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Jsut some information for cultural purposes: 
Where does the word ""Catalán"" comes from: It is French. It means the ""inhabitant of the Castles"" or ""Chastlains"" or ""castlans"" (exactly the same than ""Castilian"").
When the word ""Catalán"" appears for the first time. In 1115, mentioned by an italian cronist.
When Catalonia became really independent?. By the Treaty of Corbeil, in 1248 when the French Monarchie gave up his rights on the Marca Hispanica castles.
Where was the idealised hero of Barcelona Wifredo el Vellosos born  in France, in Carcassone.
Was Roger of Lauria, the ""great catalonian hero"" catalán. Not at all, he was born in Lauria (Italy) and served the King of Aragón.
Were there Kings in Cataluña. No, never existed.
Were there a Principado of Cataluña?. No, never. It is a Prince of Gerona, but never was Cataluña a Principado.
Stop trying to be what you are not. You may be proud of some other things, but neither you have ever been a Kingdom, not a Principado, nor you have had a clasic literature in catalán.
Catalán is a dialect steaming from latin, exactly the same than castillian, provenzal, italian or valenciano. The difffrence is that, while Valenciano had a dictionary  (Liber Elegantiarum), clasic romans (Tirant lo Blanch), traslations of the Bible to Valenciano (Bonifacio Ferrer), etc.. (ALL THEM MENTIONING BLACK ON WHITE THAT THEY WROTE IN VALENCIANO LANGUAGE), the Catalans had nothing, and this is way the catalans desperately need to try to absorb the Valenciano, becuase in catalan there is nothing to show.
However, culture is culture, and mixtifications are only for ignorants.
Jose Sanchez"