EXPANSION
DO YOU RECOGNIZE THESE FLAGS?
They are quite similar, don't you think?
Let's go back.
In the year 1000, Catalonia was divided in two:
The north part, Christian and independent
Countys: OLD CATALONIA
The south part, occupied by the Muslims:
NEW CATALONIA
During two hundred years the Catalan Counts
conquered these lands. .
Ramon Berenguer I, Barcelona's Count, was
the first one conquering Muslims towns to the
South (Tàrrega 1056)
His descendants conquered some other territories
Agramunt (1078), Balaguer (1105), Tarragona (1117)
RAMON BERENGUER IV, Count of
Barcelona, was another very important
character in the Catalan History.
He is well known because of two historical facts:
He finish the conquest of all the New Catalonia:
Tortosa (1148), Lleida (1149) .
Ramon Berenguer IV set the current Catalan
border in the South: the Senia river.
Also, he agreed to marry Peronella d'Aragó,
daughter of the King of Aragó.
The marriage was celebrated in Lleida in 1150
Thanks to this marriage Catalonia and Aragó
become just one Kingdom, bigger and more
powerful
Each territory conserved its laws, language and
institutions.
The King JAUME I, el conqueridor, was another
important character in the Medieval Catalan History
He was also related to the city of Lleida.
He was crowned as King in the Castell del Rei.
He was just six years old.
IN 1229, he decided to conquer MALLORCA.
It was a Muslim kingdom, rich and it was a center
for trading with all the Mediterranean Sea
Going on with the fights against the arabs, in 1245,
Jaume I conquered the Kingdom of VALENCIA...
The Crown of Aragon, was one of the most big and
powerful kingdoms around the Mediterranean Sea
The following kings continued the expansion all
over the Mediterranean Sea.
Like this, in 1380, Pere III ruled over Mallorca,
Sardinia, Athens and Neopatria.
At that moment the Mediterranean Sea was a safe
place for the Christian navigators
Catalan traders travelled all along the
Mediterranean Sea, bying and selling all kind of
products: wine, silk, cotton, dried fruits, oil...
The dinasty of the House of Barcelona ruled the Catalan
Countys and the Crown of Aragon since Guifré el Pilós
But in 1410, the King Martí l'Humà died without
descendants.
Offering such a big kingdom, different candidates
wanted to succeed him as a king. The final
options were:
Ferran d'Antequera The Count Jaume II
from Castilla from Urgell
Representatives from Catalonia, Aragon and Valencia
voted for Ferran d'Antequera in the
Compromise of Caspe, in 1412.
It was the end of the dinasty of the House of
Barcelona and the beggining of the House of
Trastámara.
