Editing History of Catalonia (section)

=== Napoleonic Wars ===
[[File:Cesar Alvarez Dumont - El Gran dia de Girona.jpg|thumb|[[Third Siege of Girona]] (1809), [[Peninsular War]]]]
In 1808, during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Catalonia was occupied by the troops of General [[Guillaume Philibert Duhesme]]. The official Spanish army had evaporated, but popular resistance against the French occupation occurred in Catalonia as in other parts of Spain, and eventually developed into the [[Peninsular War]]. <!-- once [[:ca:Guerra del Francès]] is in decent shape, we should translate and link --> A local army defeated the French in a series of [[Battles of El Bruch|battles at El Bruc]], near Barcelona.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gates |first1=David |title=The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. |date=2001 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=0-306-81083-2 |page=59}}</ref> Meanwhile, [[Girona]] was besieged by the French and defended by its inhabitants under the direction of general and military governor [[Mariano Álvarez de Castro]].<ref>Griffin, Julia Ortiz; Griffin, William D. (2007). Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide From The Renaissance To The Present. p. 204. Under the military governor Mariano Álvarez de Castro the resistance was carried on by regular troops, including a large contingent of Spain's Irish Brigade, and civilian volunteers, among whom women grouped in the Company of St. Barbara...</ref> The French finally took the city on 10 December 1809, after many deaths on both sides from hunger, epidemics, and cold; Álvarez de Castro died in prison one month later.

The rejection to French dominion was institutionalized with the creation of "juntas" (councils) across Spain who, remaining loyal to the Bourbons, exercised the sovereignty and representation of the territory due to the disappearance of the old institutions, and sending delegates to the [[Cortes of Cádiz]]. In Catalonia, the juntas of Catalan corregimientos established in Lleida the Superior Junta of the Government of the Principality of Catalonia which it declared itself as depositary of the faculties of the Royal Audience of Catalonia, as well as the legislative power. At the same time, Napoleon took direct control of Catalonia to establish order, creating the Government of Catalonia under the rule of [[Marshall Augereau]], and making Catalan briefly an official language again.<ref>Moreno Cullell, Vicente: ''[http://blogs.sapiens.cat/socialsenxarxa/2010/12/08/la-guerra-del-frances-la-catalunya-napoleonica/ La Guerra del Francès: la Catalunya napoleònica]''</ref> Between 1812 and 1813, Catalonia was directly annexed to France itself, and organized an ordinary civil administration in the form of four (later two) [[French departments of Spain|départements]]: [[Bouches-de-l'Èbre]] (prefecture: Lleida), [[Department of Montserrat|Montserrat]] (Barcelona), [[Department of Segre|Sègre]] ([[Puigcerdà]]), and [[Department of Ter|Ter]] (Girona).<ref>''[http://www.histoire-empire.org/departements/france_modifications.htm Les modifications intérieures de la France]''</ref> French dominion in parts of Catalonia lasted until 1814, when the British General [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wellington]] signed the [[armistice]] by which the French left [[Barcelona]] and the other strongholds that they had managed to keep until the last.<ref name="Semler2004">{{cite book|author=George Semler|title=Visible Cities Barcelona: A City Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-I7sjHLNXVoC&q=%22department%20of%20Montserrat%22|date=1 February 2004|publisher=Somerset, Limited|isbn=978-963-206-323-2|page=19}}</ref>