ABSTRACT
On 1 October 2017, consciousness of Catalonia and the Catalan question exploded into global awareness. The holding of a referendum on the independence of Catalonia, deemed illegal by the Spanish authorities, saw over two million Catalans participate, some 43 per cent of eligible voters. Catalonia receives almost 20 million tourists a year with 12 million visiting the city of Barcelona. The little that is available in English on the general history of Catalonia too often falls victim to traditional narratives of kings and queens. New readers are often lost in the plethora of names and dynasties, not helped when one medieval ruler Ramon Berenguer called his son and heir, Berenguer Ramon. Catalonia has a rich history of popular rebellion, which has continued right into the very present. Catalonia has seen repeated patterns of internal conflict. From the early modern period, there has been pressure to be absorbed within a wider state entity that became simply known as Spain.
