Catalan independence movement

The Catalan independence movement (Catalan: independentisme català; Spanish: independentismo catalán; Occitan: independentisme catalan) is a social and political movement with roots in Catalan nationalism that seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain and the establishment of a new Catalan Republic. While proposals, organizations and individuals advocating for Catalan independence or the restitution of statehood for the Principality of Catalonia existed through the 18th and 19th centuries, the beginnings of the independence movement in Catalonia can be traced back to regionalism and Catalan nationalism from the mid–19th century, influenced by romantic ideas widespread in Europe at the time. The first relevant organised Catalan independence party was Estat Català ("Catalan State"), founded in 1922 by Francesc Macià. In 1931, Estat Català and other parties formed Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya ("Republican Left of Catalonia", ERC). Macià proclaimed a Catalan Republic within an Iberian Federation in 1931, subsequently accepting autonomy within the Spanish Republic after negotiations with the leaders of the provisional Spanish Republican government. During the Spanish Civil War, General Francisco Franco abolished Catalan autonomy in 1938. Following Franco's death in 1975, Catalan political parties concentrated on the recovery and further increase of autonomy rather than independence, which was restricted to extraparliamentary Marxist organizations and internal factions of mainstream parties. The contemporary independence movement began around 2009 after a series of events, including the 2008 financial crisis and the Partido Popular (People's Party) challenging the 2006 Statute of Autonomy in the Constitutional Court of Spain; Catalan municipalities held symbolic referendums on independence between 2009 and 2011. The 2010 ruling of the court that parts of the statute were unconstitutional sparked huge protests, and a snap election in 2012 led to the first pro-independence majority ever in the Catalan parliament. The new government held a "non-binding" self-determination referendum in 2014, which yielded a large...