1714 - The Case of the Catalans Consider'd
Sunday, September 21, 2014 @ 11:39 AM
At the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Catalans actually pledged allegiance to the Bourbon pretender Philip of Anjou, future Felipe V.
They changed sides and began to support the Austrian Archduke Charles after the Pact of Genoa of 1705, which was signed with the English, who promised them military support and to guarantee the Catalan laws and constitutions.
Archduke Charles became Holy Roman Emperor and the English were not so keen on supporting him and also there was a change of government from Whigs to Tories. England pulled out of the war in 1713 after signing the Treaty of Utrecht, from which they got Gibraltar and Menorca.
The Catalans continued fighting but the attrocities committed by the Franco-Castilian troops of Felipe V against the Catalans during the Siege of Barcelona in 1714 preyed on the minds of many liberal Whigs. The case was brought up in Parliament and a number of books were published.
I particularly like the subtitle of 'The Case of the Catalans Consider'd' - 'You gain your Ends and Damn them when you're done'.
That's exactly what the English did to the Catalans!