Rafael Casanova - The Peace of Utrecht and The Case of The Catalans

The Peace of Utrecht and The Case of The Catalans

In April 1714, the House of Lords devoted several of their plenary sessions to what came to be known as the Case of the Catalans. The topic was that Treaty of Genoa signed in 1705 between the Catalan delegates and the plenipotentiary agent of Queen Anne of England. In that treaty, Catalonia agreed to engage into the war helping England, with a special emphasis on England ensuring the defense of the Catalan Constitutional system, whatever the outcome of the war. But in the Peace of Utrecht the Catalans were betrayed by the English ministers in the peace negotiations. Against all expectations, and faced with a vastly superior army, the Catalan institutions decided to stand against King Philip, and defend their constitutional system and freedoms at the highest price.

It is not for the interest of England to preserve the Catalan Liberties. —Henry St. John Bolingbroke, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; (Utrecht, 1713)