Aragon

From IBWiki

Reino d'Aragón
Regne d'Aragó
Kingdom of Aragon

National motto: ...
Languages:
Official:	Aragonese and Catalan
Others:	Castilian, Euskera
Cities:
Capital:	Barcelona
Largest:	Barcelona
Other:	València, Múrcia, Zaragoza
Monarch:	Carle VI
Prime Minister:	Chusé Inazio Nabarro
Area:	...
Population:	... Aragonese
Established:	..., ...
Currency:	...
Organizations:	Aragonese League

1 Administration
- 1.1 Government
- 1.2 Administrative Divisions
2 History
3 Geography
- 3.1 Borders
4 Economy
5 Culture
- 5.1 Languages
- 5.2 Religion

Administration

Government

Administrative Divisions

Regional divisions of Aragon.

Aragon is a unitary state sub-divided six regions and several provinces:

The regions and provinces are:

Region	Capital	Province	Capital
Upper Aragon	Zaragoza	Teruel	Teruel
		Uesca	Uesca
		Zaragoza	Zaragoza
Country of Catalonia	Barcelona	Barcelona	Barcelona
		Girona	Girona
		Lleida	Lleida
		Tarragona	Tarragona
Country of Valencia	Valencia	Alacant	Alacant
		Castelló	Castelló de la Plana
		Valencia	Valencia
Region of Murzia	Murzia	Albacete	Albacete
		Almeria	Almeria
		Murzia	Murzia
Balear Islands	Palma	Mallorca	Palma de Mallorca
		Menorca	Mahon
		Ibiza	Ibiza
Africa Enclaves		Melilla	Melilla
		Oran	Oran

History

Among the first known cities in Iberia was Cartagena, a permanent trading depot established by the Carthaginians along the Murcian coast. Later, when Rome ruled much of Europe, the land area now known as Aragon was called Hispania Terraconensis.

Valencia was founded by the Romans in 137 BC on the site of a former Iberian town, near the river Turia. This river was rerouted in modern times following a terrible flood, and the dry bed was converted to a park.

The Visigoths took over following the demise of Rome, but were supplanted first by Moors, then Aragonese and Moors again. It was incorporated into the Kingdom of Valencia in 1238. Following the dissolution of the Roman Empire and the fall of the Visigoths to the invading Moors the southernmost counties of the Frankish empire were protected by the buffer state of ‘Marca Hispania’ the area in and around Barcelona.

This area termed Catalonia attributes its name to Ramon Berenguer III, the Count of Barcelona, who was often referred to as catalanius heroes, rector catanicus, and dux catalanensis. In the 12th century texts where these titles are given, reference is made to the catalanenses appearing beside gots or Goths, the people of Southern France.

Beginning in 1035 Aragon was the name of an independent kingdom ruling not only the present territories, but the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Murcia, Sicily, Naples and Sardinia, though a later schism took away Naples, Sicily and Sardinia.

Catalonia joined Aragon in 1137 when the counts became the Aragonese kings, but Catalonia and Aragon retained their traditional rights, as did Murcia until the western Iberian coast was solidified into the Kingdom of Aragon by the 13th century.

King Ferdinand V of Aragon, Sicily and Naples tried to solidify the Iberian Peninsula in 1469 through his bid to marry Isabella of Castilla-León, but the highly independent queen refused to marry and surrender her rule, and the two Kingdoms remained divided.

Isabella of Castile was not the first heir of the Castilian crown. Her newphew inherited Castile-Leon, and Ferdinand, and his grand-son Charles I (Emperor Charles V), and desendants had no real claim over Castile Leon --Chlewey

Ferdinand V was incensed and carried out protracted wars with Castilla-León for nearly 30 years before Ferdinand was deposed by supporters of his son, and the kingdom passed on. Catalonia became the center of Aragon’s industrialization, and remains so to this day.

The Mediterranean Aragonese Empire

From 1035 until 1479, Aragon was the name of an independent kingdom ruling not only the present kingdom of Aragon, but, from 1137, was also the name of a Crown spanning the Kingdom of Aragon and Catalonia, and later the Balearic Islands, the Valencia, Sicily, Naples and Sardinia.

While Zaragoza was the Capital, the real centre of this kingdom was Barcelona, since it was a seaport located near the geographical center of the Crown, and also one of the political centers of the Crown, with its Consell de Cent ruling the laws of Catalonia. Other important seaports were Valencia and Mallorca. Both Zaragoza and Valencia had more population than Barcelona until the 18th century (long after the Aragonese Empire had been absorbed into Spain), when the walls of Barcelona were taken down and the city outgrew all others in the territories of the former Crown.

Some present-day historians may call the Crown the "Catalan-Aragonese Confederation", since this reflects the composition of the state, but its most usual name was "Crown of Aragon". Barcelona was the center of what was in many ways a Mediterranean Empire, ruling the Mediterranean Sea and setting rules for the entire sea (for instance, in the Llibre del Consolat del Mar, a compilation of maritime law in Catalan).

The christian kingdoms that we now know as Spain spent the Middle Ages after 722 in an intermittent struggle called the Reconquista. This struggle pitted the northern Christian kingdoms against the Islamic kingdoms of the South and among themselves.

In the Late Middle Ages, the Aragonese expansion southwards met with the Castilian advance northward in the region of Murcia . Afterward, the Aragonese empire focused in the Mediterranean, acting as far as Greece and Barbary.

The union of the two territories of Catalonia and Aragon was caused by the marriage of Ramon_Berenguer_IV,_Count_of_Barcelona and Petronila of Aragon, later Queen of Aragon. This merged the County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon under the name of "Crown of Aragon". Their son, Alfonso II, inherited both titles. This union was made while respecting the existing institutions of both places. This situation was maintained until the abolition of the state, beginning 18th century.

The king James I (13th century) conquered new territories and incorporated Majorca and the region of Valencia to the state. Valencia was made a new kingdom with its own institutions, and so the third member of the confederation. Majorca, together with the counties of Cerdanya and Roussillon and the city of Montpellier, were given to his son James and were named Kingdom of Majorca, but these territories were reincorporated in year 1349.

The expansion through Mediterranean sea continued (Sicily, Minorca, Sardinia). In 1410 king Martin I dies without descendants. This caused that Ferdinand of Antequera, from the Castilian dynasty of Trastamara, was made king of the Crown of Aragon.

In year 1443, Naples was conquered. Later the king Ferdinand II of Aragon recovered the northern catalan counties and married Isabella, syster of the king of Castile in 1479.

Hapsbourg Aragon

Bourbon Aragon

The 19th Century and the decolonization: 1808-1899

In the beginning of the 19th century, the political unrest in Europe expanded to their American colonies. After a French republic attempted to solve some border disputes with Aragon by invading, the fierce aragonese resistance led to the peace of Barcelona in 1802. From the reminds of the Napoleonic wars, Aragon was a close ally to France.

Aragonese Royal Navy`s Ensign

Aragonese Merchant Navy`s Ensign

In 1809 the French and the Aragonese invaded Castile and Leon and Portugal, king Alfonso XIV of Castile and Leon fleed to New Granada and organized the courts there. King Pedro of Portugal was imprisoned by Napoleon who put his brother Joseph on the throne.

Aragon declared war against the Triple Alliance (Federated Kingdoms, Austria, Russia). This led the English to attempt to take Bons Oratges. While the English failed to set foot on Riu de L'Argent, they managed an effective blockade that practically cut off Bons Oratges from Barcelona.

While the partisans in Castilla fought fiercely the French and the Aragonese. Alfonso of Castile, formally joined the Triple Alliance and organized an attack against Riu de L'Argent from his American territories.

Riu de L'Argent was formally returned to Aragon in 1819, but by this time, Argentians have been cut from the metropolis for too long. They asked for an autonomous status which was granted in 1823. Riu de L'Argent elected its own Parliament, and Cabinet, while recognizing king Ferdinand of Aragon as their monarch.

From the Beginning the Argentians supported the rebellion in São Paulo. This led to a Portuguese invasion of Uruguay in 1819, short after Castile demilitarized Bons Oratges.

São Paulo finally defeated the royalists at Rio de Janeiro in 1822, freeing Uruguay. However the devolution was not automatic, as Aragon had not recognized the new Republic of Brazil. Riu de L'Argent was not allowed to recognize or send ambassadors to foreign powers, but by 1827, Paraná handed Uruguay back to Riu de L'Argent.

In 1876, Aragon granted full independence to Riu de L'Argent, but Argentians kept the Aragonese king as their monarch.