased the autonomy of most other regions as well.^[17]

This delineation of regions and nationalities within Spain has been seen as only imperfectly reflecting historical and ethnic distinctions.^[18]^[19] The Autonomous Communities were not built from scratch but were assembled from pre-existing provinces, some of which themselves contained splits in terms of linguistic and regional identity.^[20] By contrast, several smaller regions such as La Rioja opted to become separate Autonomous Communities despite having a weak or conflicted regional identity.

Linguistic

Languages and dialects in Spain

The 1978 Constitution specifies Spanish as the official language of the State and declares that "all Spaniards have the duty to know it and the right to use it". It goes on to state that other Spanish languages shall also be official within their respective Autonomous Communities as laid down in their Statutes of Autonomy.^[21] This provision has been criticised as a "territoriality principle", conflicting with the "personality principle" underlying the right to use Spanish anywhere in Spain.^[22]

Among the Spanish population as a whole, Spanish is spoken by 98.9%, and 23.3% speak Catalan/Valencian (17.5% speak Catalan and 5.8% speak Valencian), 6.2% speak Galician and 3,0% speak Basque.^[23] Valencian and Catalan are regarded by most linguists and the European Union as the same language. There are other minority languages such as Asturian and Leonese which are both dialects of the same language, spoken in Asturias and the region of León, alongside Aragonese and Aranese in the Pyrenees.

Economic

The economic history of Spain has been described in terms of a regional imbalance between a progressive periphery and a stagnant centre. "The prosperity of the periphery could not be easily transferred to the rest of Spain: there was still no true national economy".^[24] "By 1930, when a Roman would still have felt at home on an Andalusian estate, Catalonia contained some of the largest textile concerns in Europe".^[25] Madrid had long been a centre of small-scale manufacturing, but the development of Spanish industry began in Catalonia at the end of the 18th century in the form of cotton textiles, and later in the Basque Country centred on the iron ore deposits.^[26] Thus the regions of industrial development in part coincided with those where a distinctive language and culture were most prominent.^[27] Moreover, the economic development of Spain as a whole was late and sporadic, and its wealth and prestige had suffered repeated blows from the loss of the colonies: "if [Spain] had become a prosperous and progressive community, no-one would have turned to Catalan nationalism".^[28]

Regional disparity continued into the 1960s and the 1970s as industry continued to grow mainly in the regions where it was already concentrated, bringing about the internal migration of millions of Spaniards and contributing to a revival of nationalism in the receiving regions.^[29] Catalonia and the Basque Country, together with Madrid and Navarre, are still the wealthiest parts of Spain in terms of GDP per head,^[30] and this has fuelled conflict between the regions and the centre over regional autonomy in taxation and over policies for redistribution between richer and poorer regions.^[16]

Expressions of unity and diversity

Social attitudes

Percentage population of regions of Spain not identifying with Spain, results of a 2012 CIS survey.^[31] The scale runs from 0-23.5%

Eurobarometer surveys throughout Europe asked people to "rate their attachment to their region" and to their country, EU, and local area. From this data a "regionalism index" was constructed.^[32] By this index Spain is the country with the highest variation between regions in the degree of regionalism, interpreted as reflecting "internal tensions within the Spanish state, where the dominant Castilian-speaking group seems to have become increasingly loyal to the state in response to pressures from non-Castilian areas for devolution or secession". Madrid, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Cantabria and Murcia are among the lowest 10 regions in Europe on this index, while the Basque Country and Catalonia are among the top 10.^[33] There has been "a persistent tension between Spanish national identity, nationalism, and state-building on the one hand, and the corresponding forces in the ethno-regions on the other" as the result of the way in which the Spanish state became integrated.^[34]

Another survey, carried out in 2002 in Spain only, asked respondents about their comparative degree of identification with their own region compared to that with Spain. In the Basque Country and Catalonia, 15% or more "did not consider themselves Spanish at all". In all regions except Madrid, a majority identified at least as strongly with their region as with Spain, indicating "well-established" regional consciousness throughout the country.^[35] "[M]any Spaniards do not identify with being Spanish, but rather have a tendency to identify more with either their region or city."^[36]

Results from a 2012 survey by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas clearly identified three autonomous communities with significantly higher percentage populations who did not identify with Spain at all: Basque Country (23.5%), Catalonia (21.9%) and Navarre (16.9%).^[31]

Political parties and movements

There is continued pressure in some regions for increased autonomy or full independence. The two most popular parties in Spain have different views on the subject. The People's Party supports a more centralized Spain, with a unitary market, and usually does not support movements advocating greater regional autonomy. The newer Citizens party was formed in Catalonia in 2006 to oppose independence, and now operates throughout Spain.^[37] The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party supports a federal state with greater autonomy for the regions, but is opposed to total independence for any region. Nationalist and regionalist political parties operate in many parts of Spain, with widely varying policy platforms and degrees of support.

Spanish nationalism

Spanish nationalism has been tied to the conception of a Castilian region as a hub connecting the different parts of Spain; however in practice the language and culture of central Spain are essential to the concept of the Spanish Nation. Other usual components of the nation have been pan-Hispanism and the Catholic church. Historically, the development of Spanish nationalism has been tied to the state-building process of the Spanish monarchy, with its capital in Madrid.^[38]

Through the 16th and 17th centuries Spain hugely increased its wealth and power through colonial conquest. Nevertheless, although under a single monarchy, Spain remained "a confederation of loosely connected States" with "no real political unity". The Catholic Church in Spain, upholding and upheld by the State and with the Inquisition enforcing religious orthodoxy, was much more important as a unifying factor.^[39] The power of the Church began to wane during the 18th century as the Bourbon monarchy sought a more centralised State. The 19th-century liberal governments continued the centralising process, but encountered increasing resistance in the regions and failed to "invent tradition" as a new focus for national feeling: an annual celebration on May 2 recalling national resistance to the Napoleonic invasion did not excite much national fervour, and the religious identity of Spain still predominated over the secular one when Franco came to power.^[40] "In comparison with France, the centralizing spirit of Spain was very mild"^[41] and even Franco did not succeed permanently in making Spain "a culturally homogeneous nation".^[15]

Today, Spanish nationalists often reject other nationalist movements within Spain, specifically Catalan and Basque nationalism, but have not so far been able to "articulate a collective project that could integrate distinct peoples who feel themselves to be different".^[42]

Peripheral Nationalism

In Spain, "nationalism" may refer to unitary Spanish nationalism or to the assertion of nationhood for one of the territories within Spain. Many but by no means all supporters of the latter urge secession of their territory from the Spanish state. There are clearly defined nationalist parties that support separation from the Spanish state, like the Republican Left of Catalonia. Other nationalist parties, such as Convergence and Union, Basque Nationalist Party, and Galician Nationalist Bloc, have taken a range of positions between supporting greater decentralization of the Spanish state and calling for outright separation.

Regionalism

In many parts of Spain—Castile, León, Cantabria, Navarre, Balearic Islands, Valencia, Andalusia, Rioja, Extremadura, La Mancha, Murcia, Ceuta & Melilla—most people do not sense a conflict between Spanish nationality and their own claimed national or regional identity.

Regionalists "see the region as the real historical unit".^[43] They may call for greater autonomous powers and for the definition of the region as a nationality or nation within Spain, or may seek to promote the interests of the region without challenging its status within the system of Autonomous Communities. Some of these regionalist parties are associated with the People's Party in its region or acting as its substitute or branch, as in the Navarrese People's Union (UPN).

Culture and traditions

The cultural image of "flamenco, Sevillanas dancing, and bullfighting, which originated in Andalusia" is widespread outside Spain, but this image is "rather narrow and misleading" and "has really masked the true heterogeneous nature of the country."^[36]

Eastern and northeastern Spain

Diachronic map of the territories of the Crown of Aragon

The Autonomous Communities which made up the former Crown of Aragon (Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands) can be treated with slightly more unity when dealing with the past than when dealing with the present.^[44] By the time of the dynastic union between Ferdinand and Isabella, the Crown of Aragon encompassed many different territories, including ones in other parts of the Mediterranean Sea, though only four remain within Spain's borders now. At the time of the union, and long afterwards, those territories were known as the Kingdom of Aragon, the Principality of Catalonia, the Kingdom of Valencia, and the Kingdom of Majorca.

Despite all being under the same crown, each kingdom effectively had its own distinct government.^[45] The Crown of Aragon was characterised by limited monarchy and a federalist structure.^[46] The monarchy was limited by some of the earliest constitutions in Europe. Each polity was essentially treated as a separate country with separate laws and parliaments, though united by one king. Each kingdom retained its traditional laws (fueros). The parliaments claimed representative authority for the people of their region, initiated new legislation (though the king retained veto power), and needed to approve any expenditures by the crown. The monarchy, then, had to engage in negotiation and compromise. These kingdoms retained much of their independent identity after the dynastic union of Aragon and Castile, in the face of subsequent efforts towards unification and centralisation by Spanish leaders.^[47]

Catalonia

Geography

Catalonia, in the north-east of Spain bordering France and the Mediterranean, contains large areas of productive agriculture. Historically it has been a land of small proprietors with relatively secure tenure.^[48] Its position has oriented its trade towards the Mediterranean through the great port-city of Barcelona, rather than the transatlantic trade that grew during the Spanish Golden Age.^[49]

History

County of Barcelona inside Aragonese Crown

The Senyera - The Catalan flag

Catalonia's identity derives from before it was a part of the Crown of Aragon. Largely free of Muslim occupation, Catalonia long had closer ties to France and areas other than in Iberia. Briefly part of Charlemagne's empire, the Catalan counties broke away when Carolingian monarchs proved unable to successfully defend them.^[50] By the 11th century the County of Barcelona embraced most of present-day Catalonia plus some territories in France, and had grown to be an important Mediterranean power.^[51]

The County of Barcelona united by marriage with the Kingdom of Aragon in the mid-12th century, forming the Crown of Aragon, and the County became known as the Principality of Catalonia. With the ancient Parliament of Catalonia (the Corts Catalanes) and the Catalan constitutions, Catalonia developed one of the first constitutional monarchies in Europe. Catalonia is said to have "reached her maximum splendor" at this time,^[52] and possessed a strong literary tradition, especially represented by the Jocs Florals, a form of poetry contest. The crisis of the 14th century, the end of the reign of House of Barcelona and a civil war (1462–1472) weakened the role of the Principality within the Crown and international affairs.

Architecture of Barcelona, c. 1900

Former textile factory at Centelles

After the union of Castilian and Aragonese Crowns (1479), Catalonia continued as a distinct political entity under the Spanish crown, retaining its political liberties. Nevertheless, there were conflicts with the centre over trade and financial policy,^[53] and the Reapers' War of 1640–59 showed the "typical tendencies of Catalan separatism", when Catalonia sought the protection of France, then at war with Spain.^[54]

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Catalonia largely supported the claim of the Archduke Charles. The victorious Bourbons soon outlawed many Catalan political and cultural institutions through the Nueva Planta decrees, and Castilian was introduced as official language.^[55]

The Renaixença, a Catalan literary and cultural revival, was partly a response to industrialization and was important in the development of modern Catalan identity.^[56] A later stage was the development of a distinct form of modernism in the arts and architecture in the period around 1900. The political assertion of what came to be called Catalanisme was spearheaded by the federalist views of Pi y Margall and the republican and progressive views of Valentí Almirall, but it was Prat de la Riba who first formulated a Catalan nationalist programme and helped to found the conservatively oriented Lliga Regionalista, an important political force in the early 20th century. Theirs was a federalist programme providing for a large measure of separation, rather than total independence from Spain.^[57] A more right-wing and clericalist strand of Catalan nationalism, following on from Carlist principles, was inspired by Bishop Josep Torras i Bages.^[58] A degree of autonomy was obtained in 1913 with the formation of a Mancomunitat, wherein the four provinces of Catalonia were associated for certain functions.^[59]

Enric Prat de la Riba, 1870–1917

Under the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939) Catalonia obtained a Statute of Home Rule in 1932, with a regional administration given the old name of Generalitat,^[60] led by the left-wing nationalist party Esquerra Republicana instead of the conservative Lliga. Autonomous government was suppressed upon the victory of the Spanish Nationalists in 1939, to be restored under the 1978 Constitution as the Generalitat de Catalunya. Tension built up following the judicial suspension of parts of a revised Statute of Autonomy in 2010, in particular concerning autonomy in taxation policy and the use of the term "nation".^[61] There were massive demonstrations in 2010 and 2012, after which the Catalan government organised independence referendums in 2014 and 2017, the latter forming the basis for the Catalan declaration of independence of 2017.

Catalan language

The presence of a distinct Catalan language has been seen as the basis for "the claim of Catalonia to be considered as something more than a mere region".^[62] Catalan is spoken also in Valencia, the Balearics, and certain adjacent areas of France. The language was prevalent in Catalonia and beyond during the Middle Ages, but "died as a language of culture in the early 16th century",^[52] being revived in the 19th century with the Renaixença. The use of the language was restricted under Franco, but since then it has achieved the status of co-official language and has been actively promoted by Catalonia's government.

As of 2011, 95% of the population were able to understand Catalan, and 73% could speak it.^[63] In 2007, 32% named Catalan as the primary language that they actually did speak, against 50% for Spanish (Castilian); 7% spoke the two languages equally.^[64] The ethnolinguistic composition of the population has been heavily affected by extensive immigration from non-Catalan speaking parts of Spain, much of it associated with rapid growth in industry, since the late 19th century and more particularly between 1950 and 1975.^[65]

Economy

Catalonia, especially Barcelona, was the first part of Spain to industrialize. This early industrialization and the new economic problems associated with it led to even more of a break with the central government and culture.^[66] Catalan industrialists often lobbied for trade protection and opposed trade treaties with other countries.^[67]^[68]

On 2014 figures Catalonia is the fourth wealthiest of Spain's Autonomous Communities.^[69]

Politics

Demonstration on 10 July 2010 (Barcelona), against the ruling by the Constitutional Court of Spain rejecting the new Statute of Autonomy (2006)

Demonstration in favour of unity with Spain, Barcelona, 10 October 2017

Before the Civil War, followers of the Catalanist Lliga were largely of the middle class, while industrial workers (many of whom did not speak Catalan) were more likely to support either socialism, represented by different political parties and the UGT union, or anarcho-syndicalism (CNT and FAI).^[70] A left-wing nationalist party, the Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra or ERC) was formed in 1931 and soon grew to overshadow the Lliga.^[71]

Upon the restoration of autonomy in the late 1970s, the dominant party in the Catalan parliament was until 2003 the center-right nationalist Convergence and Union (CiU) led by Jordi Pujol. Socialist voters were divided between the pro-independence Esquerra and the non-nationalist Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), the sister party of the PSOE. After a period of rule by a left-wing coalition including both these parties and the eco-socialists, CiU under Artur Mas returned to power in 2010. In the 2015 elections a pro-independence alliance including CiU, Esquerra and other groups won the largest number of seats, although not an absolute majority. Independence was opposed by most of the PSC and by Catalan arms of the Spanish PP and Citizens parties. During the negotiations to form a new government after the 2015 elections, Mas was replaced as president by Carles Puigdemont. After the independence bid of October 2017, the Spanish state suspended the Generalitat pending fresh regional elections. When these were held on 21 December they again produced a majority for pro-independence parties, which won 48% of the vote, even though Citizens became the largest single party in Parliament.^[72]

Catalonia is among the top 10 regions in Europe on a "regionalism index".^[33] According to another survey carried out in 2002, 16% of residents in Catalonia "did not consider themselves Spanish at all" and another 24% identified more strongly with Catalonia than with Spain.^[35] The overwhelming majorities for independence in the 2014 and 2017 referendums are dubious as a reflection of overall opinion, owing to low turnout and, in 2017, to police action during the poll.^[73]^[74]^[75] Extensive opinion polling on the issue of independence has taken place in Catalonia. One series of such polls shows that support for independence increased markedly after 2011, and settled around 40% between 2015 and 2017.^[76]

Catalan Countries

The "Catalan Countries"

Graffiti in Vilassar de Mar, which reads "One nation, Països Catalans! One language, Catalan!"

Over the past few decades, a concept known as the Catalan Countries (Països Catalans) has developed as a strand of Catalan nationalism advocated by the Valencian writer Joan Fuster.^[77] This is the idea that Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands and a few other places in Spain and in other European countries are united by the fact that they share Catalan as a historic language, and are in this way distinct from the rest of Spain.^[78] In Valencia, however, reservations are frequently expressed about being included in this concept.^[79]

Valencia

Palau de la Generalitat Valenciana, seat of the Valencian government

Horta in the province of Valencia

Arab baths of l'Almirall, Valencia

The Valencian Community lies on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The coastal plain or horta is well-irrigated and agriculturally productive, while the inland mountainous areas are much poorer.^[80] The region consists of the provinces of Valencia (with the capital and largest city of Valencia), Castellón, and Alicante.

The present-day Valencian Community is identified with the historic Kingdom of Valencia, which became a Catalan-speaking part of the Crown of Aragon when it was conquered from the Arabs in the 13th century. The Crown of Aragon instituted a form of independent government in Valencia similar to what already existed in the Kingdom of Aragon and in Catalonia. The Kingdom of Valencia reached a height of population and economic power at that time.^[81] Valencia retained a high Muslim, Arabic-speaking population for long after the Aragonese conquest, giving Valencia a strong bi-religious, bi-lingual character. Valencia from this period is marked by a distinctive form of Morisco architecture and many gardens.^[82] Anti-Muslim feeling among the Christians contributed to the Revolt of the Germanías (1519–23) against the Spanish Crown. This revolt was particular to one region and did attempt to overturn the social order, but it did not call upon regional identity even though it later became part of the regional historical narrative.^[83] It was followed by forced conversions of the Muslims and their expulsion in 1609.^[84] This represented the loss of up to one third of the population of the Kingdom of Valencia and removed a large part of the agricultural labor force.

Quart Towers, city of Valencia

Valencia remained an independent state under the Crown of Castile, governed by its own parliament (the Corts Valencianes) according to its own charters (the Furs of Valencia), until 1707, when the Nueva Planta decrees abolished the Kingdom of Valencia and subordinated it to the Kingdom of Castile and its laws and customs. It was during the 19th century that concepts of a Valencian identity re-emerged, under the influence of the Catalan-language Renaixença.^[85] In the political sphere, the conservative Catholic es:Derecha Regional Valenciana ("Valencian Regional Right") party was founded in 1930. Its ideology was autonomist, and it was the first conservative political party active specifically in the Valencian region.^[86]

In 1977, after Franco's dictatorship, Valencia began to recover its autonomy with the creation of the Council of the Valencian Country (Consell del País Valencià),^[87] and in 1982 a Statute of Autonomy created several self-government institutions under the Generalitat Valenciana and established Valencian as a co-official language. The first democratically elected President, Joan Lerma, took office in 1982 as part of the transition to autonomy.^[88] The Statute, as reformed in 2006, recalls the foral civil law, while it also recognizes Valencia as a nationality.

Valencian (both a variety and an alternative name of the Catalan language) is spoken alongside Spanish in around two thirds of the territory of the Valencian Community and in most of the more densely populated coastal areas. It is not commonly used in some inland areas and in the far south, and its use has declined in the two main cities of Alicante and Valencia. According to a 2010 survey 48% of respondents said they speak Valencian "perfectly" or "quite well", and for 32% it was the language most commonly used at home.^[89]

Nationalist sentiment is not widespread and most of the population do not consider themselves more Valencian than Spanish.^[35] Valencian regionalism marked with anti-Catalan sentiment is also called Valencianism or blaverism. Its adherents consider Valencian to be distinct from Catalan and called for the Autonomous Community to be named "Kingdom of Valencia", as opposed to the term País Valencià which may imply an identification with the Països Catalans or Catalan Countries. Only a minor tendency within Valencianism proposed independence for Valencia from both Catalonia and Spain.^[90]

After the restoration of democracy Valencian nationalism or regionalism was at first represented politically by the Valencian People's Union and the more conservative, blaverist Valencian Union. These were superseded by the Valencian Nationalist Bloc (BNV, founded 1998). BNV has favoured cooperation and ties with the other Catalan speaking territories and greater autonomy – if not independence itself – from Spain, in form of the Països Catalans. It polled at 4–8% in regional elections until in 2011 it joined in an electoral alliance, the Compromís coalition, which gained 18% of the vote in the 2015 regional election and entered the regional government in coalition with the Socialist Party. The Compromís coalition focuses on fighting corruption, and has significantly reduced its nationalist discourse in order to gain wider appeal among Valencian voters and has been often accused of camouflaging its ideology.^[91] Electoral support for nationalism is greatest in an area split between two provinces: the southern end of the Valencia province and the northern end of Alicante province. Nationalist parties hold several town councils, mostly in the areas mentioned above.

Balearic Islands

Location of the Balearic Islands in relation to Spain

Consisting of four main inhabited islands – Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza (Eivissa in Catalan language) and Formentera – off the coast of Catalonia and Valencia, the Balearic Islands comprise one province and an Autonomous Community of Spain. The islands were under Muslim control until 1229–35, when they were conquered by King James I of Aragon and constituted as a Kingdom of Majorca, subordinate to Aragon. Menorca came under British control for most of the 18th century as a result of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

Over 70% of the inhabitants of the Balearic Islands speak dialects of Catalan,^[92] which is the co-official language in the region. It is more used in rural zones than in the capital or in places with a high density of tourists. Balearic Catalan has developed into various dialectal variants (for example "mallorquí"). Each island has its own dialect, and the four most populated islands each has its own Island Council known as Consell Insular as a tier of local government.

The islanders took an interest in the Catalan Renaixença and produced some Catalan literature, but this then largely rural, conservative society did not participate in the political movements of the time. Since the Franco period there has been a renewal of awareness of a Balearic identity centred on the language.^[93] Some in the Balearic Islands, including former regional president José Ramón Bauzà, argue that the Balearic dialects are actually separate languages and not dialects of Catalan. Bauzà took steps in 2012 to reduce the predominance of Catalan in the education system, provoking a large demonstration and a teachers' strike. "The issue of language is an ongoing problem that is driving a wedge between the cultural and political divisions of the community". On Mallorca there is a sense of a dual Catalan and Spanish identity, added to "a third sense of cultural identity, that of being Mallorcan".^[94] The large number of incomers from northern Europe largely accept the local identity, tending towards the broader Catalan-speaking identity, as that is easier to acquire than that of a particular island.^[95]

In the 2015 regional election an alliance of the nationalist parties Més per Mallorca and Més per Menorca ("More for ...") won 15% of the vote, entering into a coalition government with PSOE and Podemos. At the time Més per Mallorca appeared to be prioritising social and ecological concerns above questions of sovereignty.^[96] Another 8% went to Proposta per les Illes (El Pi), an autonomist party that aims to promote the Catalan language and the culture and traditions of the islands;^[97] this party remained in opposition after the election.

Aragon

Location of Aragon in Spain

The three provinces making up the present-day Autonomous Community of Aragon roughly coincide with the former Kingdom of Aragon, up to the early 18th century a discrete entity within the wider Crown of Aragon. The irrigated Ebro valley contrasts with mountainous areas of low rainfall, marked in the past by rural poverty, a stronghold of anarcho-syndicalism in the earlier 20th century and, in the Maestrazgo, of Carlism in the 19th century.^[98]

Aragon, like Catalonia, maintained much of its independence under the Crown of Castile,^[12] up to the point of a revolt in 1591–1592 over their regional rights and independence.^[99] The region retained significant Arab influence after the expulsion, particularly in the Ebro valley to the south, although leaving less trace architecturally than in Valencia.^[100]

Aragon has its own language, Aragonese, with about 25,000 speakers, mainly in the mountainous north^[101] while Castilian is spoken in the southern two-thirds and Catalan is spoken along the eastern strip. Because of the prevalence of Castilian and the presence of Catalan, the language does not play as large a role in Aragonese identity as in some other locations,^[102] but it does enjoy some official recognition.^[103]

Most of Aragon's population does not seek an independent state; but there is a strong regional identification^[35] and considerable support for increased autonomy.^[104] In addition to the Spanish-based political parties, there are a number of Aragon-based parties. Two parties with significant electoral support are the Chunta Aragonesista (CHA), a left-wing Aragonese nationalist party, and the Aragonese Party (PAR), more regionalist and conservative. In the regional election of 2015, PAR received 6.9% of votes and CHA, 4.6%. Supporters of independence are represented by Puyalón de Cuchas, Estado Aragonés and other parties.

Northern and northwestern Spain

The north coast at Castrillón, Asturias

The coastal strip on the Bay of Biscay, to the north of the Cordillera Cantábrica, has a climate distinct from that of most of Spain, with abundant rainfall and cool summers. For this it is called España Verde (Green Spain), and broadly includes the regions of Basque Country, Navarre, Cantabria, Asturias, and Galicia.

As has already been mentioned, the northern territories for the most part share a similar pattern of identity development. Each region has its own language or distinct dialect, most of which derive from different dialects from the early Reconquista. Most of these regions were largely independent of Muslim rule and continuously shifted between Christian kings during the Reconquista, sometimes being split between three or four kingdoms, but at other times being entirely united. Eventually, the Christian territory expanded far enough for Portugal to break from Galicia, which shortly afterwards united with León. After that, the Reconquista in all parts except for Valencia was carried out by Portugal, León, and Castile. From this point on, all of the northern territories west of Navarre were under the Castilian Crown, which attempted to centralize more and more. Despite that increasing centralization, which united some of the judicial and governmental structures with those of Castile over time and which promoted increased castilianization of the upper classes, the regions in northern Spain still retained and recreated their own regional identities.