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Few historians and fewer lay people know that the first feudal constitution to recognize equality between the burghers and nobles was established in 1150 in Catalunya, sixty-five years before the signing of the Magna Carta in England. In the fifteenth century the Corts of Barcelona (a legislative body) established the principle of a "limited" monarchy obliged to govern according to laws, while guarding a degree of royal power. These facts lie at the foundation of a culture of nonviolent resistance to assimilation that has been used to combat state power in France and Spain ever since.
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Catalunya, One Nation, Two States
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Catalunya, One Nation, Two States An Ethnographic Study of Nonviolent Resistance to Assimilation Alexander Alland, Jr. with Sonia Alland
CATALUNYA, ONE NATION, TWO STATES
© Alexander Alland, Jr. with Sonia Alland, 2006. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2006 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN-13: 978–1–4039–7439–6 (hardcover) ISBN-10: 1–4039–7439–X (hardcover) ISBN-13: 978–1–4039–7440–2 (paperback) ISBN-10: 1–4039–7440–3 (paperback) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Alland, Alexander, Jr. 1931– Catalunya, one nation, two states : an ethnographic study of nonviolent resistance to assimilation / Alexander Alland, Jr. with Sonia Alland. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–4039–7439–X (hc: alk. paper)––ISBN 1–4039–7440–3 (pb: alk. paper) 1. Nationalism—Spain—Catalonia. 2. Catalans—Ethnic identity. 3. Catalans—Cultural assimilation—Spain—Portbou—Case studies. 4. Catalans—Cultural assimilation—France—Cerbère—Case studies. I. Alland, Sonia. II. Title. DP302.C69A55 2006 320.540946⬘7—dc22
2006043266
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: December 2006 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America.
Contents Preface
vii
Introduction
1
Chapter One
The How and Why of This Book
Chapter Two
Framing the Study: The Origin and Meaning of Nationalism
7 37
Chapter Three The People of Cerbère Speak
65
Chapter Four
The People of Portbou Speak
93
Chapter Five
A New Direction
115
Chapter Six
The State of Catalan in Rosselló (Roussillon)
133
Chapter Seven Northern Catalans Speak Chapter Eight
Language and Identity on the Horns of a Dilemma
149 175
Appendix
191
Bibliography
197
Index
203
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Preface This is a book about Catalunya, a nation without a state encompassing a past that goes back at least to the tenth century. It is also about the nonviolent struggle of Catalans to maintain their culture and language in the face of two powerful nation-states, France and Spain. Our research began in a more or less traditional anthropological setting, which is to say, in two small populations of approximately 1,500 each. The size of these villages made