Catalan declaration of independence
The Catalan declaration of independence (; ) was a resolution that was passed by the Parliament of Catalonia on 27 October 2017, which declared the independence of Catalonia from Spain and the founding of an independent Catalan Republic. The Act was immediately suspended by the Parliament. The declaration did not receive recognition from the international community. The declaration and proceeding vote were declared illegal as it was done on a simple majority and not the two-thirds requirement of the Catalan constitution.
National and regional identity in Spain
Under the Second Spanish Republic Catalonia obtained a Statute of Home Rule in 1932, with a regional administration given the old name of "Generalitat". Autonomous government was suppressed upon the victory of the Spanish Nationalists in 1939, to be restored under the 1978 Constitution as the "Generalitat de Catalunya". Tension built up following the judicial suspension of parts of a revised Statute of Autonomy in 2010, in particular concerning autonomy in taxation policy and the use of the term "nation". There were massive demonstrations in 2010 and 2012, after which the Catalan government organised independence referendums in 2014 and 2017, the latter forming the basis for the Catalan declaration of independence of 2017.
The presence of a distinct Catalan language has been seen as the basis for "the claim of Catalonia to be considered as something more than a mere region". Catalan is spoken also in Valencia, the Balearics, and certain adjacent areas of France. The language was prevalent in Catalonia and beyond during the Middle Ages, but "died as a language of culture in the early 16th century", being revived in the 19th century with the "Renaixença". The use of the language was restricted under Franco, but since then it has achieved the status of co-official language and has been actively promoted by Catalonia's government.