Northern Catalonia is a term that is sometimes used, particularly in
CatalanCatalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
writings, to refer to the territory ceded to
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
through the signing of the
Treaty of the PyreneesThe Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed to end the 1635 to 1659 war between France and Spain, a war that was initially a part of the wider Thirty Years' War. It was signed on Pheasant Island, a river island on the border between the two countries...
in 1659. The area corresponds approximately to the modern
FrenchThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
départementThe departments of France are French administrative divisions. The 101 departments form one of the three levels of local government, together with the 22 metropolitan and 5 overseas regions above them and more than 36 000 communes beneath them...
of the
Pyrénées-OrientalesPyrénées-Orientales is a department of southern France adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. It also surrounds the tiny Spanish enclave of Llívia, and thus has two distinct borders with Spain.- History :...
.
The equivalent term in
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
,
Catalogne Nord, is used nowadays, although less often than the more politically neutral
RoussillonRoussillon is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
(in reference to the pre-
RevolutionaryThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
provinceThe Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The provinces of France were roughly equivalent to the historic counties of England...
). Sometimes
French Catalonia can also be used.
Geography
Northern Catalonia forms a triangle between the
PyreneesThe Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
to the south, the
CorbièresThe Corbières is a mountain range in the Pre-Pyrenees.-Geography:The Corbières are a mountain region in the Languedoc-Roussillon in southwestern France, located in the departements of Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales....
to the north-west and the
Mediterranean SeaThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
to the east. The Roussillon plain in the east, by far the most populated area, is formed by the flood plains of the
TechThe Tech is a river in southern France, very close to the French-Spanish border. It runs through a valley in the Pyrénées-Orientales, in the former Roussillon, and is 84 km long. Its source is the Parcigoule Valley and it feeds the Mediterranean Sea...
,
TêtThe Têt is the largest river in Roussillon, southeastern France. It is 116 km long. The Têt has its source at the foot of the Pic Carlit in the Pyrenees...
and Agly rivers . The districts of
VallespirVallespir is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca is Ceret, and it borders Conflent, Rosselló, Alt Empordà, Garrotxa and Ripollès...
and
ConflentConflent is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. In the Middle Ages it comprised the County of Conflent....
cover the upper valleys of the Tech and the Têt respectively. The
massif of the
CanigouThe Canigou is a mountain located in the Catalan Pyrenees of southern France.Due to its sharp flanks and its dramatic location close to the coast, until the 18th century the Canigou was believed to be the highest mountain in the Pyrenees.-Trekking and sightseeing:Spectacular jeep tracks on the...
, 2785 m, dominates much of the territory.
The climate is of the
Mediterranean typeA Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
, with hot, dry summers and winters which are relatively mild, at least on the Roussillon plain where snow is rare.
The city of
Perpignan-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...
accounts for over a quarter of the population, over one-third of its urban area is taken into account, and is the only major administrative and service centre. Major road and rail links run north–south through Northern Catalonia between France and Spain, while a railway line also links Perpignan to
Latour-de-CarolLatour-de-Carol is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.-Transport:The village's main claim to fame is as the site of the international railway station, Gare de Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg...
(Catalan:
La Tor de Querol) via
Prades-Places:* Prades, Ardèche, in the Ardèche département, France* Prades, Ariège, in the Ariège département, France* Prades, Haute-Loire, in the Haute-Loire département, France...
(Catalan:
Prada de Conflent or Prada).
Cerdagne
Haute-Cerdagne is geographically distinct from the rest of Northern Catalonia, lying to the south of the Pyrenean
watershedA drainage divide, water divide, divide or watershed is the line separating neighbouring drainage basins...
in the upper valley of the
SegreSegre may be* Beniamino Segre , Italian geometer* Corrado Segre , Italian geometer distantly related to Beniamino* Emilio Segrè , Italian American physicist* Segre River, a river in Catalonia...
. It is a mountainous and sparsely-populated district, even taking into account the town of
LlíviaLlívia is a town of Cerdanya, province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is a Spanish exclave within the French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
(
pop.A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
1252
(2005)) which forms an enclave resting under Spanish sovereignty.
The district lies on the most direct route between
ToulouseToulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
and
BarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
(via
FoixFoix is a commune, the capital of the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is the least populous administrative centre of a department in all of France, although it is only very slightly smaller than Privas...
and
RipollRipoll is the capital of the comarca of Ripollès, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on confluence of the Ter River and its tributary Freser, next to the Pyrenees near the French border...
), and a railway line still links the two cities via
Latour-de-CarolLatour-de-Carol is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.-Transport:The village's main claim to fame is as the site of the international railway station, Gare de Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg...
.
Eighth to twelfth centuries
Northern Catalonia formed part of the Spanish Marches, established by
CharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
as a buffer territory against
the Moorish forces. As such, it was divided into feudal counties, Rosselló,
VallespirVallespir is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca is Ceret, and it borders Conflent, Rosselló, Alt Empordà, Garrotxa and Ripollès...
,
ConflentConflent is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. In the Middle Ages it comprised the County of Conflent....
north of the Pyrenees and
CerdanyaCerdanya is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it has been one of the counties of Catalonia....
to the south. By the end of the
ninth century, these counties had gained
de facto independence from the
CarolingianThe Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
kings and operated
as princely states (whose rulers nevertheless retained the title of count).
As the seigneury of the counties became hereditary, the total number of Catalan counts fell steadily. One individual often
had the charge of several counties, but these were not always transmitted on the basis of
primogeniturePrimogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
. Hence Count
Miró II the Young, third son of Wilfred I the Hairy, inherited the counties of Cerdanya and Conflent from his father in 897, and the counties of
BesalúThe County of Besalú was one of the landlocked medieval Catalan counties near the Mediterranean coastline. It was roughly coterminous with the modern comarca of Garrotxa and at various times extended as far north as Corbières, Aude, now in France. Its capital was the village of Besalú...
and Vallespir from his elder brother Sunyer I when the latter became Count of Barcelona in 911.
The Counts of Rosselló, in alliance with their cousins the Counts of Empuriés,
tried to resist this dilution of their power. However the Counts of Barcelona steadily gained suzerainty over the
other Catalan counts, a process which was virtually complete by the twelfth century. The last Count of Rosselló, Girard II, left his title to the
Crown of AragonThe Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
on his death in 1172 to prevent the territory passing to his illegitimate half-brothers.
Under the Crown of Aragon
Royal administration in Catalonia under the
Crown of AragonThe Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
was organised on the basis of
vegueriesThe vegueria was the feudal administrative territorial jurisdiction of the Principality of Catalonia during the Middle Ages and into the Modern Era until the Nueva Planta decrees of 1716...
,
under the charge of a
veguer appointed by the King of Aragon as Count of Barcelona. In Northern Catalonia, the
vegueries
followed closely the boundaries of the old counties. The district of
CapcirCapcir is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca was Formiguera, and it borders the historical comarques of Conflent and Alta Cerdanya...
was a
sotsvegueria, based around
the castle of Puigbalador (French:
Puyvalador) but subordinate to the
vegueria of Conflent.
The
Treaty of CorbeilThe Treaty of Corbeil was an agreement signed on 11 May 1258, in Corbeil between Louis IX of France and James I of Aragon....
of 1258 confirmed the frontier between France and Aragon as the Cerbères,
leaving the
OccitanOccitania , also sometimes lo País d'Òc, "the Oc Country"), is the region in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, and where it is sometimes still used, for the most part as a second language...
district of
FenolhedaFenouillèdes , is a French comarca and a traditional Occitan-speaking area in the département of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca is Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet .Fenolheda has been part of France since the Treaty of Corbeil of 1258...
to France.
On the death of King
James I the ConquerorJames I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...
in 1276, Northern Catalonia was combined with the Balearic Isles to form a new
Kingdom of MajorcaThe Kingdom of Majorca was founded by James I of Aragon, also known as James The Conqueror. After the death of his first-born son Alfonso, a will was written in 1262 which created the kingdom in order to cede it to his son James...
, which passed to
James IIJames II was King of Majorca and Lord of Montpellier from 1276 until his death. He was the second son of James I of Aragon and his wife Violant, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary...
while the rest of the
territory of the Crown of Aragon passed to his brother
Peter IIIPeter the Great was the King of Aragon of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona from 1276 to his death. He conquered Sicily and became its king in 1282. He was one of the greatest of medieval Aragonese monarchs.-Youth and succession:Peter was the eldest son of James I of Aragon and his second wife...
. This division satisfied
neither branch of the family, and the Kingdom of Majorca was retaken militarily by the Crown of Aragon in 1344.
After the Treaty of the Pyrenees
The
Treaty of the PyreneesThe Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed to end the 1635 to 1659 war between France and Spain, a war that was initially a part of the wider Thirty Years' War. It was signed on Pheasant Island, a river island on the border between the two countries...
of 1659 ceded Northern Catalonia to France, where it became the province of
RoussillonRoussillon is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
. The French provinces were abolished at the
RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
(Law of 1789-12-22), and Roussillon was joined with the district of Fenouillèdes
(Occitan:
Fenolheda) to form the
département of the
Pyrénées-OrientalesPyrénées-Orientales is a department of southern France adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. It also surrounds the tiny Spanish enclave of Llívia, and thus has two distinct borders with Spain.- History :...
, with
Perpignan-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...
(
Perpinyà) as its administrative centre.
Present day
The
département of the Pyrénées-Orientales is divided into the
arrondissements of
CéretCéret is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It is the capital of Vallespir historical Catalan comarca.-Geography:...
(Catalan:
CeretCéret is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It is the capital of Vallespir historical Catalan comarca.-Geography:...
),
Perpignan-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...
(
Perpinyà) and
Prades-Places:* Prades, Ardèche, in the Ardèche département, France* Prades, Ariège, in the Ariège département, France* Prades, Haute-Loire, in the Haute-Loire département, France...
(
Prada de Conflent), which are further divided into cantons and communes. Perpignan and sixteen surrounding communes are also associated in the
Communauté d'agglomérationAn agglomeration community is a metropolitan government structure in France, created by the Chevènement Law of 1999. It is one of three forms of intercommunality, less integrated than an urban community but more integrated than a community of communes...
Têt Méditerranée, created in 2001. Enclaved in the southwest of the
département there is the Spanish (
CataloniaCatalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
) exclave of
LlíviaLlívia is a town of Cerdanya, province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is a Spanish exclave within the French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
.
| Arondissement |
Cantons |
Communes |
PopulationA population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
(1999) |
AreaArea is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
|
Population
densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
(1999) |
| Céret The arrondissement of Céret is an arrondissement of France, located in the Pyrénées-Orientales département , in the Languedoc-Roussillon région...
(Ceret) |
5 |
40 |
66,624 |
954 km² |
69.8 /km² |
| Perpignan The arrondissement of Perpignan is an arrondissement of France, located in the Pyrénées-Orientales département , in the Languedoc-Roussillon région...
(Perpinyà) |
20 |
86 |
287,272 |
1317 km² |
218 /km² |
| Prades The arrondissement of Prades is an arrondissement of France, located in the Pyrénées-Orientales département , in the Languedoc-Roussillon région...
(Prada) |
6 |
100 |
38,907 |
1845 km² |
21.1 /km² |
| TOTAL |
31 |
226 |
392,803 |
4116 km² |
95.4 /km² |
| All figures include the district of Fenouillèdes. |
As is common, the present-day
arrondissements do not correspond to pre-
RevolutionaryThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
boundaries. The
arrondissement of PradesThe arrondissement of Prades is an arrondissement of France, located in the Pyrénées-Orientales département , in the Languedoc-Roussillon région...
(
Prada) covers the whole of Haute-Cerdagne (
Alta Cerdanya) and
ConflentConflent is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. In the Middle Ages it comprised the County of Conflent....
(including
CapcirCapcir is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca was Formiguera, and it borders the historical comarques of Conflent and Alta Cerdanya...
), as well as about a third of
FenolhedaFenouillèdes , is a French comarca and a traditional Occitan-speaking area in the département of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca is Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet .Fenolheda has been part of France since the Treaty of Corbeil of 1258...
(not part of the province of Roussillon).
The
arrondissement of CéretThe arrondissement of Céret is an arrondissement of France, located in the Pyrénées-Orientales département , in the Languedoc-Roussillon région...
covers the whole of
VallespirVallespir is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca is Ceret, and it borders Conflent, Rosselló, Alt Empordà, Garrotxa and Ripollès...
but also the
Côte VermeilleThe Côte Vermeille is a region in the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales, near the border with Spain. The Côte Vermeille stretches from Argelès-sur-Mer to the border village of Cerbère, quaint and relatively quiet seaside hideaway in the valley of Cervera...
(
Costa Vermella), which was historically under the control of the counts and
veguers of Rosselló at Perpinyà (Perpignan).
Catalan writers sometimes speak of the
"comarquesThis is a list of the comarques of Catalonia . A comarca is roughly equivalent to a US "county" or a UK "district". However, in the context of Catalonia, the term "county" can be a bit misleading, because in medieval Catalonia, the most important rulers were counts, notably the Counts of Barcelona...
of Northern Catalonia".
Unlike the autonomous community of Catalonia, these
comarques have no administrative significance, although
they usually correspond to a certain historical and geographical unity. A commonly used division is that of Joan Becat in his
1977 work
Atles de Catalunya Nord, which follows closely the boundaries of the former
vegueries except insofar as
it promotes the former
sotsvegueria of Capcir (177 km²,
pop.A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
1532
(1990)) to a full
comarca.
Languages
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
is the
official languageAn official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
in these municipalities.
CatalanCatalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
, in its
Northern CatalanNorthern Catalan is a Catalan dialect mostly spoken in Northern Catalonia, but also extending in the northeast part of Southern Catalonia in a transition zone with Central Catalan....
variety, is estimated to be spoken by a quarter of the population, but understood by a higher percentage.
In 1700, the government of Louis XIV prohibited the use of the Catalan language in official documents. In the 1950s, after centuries of being forbidden in education, Catalan language could be taken 1 hour per week in secondary school. In the 1970s, the Arrels Association and
la BressolaLa Bressola is a cultural association founded in Perpignan, France in 1976 to promote a network of community-run schools engaged in Catalan language immersion programs in France, particularly in the comarques of so-called North Catalonia. The first center was opened in Sant Galdric in September...
network of private schools started to offer complete bilingual French/Catalan classes from nursery up to secondary education.
On December 10, 2007, the
General Council of the Pyrénées-OrientalesThe General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales is the assembly elected for 6 years by the 31 Cantons of the Pyrénées-Orientales and its executive...
proclaimed Catalan as one of the languages of the department, alongside French and
Occitan language (in Fenouillèdes), with the goal to further promote it in public life and education.
See also
- Albera Massif
The Albera Massif is a mountain range in the north of Catalonia, between France and Spain. It is the main easternmost prolongation of the Pyrenees. Its highest peak is the Puig Neulós, with an altitude of 1,256 metres....
- Language policy in France
France has one official language, the French language. The French government does not regulate the choice of language in publications by individuals but the use of French is required by law in commercial and workplace communications...
- Roussillon
Roussillon is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
(historical county)
- Sport in Catalonia
Sport has an important incidence in Catalan life since the beginning of the 20th Century. The main sports in Catalonia are football, basketball, handball, rink hockey, tennis and motorsport....
- Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country situated within the western part of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques constitutes the north-eastern part of the Basque Country....
External links
Media
Associations
Essays
Miscellaneous sites