NATIONAL DAY OF CATALONIA, WE WILL LIVE FREE OR DIE

Today, The Grandma and her friends have celebrated the National Day of Catalonia, a day that remembers the last day before Catalans lost their rights and freedom in front of the Bourbon troops in 1714.

More than three hundred years after and in spite of the efforts of different Castilian and Spanish governments and monarchies to eradicate Catalan culture and symbols, especially the language, Catalan people remember us every day that the most important treasure to keep our culture alive is the conscience of the people of being that they want to be. We were, we are, we will be. Only the people save the people.

Estimats catalans i estimades catalanes. Visca Catalunya!

The National Day of Catalonia, in Catalan Diada Nacional de Catalunya, is a day-long festival in Catalonia and one of its official national symbols, celebrated annually on 11 September.

It commemorates the fall of Barcelona during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714 and the subsequent loss of Catalan institutions and laws.

The Army of Catalonia that initially fought in support of the Habsburg dynasty's claim to the Spanish throne was finally defeated at the Siege of Barcelona by the armies of the Bourbon king Philip V of Spain on 11 September 1714 after 14 months of siege.

That meant the loss of the Catalan constitutions and the institutional system of the Principality of Catalonia under the aegis of the Nueva Planta decrees, and the imposition of absolutism.

The holiday was first celebrated on 11 September 1886. In 1888, coinciding with the inauguration of the Barcelona Universal Exposition, a statue in honour of Rafael Casanova was set up, which would become the point of reference of the events of the Diada.

The celebration gained popularity over the following years; the Diada of 1923 was a great mass event, with more than a thousand floral offerings, acts throughout Catalonia and a certain institutional participation. But the demonstrations caused 17 wounded, five policemen and 12 protesters, and several arrests. The dictatorship of Primo de Rivera banned the celebration. During the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939), the Generalitat de Catalunya, the autonomous government of Catalonia, institutionalized the celebration.

It was suppressed by the Francoist Dictatorship in 1939, and relegated to the family and private sphere, but continued to be celebrated clandestinely.

The monument of Rafael Casanova was removed. Since 1940 the National Front of Catalonia took advantage of the day to carry out some propaganda actions: distribution of anti-fascist leaflets and clandestine hanging of senyeres.

It was celebrated again publicly for the first time on 11 September 1976, one year after the death of Francisco Franco, and it was followed by a huge demonstration in Barcelona demanding the restitution of Catalan autonomy the next year, on 11 September 1977, in which the Casanova's statue was repositioned in its place, and the celebration was reinstated officially in 1980 by the Generalitat de Catalunya, upon its restoration after the Francoist State, becoming the first law approved by the also restored Parliament of Catalonia.

Nationalist organizations, political parties and institutions traditionally lay floral offerings at monuments of those who led the defence of the city such as Rafael Casanova and General Moragues, marking their stand against the king Philip V of Spain.

Typically, Catalan independentist organize demonstrations and meet at the Fossar de les Moreres in Barcelona, where they pay homage to the defenders of the city who died during the siege and were buried there.

Throughout the day, there are patriotic demonstrations and cultural events in many Catalan villages, and many citizens wave senyeres and estelades. The event has become more explicitly political and particularly focused on independence rallies in the 2010s.

More information: Gencat

Ens mantindrem fidels per sempre més al servei d'aquest poble.

We will remain faithful forever more to the service of this people.

Salvador Espriu

1714, SIEGE OF BARCELONA: LOSE BUT NO SURRENDER

The Siege of Barcelona, 1713-1714

Today is la Diada, the National Day of Catalonia. The Grandma wants to talk about the origin of this festivity and the importance of its meaning: lose but no surrender.

The Siege of Barcelona was a battle at the end of the War of Spanish Succession, which pitted Archduke Charles of Austria, backed by Great Britain and the Netherlands, i.e. the Grand Alliance, against Philip V of Spain, backed by France in a contest for the Spanish crown.

During the early part of the war, Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, had fallen to the forces of Archduke Charles: his fleet had anchored in the port on 22 August 1705, landing troops which surrounded the city. These troops later captured the fort of Montjuïc, and used it to bombard the city into submission on October 9. The Principality, as well as the other States of the Crown of Aragon, quickly accepted Charles III as their new king. Charles summoned the last Catalan Courts of history.

More information: MHCAT

As the freshly defeated Catalan Court supported the Archduke against Philip V, the Franco-Spanish forces were not strong enough to attempt a recapture of the city until 1713. When the Treaty of Utrecht was signed between April and July, Catalonia remained, alongside Majorca, the only realm of which still fought for the cause of Charles III. By 9 July, the General Estates of Catalonia decided to continue the war in order to defend the Catalan constitutions.

The Grandma in El Born, Barcelona

By 25 July of that year, the city of Barcelona was surrounded by Bourbon forces under the command of Restaino Cantelmo-Stuart, Duke of Popoli, but attacks upon it were unfruitful due to the scarcity of artillery. 

The Bourbons then waited for a 20,000 man reinforcement force, which arrived in April–May 1714. 

Under the command of Duke of Berwick, the assault was renewed despite the efforts of the Catalans to break the siege by sending troops behind enemy lines.

More information: The battles of the 1713-1714 siege

After entering the city on 30 August, the Bourbons finally triumphed on 11 September, when the assault which started at 4:30 in the morning was successful, as the wall fell in several places and the Conseller en cap and chief commander of the Coronela, the urban militia of Barcelona, Rafael Casanova, was wounded during the fight.  

The Grandma and Rafael Casanova

The day was marked by fighting in the streets, led by Antoni de Villarroel, the general commander of the Army of Catalonia, who was also wounded. Finally, the Catalan leaders decided to surrender and start the negotiations about capitulation. 

The talks were extended until the next day, because Philip V wanted to punish the population without any agreement, but Berwick, fearing a prolonged struggle, formally accepted to respect the lives of Barcelonians.

This defeat represents the end of the Principality of Catalonia as a political entity, as its independent institutions and legislation were suppressed and replaced by Castilian ones in order to establish absolutism. 

This event is now commemorated as the National Day of Catalonia, known in Catalan as the Diada Nacional de Catalunya.

More information: Tricentenari BCN

Finally, Britain and the Dutch Republic reached a peace agreement to end the war with France on 11 April 1713, Treaty of Utrecht; Austria reached a peace agreement to end the war with France on 7 March 1714, Treaty of Rastatt and The Holy Roman Empire reached a peace agreement to end the war with France on 7 September 1714, Treaty of Baden.

 It is not of the interest of England to preserve the Catalan liberties. 

Henry St. John Bolingbroke

1714: ENGLAND BETRAYS CATALONIA

The Catalans, thus abandoned and given up to their enemies, contrary to faith and honour, were not however, wanting to their own defence; but appealing to Heaven, and hanging up at the High Altar the Queen’s solemn declaration to protect them, underwent the utmost miseries of a siege; during which multitudes perished by famine and the sword, many were afterward executed, and many persons of figure were dispersed about the Spanish Dominions and dungeons.

Nicolas Tindal, History of England (1745)

The Coronela defending Barcelona, 1714

Rafael Casanova i Comes (Moià, 1660 – Sant Boi de Llobregat, 1743) was a Catalan jurist, and supporter of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor as a claimant to the Crown of Spain during the War of the Spanish succession. He became mayor of Barcelona and commander in chief of Catalonia during the Siege of Barcelona until he was wounded in combat while commanding La Coronela during the counterattack on the Saint Peter front on the last day of the siege, September 11, 1714. He recovered from his wounds, and after the war he continued his fight against absolutism as a lawyer. It has been claimed that he is the author of the book Record de l'Aliança fet el Sereníssim Jordi Augusto Rey de la Gran Bretanya (Remembrance of the Alliance to George I of Great Britain) in which Catalonia reminds England of the Treaty of Genoa and their obligation to Catalonia.

In November 1700, Charles II died, the last Habsburg Spanish monarch. The Duke of Anjou, a member of the Bourbon dynasty, was appointed as his successor, and who was enthroned by the name of Philip V of Spain. In 1702, the War of Spanish Succession started when the House of Austria, at odds with the will, invaded the Spanish territories in Italy. In 1703, maritime powers, England and Holland joined the House of Austria and declared war against the Two Crowns, Bourbon France and Spain. In Vienna the young archduke Charles of Austria was called for as an alternative candidate to rule Spain. In 1704, Charles moved to Portugal where he sought to recover from the Spanish throne for the Hapsburg dynasty.

More information: Rafael Casanova and his time (Museu de Sant Boi)

Can Barraquer, Casanova's Home in Sant Boi

On the other side of the peninsula allies launched an attempted landing in Barcelona with the complicity of a small number of Austrian locals. The plot was discovered and the allied landings failed. The exiled Austrian viceroy of Catalonia, Francisco Velasco was shocked and wanting to avoid any further Austrian conspiracies. Francisco began an indiscriminate repression in Barcelona, and repeatedly violated the constitution of Catalonia. This was a policy that unleashed hatred against, his sovereign, Philip V of Spain.

After years of the Viceroy's outrages, the Barcelona Board resolved to send Pau Ignasi Dalmases to the court of Madrid in order to protest to Philip V himself, about the violations of the Catalan laws that were committed by his viceroy; however, reaching the court the emissary he was arrested and jailed, which again violated the Catalan constitution. Catalonia signed the Pact of Genoa, a treaty established a military alliance between England and Catalonia. Catalonia pledged to fight for the cause of the claimant to the Spanish throne, Charles of Austria, with military aid from England, who in exchange pledged to defend the Constitution of Catalonia whatever the outcome of the war. Allied troops landed, turning back to Barcelona and then surrounding the city in October 1705. Viceroy Velasco, and the Bourbon garrison that was in Barcelona capitulated. The councillors of the Government of Catalonia and Barcelona received Charles of Austria hailing him as a liberator. Within days, Archduke Charles swore allegiance to the Constitution of Catalonia.

More information: 1714. War of Succession. MHCAT.

Church of Sant Boi. Rafael Casanova's tomb.

In April 1714, the House of Lords devoted several of their plenary sessions to what came to be known as the Case of the Catalans. The topic was that Treaty of Genoa signed in 1705 between the Catalan delegates and the plenipotentiary agent of Queen Anne of England. In that treaty, Catalonia agreed to engage into the war helping England, with a special emphasis on England ensuring the defence of the Catalan Constitutional system, whatever the outcome of the war. But in the Peace of Utrecht the Catalans were betrayed by the English ministers in the peace negotiations. Against all expectations, and faced with a vastly superior army, the Catalan institutions decided to stand against King Philip, and defend their constitutional system and freedoms at the highest price.

On February 26, 1714, Rafael Casanova became the highest military and political authority in Catalonia, when the Generalitat of Catalonia gave him all the military powers and also was named President of the ninth Board of war. It ruled the city until he was wounded in combat when commanding a counterattack of the Barcelona milícia at the San Peter front on the last day of siege, September 11, 1714. Having capitulated the city, the institutions of self-government of Catalonia were abolished.

More information: Patrimoni Gencat

[...] and the Honour of the British Nation, always renowned for the Love of Liberty, and for giving Protection to the Assertors of it, was most basely prostituted and a free and generous People, the faithful and useful Allies of this Kingdom, were betrayed, in the most unparalleled Manner, into irrevocable Slavery.

Journal of the House of Lords, vol. 19, 20 (1715)