The Dynastic Union with Castille
In 1469, the marriage of King Ferdinand II of Aragon with Isabella of Castile, known as the Catholic queen, paved the way for the establishment of a Hispanic monarchy, though for centuries Catalonia kept its condition as a state, one of imperfect sovereignty but with its own institutions and full validity of its own constitutions and rights.
Demographically and economically weakened and with an absentee monarchy since the dynastic union with Castile, in the 16th and 17th centuries, Catalonia underwent a period of decline, in contrast to the so-called Spanish "Golden Age" that followed the conquest of America. The unifying aspirations of the Hispanic monarchy were the origin of a new conflict between Catalonia and the king, the secessionist uprising known as the Segadors war (1640-1659). The Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) which put an end to this war, sanctioned nevertheless the annexation of the counties of Rousillon and Sardinia to the French monarchy, while the Catalan political institutions came under the tight control of the Hispanic monarchy.
Demographically and economically weakened and with an absentee monarchy since the dynastic union with Castile, in the 16th and 17th centuries, Catalonia underwent a period of decline, in contrast to the so-called Spanish "Golden Age" that followed the conquest of America. The unifying aspirations of the Hispanic monarchy were the origin of a new conflict between Catalonia and the king, the secessionist uprising known as the Segadors war (1640-1659). The Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) which put an end to this war, sanctioned nevertheless the annexation of the counties of Rousillon and Sardinia to the French monarchy, while the Catalan political institutions came under the tight control of the Hispanic monarchy.