Lessons from history: Medieval Exiles and Catalan Independence

I wonder if when he arrived in Brussels last week, fleeing Spanish officials, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont thought to himself ‘well that escalated’. Back on October 1^st Puigdemont’s Government held a referendum on whether Catalonia should secede from Spain. Unfortunately, the Spanish government ruled that was illegal as Spain is ‘indivisible’. However, Carles did not accept this argument.

Spain can't be divided? What an outrageous claim. Pictured: Spain divided by two.

Instead he used the referendum result in favour of secession to declare independence. In response the Spanish Government has fired the Catalan Government and called new elections in the region, whilst Puigdemont and his cabinet have been charged with sedition, embezzlement and rebellion. What a ridiculous way to respond to a referendum eh? Whatever happened to just calling the people who voted differently to you moaners/racists whilst the government makes bland pointless statements to cover up their inability to implement the result?

'We're going to have a Red and Yellow Independence' 

Rather than face the music Puigdemont chose to flee Spain, driving to Marseille with four other cabinet members then catching a plane to Brussels. With Puidgemont in peril, it’s worth comparing this modern exile with historical figures in similar situations to help us understand why he fled his homeland, and what his next step is.

One of the criticisms levied at Puigdemont is that he has abandoned the rest of the independence movement, including eight of his own ministers who are being held in custody without bail. In a damning, if humorous, column in the Financial Times Robert Shrimsley has written a mock conversation between a spineless Puigdemont and an Aide who is begging him to return to Calalonia:

Aide ‘Don’t think we don’t know about the lawyer you’ve hired.’

Puigdemont ‘What about him?’

Aide ‘He’s an asylum lawyer. You are planning to run out on us.’

Puigdemont ‘Is he? I had no idea. I thought he did conveyancing.’

(Full script here: https://www.ft.com/content/04a36dc4-bfb9-11e7-9836-b25f8adaa111 )

He is not the first leader to exile himself rather than confront his enemies. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records how in 1013, after much of England had submitted to Swein Forkbeard of Denmark, rather than fight to the death Æthelred II of England fled with his family to Normandy to live at his brother-in-law’s court. Although this appears cowardly, by not falling into Swein’s custody Æthelred II kept his goal of reclaiming England alive and would be able to achieve it at a more favourable opportunity. For Æthelred II this chance materialised the following year with Swein’s death. He soon returned to England to be re-proclaimed king. Interestingly his son Edward the Confessor remained in exile until 1042, when another succession crisis provided him the opportunity to claim the English throne.

Puigdemont’s ‘Swein’s death’ is the upcoming Catalan election, due to be held on December 21^st 2017. Should pro-independence parties secure a majority then it will be much harder for the Spanish government to continue to deny the legitimacy of an independent Catalonia, paving the way for Puigdemont to return and govern it. Consequently, a major reason for Puigdemont to go into exile is to keep his goal of leading an independent Catalonia alive.

Secondly, it’s worth considering why Puigdemont has chosen Brussels as his refuge. After William the Conqueror (spoiler alert) conquered England in 1066, Edgar the Ætheling, the last Anglo-Saxon claimant to the English throne, fled with his sister to Scotland. Once there, Malcolm III of Scots offered him protection and married his sister (cus you know, middle ages). Edgar seems to have chosen Malcolm III as his protector because the King of Scots had the ability to help him. As well as being King of England William remained Duke of Normandy and frequently crossed the Channel to visit his continental lands. Ruling territory at the complete other end of William’s realm to Normandy, Malcolm III was perfectly positioned to launch a military campaign whilst The Conqueror was outside of England, doing so in fact in 1079. Unfortunately for Edgar, such an attack on his behalf never materialised before he left the Scottish court.

On the face of it Brussels is a weird haven for Puigdemont. It may be the EU’s home, but the Union doesn’t seem keen to help the Catalans. In the aftermath of Catalonia’s independence declaration Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, announced ‘for EU nothing changes. Spain is our interlocutor’.

However, posturing aside, Catalans are EU citizens and therefore Tusk and co owe them a duty of care. Moreover, the EU is one of the few international organizations which has the power to assert pressure on the Spanish state. By travelling to Brussels and taking advantage of press opportunities Puigdemont hopes to shame the EU into remembering its obligations to the Catalans.

It is extraordinary how quickly the Catalan crisis has developed. In one month we went from a referendum to the government that called that referendum being arrested or exiled. However, in some ways there is nothing unique here, and Carles Puigdemont’s behaviour has much in common with medieval exiles like Æthelred II and Edgar the Ætheling. Like them, his exileship is an attempt to keep his political ambition alive and rally support from a useful ally. Although there is one stark difference; Puigdemont is yet to offer Tusk his sister’s hand in marriage.

I mean surely it's worth a try?

Bibliography

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in Whitelock D (ed.), English Historical Documents I (London, 1955)

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in Douglas D C, Greenaway G W (eds.), English Historical Documents II (London, 1953)

‘Catalonia crisis: Sacked ministers held in Spanish jails’, 2 November 2017, BBC News . http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41850094 . Accessed 9 November 2017

‘Disputed president criticises EU in address to Catalan mayors in Brussels’, 7 November 2017, Sky News. https://news.sky.com/story/catalan-leader-slams-european-union-for-backing-spanish-coup-detat-11117697 . Accessed 9 November 2017

‘@eucopresident’, 27 October 2017, Twitter. https://jamieshistoryblog1.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/rex-tillerson-and-magic-clock.html . Accessed 9 November 2017

Jones S, ‘Catalan leaders facing rebellion charges flee to Belgium’, 31 October 2017 Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/30/spanish-prosecutor-calls-for-rebellion-charges-against-catalan-leaders . Accessed 9 November 2017

Shrimsley R, ‘Catalonia calling for the leader of the government in exile’, 2 November 2017, Financial Times.  https://www.ft.com/content/04a36dc4-bfb9-11e7-9836-b25f8adaa111 . Accessed 9 November 2017

‘Spain Issues EU arrest warrant for ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont’, Sky News, 3 November 2017 . https://news.sky.com/story/spain-issues-eu-arrest-warrant-for-ousted-catalan-leader-carles-puigdemont-11111941 . Accessed 9 November 2017