PrinceNaga said:
When Catalan wants to secede, does that mean taking the Balearic Islands with them? What about Alghero and Northern Catalonia?
I am really curious.
Let's say Catalan secedes somehow from an unhappy Spain, that's great Catalanian's okay. What happens if Valencian's want to secede from Catalan and/or re-join Spain? I looked it up, and they seem to want to stay within Spain.
Hold on to your seat buddy, this might take long
At this very moment the Catalan separatist/nationalist movement has as its first and foremost objective the freedom of Catalonia and its establishment as an independent state. The nationalist coalition (and most of the movement) does not have any plans of "taking" any other catalan-speaking region since we don't have the authority to force that on others.
Now, things get complicated. You mentioned a series of territories that are indeed Catalan speaking and share a great deal of history with us. These lands are known in some nationalist circles (in which I participate in) as
"Catalan Countries (Països Catalans)". These consist of Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, The Franja (a small strip of Aragon), Roussillon (known as Northern Catalonia, nowadays in France), Andorra, and finally the Italian town of Alghero (in Sardinia). Since this is complex I will make a small summary to explain why these territories are part of these so-called Catalan Countries and what's my stance on it all. Step by step.
Catalonia: Really no need for explanation. Heart and homeland of Catalans and Catalan culture, with all it entails.
Valencia: A very complicated topic. Valencia is the region below Catalonia, and we were together part of the Crown of Aragon. A big part of Valencia is Catalan speaking, this is due to the settlements of Catalan people after the Reconquest of Valencia from the Moors. As time passed this territory evolved its own characteristics and variety of the Catalan language (Valencià/Valencian) and the region thrived and produced many artists, scholars and knights like Joanot Martorell, who wrote one of the most famous medieval books (Tirant lo Blanc). The position of Valencia in the Catalan Countries is a VERY divisive topic, since not only the Catalans resettled Valencia, also Spanish speakers did, and they have a very big presence. During the transition to democracy the Battle of Valencia took place (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Valencia) an identity conflict between those who advocated for union with Catalonia/more autonomy for Valencia and a group of anticatalanist extreme right-wing called Blavers, who claimed Valencia had nothing to do with Catalonia and even went as far to claim Valencian was a different language from Catalan although it is recognised by all the philology community that it is a variety, they even invented a diccionary and their own rules. Sort of like how some hardcore nationalist Moldavians claim they don't speak Romanian (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaverism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Catalanism). Sadly the latter won the identity battle, which even took victims like Guillem Agulló, murdered by neo-nazis in the streets of Valencia. There is still division between those who have a Catalan/Valencian identity (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencian_nationalism) and those who fully identify as Spanish.
Balearic Islands: Such as Valencia, it was part of the Crown of Aragon and like it, it was settled by Catalan settlers. Unlike the Valencian territory the Balearic Islands were overwhelmingly populated with Catalan-speaking people. They have no problem whatsoever in saying they speak a variety of Catalan (a dialect which, by the way, sounds VERY sexy) and they have good reltionships with us. They take the ferry to Barcelona often for cheap alcohol and festivals, and it's common for Balearic uni students to study in Barcelona.
The Franja: It's a part of Aragon, a thin strip of land in which Catalan is spoken. To be honest I have no clue why. I also don't know how they feel about us. The Aragonese get REALLY triggered when the Franja is mentioned for some reason. I hope you find more info here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Franja)
Northern Catalonia (known as Roussillon): Roussillon was part of Catalonia until the treaty of the Treaty of the Pyrenees (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_the_Pyrenees) signed between Spain and France in November the 7th of 1659 at the end of the Franco-Spanish War. There is still a sizable Catalan speaking population with a strong feeling of nationalism. We cross each other's borders often and they speak a variety of Catalan heavily influenced by French.
Alghero (L'Alguer): Part of the population descends directly from Catalan conquerors of the Middle Ages. Sadly the use of Catalan has fallen A LOT, with only 24,1% using it as a mother tongue.
Andorra: Andorra is an independent nation, the only one with Catalan as its sole official language. We share history, culture, language and proximity. We smuggle there, ski, they come and visit often and our corrupt politicians leave their money in this tax haven. They are like brothers to us.
Now, since you asked about what I think... the Catalan Countries are for me a dream. A reunion of nations and kindred peoples that have different identities, but the same language, culture, shared history, values and ethnicity. I am fully aware that this is hardly possible to achieve since the Catalan Countries are part of several sovereign states, and getting independence for Catalonia alone is already very hard. However I will not cease to campaign for it, for it is what would make me the happiest person on Earth, and it's the cause my family and many other's fought and died for. But never with force, if they want to join us once we are free, let them do so willingly. We know imperialism and the plight of it, and we don't with that on anyone. In case one of them joined, and wanted out of the state, I personally would advocate to let them vote on a referendum, since we (unlike Spain) have learned how denial of the reality of a political situation can harm unity and society.
I hope I answered your question, and I apologize for the big amount of information, I tried to summarize things as much as I could, giving facts to check in case some overly sceptical user starts to question everything I say becuase no syringe can get under their skin.
Should anyone have another question (always given that its asked nicely) I will answer then as soon as time allows me to, sorry for the awfully long text wall!