*Glossed & Found: Catalonia - Bourbon Resistance, Habsburg Loyalty

Where The Past Gets Footnoted For The Future. Rerouted's explainer-in-chief for any background details you might have missed while you dozed off in Mr. McHugh's World History Class.

What Happened in Real En Route To History?

In the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), Catalonia was one of the fiercest and final holdouts for the Habsburg claimant Charles III (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI). While much of Castile backed the Bourbon Philip of Anjou (Philip V), the Crown of Aragon territories—particularly Catalonia—rallied behind Charles in defense of their historic liberties (fueros) and constitutional privileges.

The stakes weren’t just dynastic. They were existential. Catalonia feared the Bourbon program of centralization and absolutism would dismantle its parliamentary autonomy, economic freedoms, and legal institutions.

As is often the case, the inertia of autocracy, in this case: absolutism, is incredibly difficult to staunch while at its highest speed.

The Siege of Barcelona (1713–1714)