Catalan Way
Catalonia saw several local referenda for independence take place in hundreds of villages between 13 September 2009 and April 2011, with an overwhelming number of "yes" votes being cast.
The 2012 Catalan independence demonstration, organized by the Catalan National Assembly, argued that Catalonia should become an independent state within the European Union, under the slogan "Catalonia, new state in Europe". The number of participants was estimated at about 1.5 million according to Barcelona's Municipal Police and Catalonia's Department of the Interior, about 2 million according to the organizers, and about 600,000 according to the delegation of the Spanish government in Catalonia.
2017 Catalan general strike
Catalonia held a contentious referendum on its independence from Spain on Sunday, 1 October 2017, against orders from the Spanish central government. The national police enforcement attempted to prevent Catalans from voting in some locations with violent crackdowns, resulting in about 900 people injured and separatist calls for a general strike. By the time of the strike, the Catalan government was awaiting final results before taking action on what they earlier announced as 90 percent support from about 2.3 million voters. But the legitimacy of even official results was likely to be disputed for reasons of turnout, voter rolls, and independent confirmation. Sky News described the events as Spain's largest political crisis since its 1930s civil war.