Count of Barcelona


The count of Barcelona was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages and Catalan constitutions, of the Principality of Catalonia as prince for much of Catalan history, from the 9th century until the 18th century. After 1162, with Alfonso II of Aragon and I of Barcelona, the title of count of Barcelona was united with that of king of Aragon, and after the 16th century, with that of king of Spain.

History

The Emperor Charlemagne conquered the area north of the river Ebro and captured the city of Barcelona in 801. He then organized these lands, historiographically known as the Marca Hispanica, into various counties, one of which was the County of Barcelona, with the city of Barcelona as its capital. The Count of Barcelona, usually holding other counties simultaneously, eventually obtained primacy over the region. As the County became hereditary in one family, the bond of the Counts to their Frankish overlords loosened, especially after the Capetian dynasty supplanted the Carolingians.
In 1150, Count Raymond Berengar IV married Queen Petronilla of Aragon. Their son Alfonso succeeded as Count and also as King of Aragon, establishing the Crown of Aragon. In the Treaty of Corbeil, King Louis IX of France relinquished France's historical claim to the County. In 1516, Queen Joanna of Castile also succeeded in Catalonia and Aragon, forming the Monarchy of Spain. The title of Count of Barcelona remained one of the many hereditary titles of the Spanish monarchy.
In the 20th century, the title regained some prominence when Juan de Borbón, the exiled heir to the Spanish throne, adopted the title of Count of Barcelona. In doing so, he claimed a historical royal title without claiming to be the current king of Spain, especially after his son Juan Carlos became the prospective successor of the then-ruler of Spain, Francisco Franco. In 1977, after Juan Carlos had become king upon Franco's death in 1975, he officially awarded the comital title to his father, who had renounced his rights to the throne. Juan held that title until his death in 1993, when it reverted to Juan Carlos. Juan de Borbón's widow used the title Countess of Barcelona until her death in 2000.

List of counts of Barcelona

Non-dynastic (appointed by the rulers of the [Carolingian Empire]), 801–878

During this period, the County of Barcelona was one of many Counties at the March located in the Eastern Pyrenees and known as Gothia or Marca Hispanica. The Counts of this March were appointed by the Carolingian authorities.
NamePortraitReignNotes
Bera801-820son of William of Gellone, also Count of Razès and Conflent, Girona, Besalú, Ausona, deposed.
Rampon
820-826also Count of Girona and Besalú
Bernard I
826-832son of William of Gellone, also margrave of Septimania and Imperial Chamberlain, deposed.
Berenguer832-835also Count of Toulouse.
Bernard I
836-844restored, executed on orders of Charles the Bald.
Sunifred844-848son or son-in-law of Belló of Carcassonne, also Count of Ausona, Besalú, Girona, Narbonne, Agde, Béziers, Lodève, Melgueil, Cerdanya, Urgell, Conflent and Nîmes.
William
848-850son of Bernard I, also Count of Toulouse, rebelled and was killed.
Aleran850-852also Count of Empúries and Roussillon and Margrave of Septimania.
Odalric852-858son of Hunfrid, Margrave of Istria, also Count of Girona, Roussillon, Empúries and Margrave of Septimania.
Humfrid858-864son of Hunfrid II, Duke of Rhaetia, also Count of Girona, Empúries, Roussillon, and Narbonne and Margrave of Gothia.
Bernard II
865-878son of Bernard of Poitiers also Count of Girona and Margrave of Gothia and Septimania, rebelled.

House of Sunifred ([Bellonids]), 878–1162

The crisis of the Carolingian Empire, incapable of attending to the requests for help against the Moorish attacks coming from the Catalan counts, resulted in a disconnection between them and the Carolingian central power far North. The County of Barcelona became a hereditary title.

[Jiménez dynasty], 1162–1164

[House of Barcelona], 1164–1410

[House of Trastamara] 1412-1462

Martin died without legitimate descendants. By the Compromise of Caspe of 1412 the County of Barcelona and the rest of the dominions of the Crown of Aragon passed to a branch of the House of Trastamara.
NamePortraitReignNotes
Ferdinand I the Honest3 September 1412 – 2 April 1416He was the nephew of Martin I and the first Count of Barcelona of the House of Trastámara.
Alphonse IV the Magnanimous2 April 1416 – 27 June 1458He was the son of Ferdinand I.
John II the Faithless or the Just27 June 1458 – 1462-

[Catalan Civil War] 1462-1472

During the Catalan Civil War the Catalan authorities transferred the title of Count of Barcelona to a succession of 3 foreign sovereigns.
NamePortraitReignNotes
Henry I the Impotent1462 - 1463He was the Ferdinand I grandson and thus also from the Trastámara House.
Peter IV of Portugal1463 – 1466He was the greatgrandson of Peter III.
René I1466 – 1472He was the grandson of John the Hunter. He was also the Count of Provence.-

[House of Trastamara] (reinstated) 1472-1555

After the Catalan Civil War, the House of Trastamara was restituted as tenants of the Count of Barcelona title and thus sovereigns of the Principality of Catalonia.
NamePortraitReignNotes
John II the Faithless or the Just1472 – 20 January 1479He was the brother of Alphonse IV. The Catalans confronted him during the Catalan Civil War and afterward reinstated him as Count of Barcelona.
Ferdinand II20 January 1479 – 23 January 1516He was the son of John II.
Joanna23 January 1516 – 12 April 1555She was the daughter of Ferdinand II. Her rule was nominal as it was her son Charles who was co-ruler.

House of Habsburg">Habsburg Spain">House of Habsburg 1516-1641

NamePortraitReignNotes
Charles I 14 March 1516 – 12 April 1555
12 April 1555 – 16 January 1556 		He was the son of Queen Joanna and Philip I of Castile. Till the death of his mother, in 1555, he was regent but the de facto ruler. From 1555 to 1556, he was the sole ruler. As he was not the Count and had good relations with Catalan authorities, they awarded him the title of Prince of Catalonia.
Philip I16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598He was the son of Charles I.
Philip II13 September 1598 – 31 March 1621He was the son of Philip I.
Philip III31 March 1621 – 1641He was the son of Philip II. He wanted to reduce the Catalan sovereignties, and the Catalan authorities confronted him during the Reapers' War. The title of Count of Barcelona was transferred by the Catalan Courts to the House of Bourbon in France.

[House of Bourbon], 1641–1659

NamePortraitReignNotes
Louis I

27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643		1641–1643During the Reapers' War, the States-General of the Principality of Catalonia on 21 January 1641 declared the French king Louis XIII Count of Barcelona as Louis I.
Louis II

5 September 1638 – 1 September 1715		1643–1652 and 1697He inherits the title of Count of Barcelona from his father during the Reapers' War. In 1652 he renounces the title in favor of Philip III in exchange for the Roussillon.

House of Habsburg">Habsburg Spain">House of Habsburg (reinstated) 1659–1700

NamePortraitReignNotes
Philip III1659 – 17 September 1665He was the son of Philip II. He was reinstated as Count of Barcelona.
Charles II17 September 1665 – 1 November 1700He was the son of Philip III.

In 1697, French troops under the Duke of Vendôme captured Barcelona, and Louis XIV of France was reinstated as Count of Barcelona for some months. On 9 January 1698, Catalonia was returned to Charles II by the Peace of Ryswick.

War of the Spanish Succession (1700–1714)

named as his successor Philip of Anjou, a younger grandson of Louis XIV. The other European powers thought that meant too much power for France. They tried to impose another candidate as King of Spain: Archduke Charles of Austria, in the War of the Spanish Succession. The Catalans were caught in the middle of this major conflict. They initially supported Philip, but then shifted their allegiance to Charles, who was committed to maintaining the composite monarchy system and thus respected the Catalan Constitutions. However, Philip won the war.
File:ConstitucionsCatalanesVolumIr.jpg|thumb|left|The first page of the Catalan Constitutions granted by Philip IV, Count of Barcelona in 1704.
NamePortraitReignNotes
Philip IV1700 – 1705He was the great grandson of Philip III.
Charles III1705 – 1714He was the son of Philip III.