«Suspension and suppression» versus «abolition and revocation» of the constitutions and other rights of Catalonia

Abstract

The end of the Spanish Succession War (1701-1713 and 1715-1717), with the consequent the Decree of «Nova Planta» of the Royal Audiencia of the Principate of Catalonia established by his Majesty with decree of the sixteenth of January of seventeen hundred sixteen, following the surrender of Barcelona on September 11th, 1714, meant the suspension of the Principate of Catalonia as a distinct political entity, ruled until then by the Constitutions of Catalonia and other kinds of law. Historiography has misunderstood this suppression with the revocation and abolition of the Constitutions of Catalonia. The present study of bibliographic and documentary review regarding this issue of the constituent period in Catalonia that started with the end of the War of Succession, shows that the «Nova Planta» Decree of the Royal Court of the Principate of Catalonia promulgated by the winner of the War of Succession, Felipe V de Borbó, implemented by force of arms, integrated different new regulations in Catalonia, specifically eliminating the rival Catalan institutional framework in the Bourbon cause, and overlooked and ignored the Constitutions of the Principate of Catalonia, but didn?t specifically abolish or revoke them, even if that was his desire. Finally, it is considered that these are, therefore, «current» historical rights, perhaps anachronistic, but because the system update stopped, and that, possibly historiography has lacked the courage to recognize this. So we conclude, that the Constitutions of Catalonia were suspended, severely modified by force, belittled and forgotten, but they have not been revoked or abolished.