The French Catalan People in Revolution and War, 1789-95

“Border regions, and frontier life, continue to enthral historians. Simon Reeve has produced a rich and detailed narrative on how the Catalans got caught in the middle of the conflict between Revolutionary France and  Ancien Régime  Spain. This book is thoroughly researched and written with verve, rescuing this conflict from oblivion. Reeve deftly, and with great empathy, analyses the difficult choices Catalans had to make in the age of revolutions.”

— Ambrogio Caiani, University of Kent, UK

This book examines the effect of the French Revolution and the ensuing war with Spain on northern Catalonia, annexed by France in the seventeenth century and constrained by the imposition of a political border along the Pyrenees. Assimilation of the northern Catalan people into France had been slow; by 1789, the Catalan-speaking majority remained stubbornly linked to their ethnic counterparts south of the Pyrenees.  This work examines how confrontation between national and local allegiances played out as the French Revolutionary leadership propagated the concept of the nation state and challenged deeply-held traditional religious beliefs.  Using detailed analysis of contemporary local sources, it illustrates the impact of geographic and ethnic ties within a historically insular region on the wider conflict between France and Spain showing how local communities reacted, often in dramatically different ways, to being the frontline of an existential national war.  Catalans were forced into taking sides, some from conviction with others acting more pragmatically.  Many chose to cross the frontier to Spain to escape persecution and retribution, only to return later when events allowed.  Although weakened since annexation, the persistence of Catalan identity and loyalties remained a hugely significant factor in determining the course of the Revolution in this region.

Simon F. Reeve is an independent scholar with interests in modern European history and the impact of revolution and war in borderlands. He has close knowledge of French Catalonia and is well placed to demonstrate how events and attitudes at the time were conditioned by the complex landscape of the region.