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The War of the Spanish Succession affected the entire continent of Europe directly or indirectly. Within the Spanish monarchy, most of the states in the Crown of Aragon sided with Archduke Charles of Austria (Charles III), while Crown of Castile lent its support to Duke Philip of Anjou (Philip V). After the Treaty of Utrecht, Catalonia prolonged its resistance for 14 more months under a republican government. At the end of the war, the victors imposed repression, exile and the end to the Catalan constitutions.

For more information:
The Case of the Catalans

and

The War of the Spanish Succession in the Catalan-speaking Lands by Agustí Alcoberro (Catalan Historical Review 3, 2010 – Coming soon)

The Ministry of Culture and the Media of the Generalitat de Catalunya will restore the royal tombs of the Monastery of Santes Creus, on the occasion of the monument’s 850th anniversary, which will be celebrated next year. The royal tombs, which date back to the 14th century, belong to King Peter II the Great, King James II and his wife Blanca d’Anjou, and Admiral Roger de Llúria. As part of the project, architectural, archaeological and sculptural work will be carried out on the tombs.
Of the different tasks involved, the opening of the tomb of Peter II the Great for its restoration and study is particularly noteworthy, since the previous studies that have been carried out can confirm that it would be the only royal tomb from the medieval period that has not been desecrated.
Thus, after remaining intact for over 700 years, the restoration project is a unique opportunity to obtain unprecedented information on the king’s life and body (DNA, physical characteristics, diseases he suffered from during his life, cause of death, diet, etc.) as well as on the royal burial rituals of that era and the royal dress, weapons and objects that could be found.
Peter II the Great (Valencia, 1240 – Vilafranca del Penedes, 1285), son of James I and Violant of Hungary, was the monarch of Catalonia, Aragon and Valencia (from 1276 to 1285). He is considered to be responsible for the Mediterranean expansion of the Catalan-Aragonese Crown during the Middle Ages. He got married, at the displeasure of the papacy, with Constance of Sicily, daughter of King Manfred I. He conquered Sicily, fighting against the French and the papacy, relaxed the royal autocratic power and made the first step towards separating the Church from the political power in Europe.

Catalonia is a Mediterranean country located on the northeastern triangle of the Iberian Peninsula. The country displays a notable geographical diversity in a relatively reduced area of about 32.000 km² and about some 580 km of coastline. Nowadays, Catalonia has more than seven million inhabitants.

Historically, its location has made it a land of peace where different peoples and cultures have come together.

Already inhabited in prehistoric times – the first known fossil remains come from the Middle Paleolithic period -the Catalan territory was colonized by the Greeks who founded the Emporion factory (Empúries) in around 600 BC, which along that of Rode (Roses), would become the two westernmost Greek towns. The presence of Greeks, Phoenicians and Carthaginians along the Catalan coast exerted a decisive influence on the formation of the culture of Iberians, the name given by the Greeks and Romans to the native people living in the hinterland. During the Punic Wars, Emporion kept a strong alliance with Rome, and the Roman armies of Gnaeus Scipio (218 BC), Scipio (210 BC) and of Cato (197 BC) disembarked in its ports to begin the conquest and Romanization of the Iberian Peninsula.

We are interested in how you see our history, especially if you are not Catalan (but Catalans are welcome, too!). If you wish to do so, just comment on the post. Then, we will explain it and give our opinion on the next post. We are looking forward to hearing from you.  ;-)