The history of the County of Barcelona

Spain has not always been a unique country, but is a union of a large number of kingdoms and counties with centuries of history. Many of these regions have their origin in the Middle Ages, a time full of religious battles that caused the creation of new regions quite frequently. One of these areas is the so-called county of Barcelona and that is why in this lesson we are going to talk about the history of the county of Barcelona to see its evolution.

The origin of the county of Barcelona can be found in the 8th century, a few years marked by the great Muslim expansion throughout the Iberian Peninsula. The Muslims had taken much of the Peninsula, conquering the Visigoth dominions during years, and the next logical step was its expansion to the north, where the dominions francs. But in this area was the Carolingian empire, the great rulers of Europe and main defenders of Christianity, and their leader Charlemagnehe could not allow the Muslims to increase his influence. Charlemagne conquered areas of the north of the peninsula and through the creation of counties formed the so-called Hispanic Brand, to defend himself against Muslim attacks.

One of many counties created by the Carolingians was the one in Barcelona, created after the conquest of the Barcelona city by the King of Aquitaine, Ludovico Pío. The county was dependent on the Carolingian Empire, but it also had to have an administrative leader his own, so Bera, a Franco-Visigothic family of Charlemagne, was named as the first Earl of Barcelona.

Bera's rule was not long lasting, as his peaceful relationship with Muslims was frowned upon by the Visigoths, who challenged Bera to a duel for his position, this being a tradition of the Visigoth peoples of the zone. Bera lost and was exiled from the area, being succeeded by certain Frankish counts.

The new county of Barcelona

Little by little the county was depending less and less on the Carolingians, the key point being the coming to power of Wilfred I the Hairy. Wilfred ushered in greater county autonomy, making the post of earl hereditary, thus that the Franks ceased to be able to choose who was the count, and uniting to the county numerous regions, such as Osona.

The new county of Barcelona, ​​larger than the previous one, he became estranged from the Franks during the 10th century. The end point of the relationship came in 985, when the city of Barcelona was attacked by the Muslim leader Almanzor, but the troops of the Barcelona count Borrell did not receive frank aid. Shortly after the Carolingian dynasty disappeared, being replaced by the Capeta, but the count of Barcelona did not swear allegiance to the new king, so the county of Barcelona became independent.

During the following years, the county did not stop increasing its influence, uniting counties, facing the Muslims, and obtaining allies like Urgel and Pallars. The attempts to conquer him were greater and greater, until he became a large political entity within the panorama of the Iberian Peninsula.

The origin of the annexation of the county of Barcelona to the Kingdom of Aragon we can find it in the reign of Ramón Berenguer IV. Berenguer was the count of Barcelona, ​​Gerona and Osona from 1131, and is responsible for the union of the dynasties of the counts of Barcelona and the kings of Aragon.

Berenguer married Princess Petronila of Aragon, becoming regent of the Kingdom of Aragon. Aragon was in serious political and economic problems and Berenguer IV was considered the best person to fix them. Berenguer IV became prince and regent of Aragon, but he was never king, because although Petronila could not be queen, she could transmit the powers to her successor. So Ramiro II, Petronila's father, was the supposed king although he did not exercise as such because he had retired to the life in the monasteries, Petronila was queen but she could not rule because she was a woman, and Berenguer IV was the prince and regent of the kingdom.

The couple had several children, but the one who inherited both the Kingdom of Aragon and the county of Barcelona was Alfonso II of Aragon, being the first king who ruled the two regions. The two positions became hereditary, so that all subsequent kings of the Crown of Aragon they had both titles. Both regions maintained great autonomy, they are their own customs and currency.

A century later, the county of Barcelona ceased to belong entirely to the French, since although for centuries it had autonomy, they had never legally broken with the Franks. All this became official with the signature of Jaume I in the Treaty of Corbeil, where the king of Aragon, Mallorca, Valencia, and count of Barcelona, ​​renounced his rights over some northern areas and the French king gave up some Frankish counties such as Barcelona.

To conclude this lesson on the summarized history of the county of Barcelona, ​​we must talk about the end of the county, understanding the different facts that caused the disappearance of this entity historical.

In 1410 the Aragonese king Martin I died without issue, so there was no longer any descendant of the House of Aragon. For all these, the Caspe Compromise was convened, where the Trastamara, a dynasty of Castilian origin, as successors to the rights of the Crown of Aragon.

Many years later the Catholic kingsthey were married, each being a monarch of one of the two areas, Castile and Aragon. The grandson of both, Carlos I of Spain, inherited the dominions of both, in addition to some of his own Habsburg inheritance from him. Thus the House of Austria came to power, which obtained, among other things, the rights to the county of Barcelona.

With the creation of the Hispanic monarchy, the role of the county was diminishing, but they maintained their own right until the Decrees of Nueva Planta. These decrees created by the Bourbons caused the county to cease to be an entity of its own, becoming one more part of the Spanish monarchy.