''Nosaltres, els valencians'' (; "We, the

Valencian Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the El Carche comarca in Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance language also known as Catal ...

s"), is a historical and political

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

by the

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) author

Joan Fuster Joan Fuster i Ortells (; 23 November 1922 – 21 June 1992) was an influential Spanish writer. He is considered a major writer in the Valencian language (a dialect of the Catalan language), and his work contributed to reinvigorate left-wing, pr ...

, first published in 1962. The book deals with

Valencians Valencians ( va, valencians) are the native people of the Valencian Community, in eastern Spain. Legally, Valencians are the inhabitants of the community. Since 2006, the Valencian people are officially recognised in the Valencian Statute of Au ...

, especially their national identity and their relationship with

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

and the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

-speaking community as a whole. It does so from an ardourous

Catalanism Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation. Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...

. The fact that it represented the first solid intellectual effort in the twentieth century to construct an overview of the past and the present of

from a

Catalanist Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation. Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...

point of view explains its relevance and controversy back in the day. It was because of the novelty of this new Catalanist paradigm, consisting of Catalanism made from Valencia, that the book caused a stir in the Valencian

Francoist Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

establishment and, with the advent of democracy in Spain, still remained deeply controversial for its uncompromising views. ''Nosaltres, els valencians'' marked the dawn of Valencian nationalism in its modern formulation. It was also the main force behind a revival of the ''

Països Catalans The Catalan Countries ( ca, països catalans, , ) refers to those territories where the Catalan language is spoken. They include the Spanish regions of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, and parts of Aragon (''La Franja'') and Murcia ( ...

'' idea and, with it, of the blaverist reaction against it as well.

Criticism

The book was criticized by some Valencian nationalists as well, who considered that Fuster took the

Catalan nationalist Catalan nationalism is the ideology asserting that the Catalans are a distinct nation. Intellectually, modern Catalan nationalism can be said to have commenced as a political philosophy in the unsuccessful attempts to establish a federal state i ...

model without adjusting it to the reality of what soon after (1982) became the present

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

with the passing of the Valencian Statute of Autonomy.

Influence

The book remained most influential in the Valencian Community during the 1980s. It began losing relevance by the early 1990s, as the

Unitat del Poble Valencià The Valencian People's Union (in Valencian: ''Unitat del Poble Valencià'', UPV) was a political alliance created in 1982 when the Left Grouping of the Valencian Country (AEPV) and the Nationalist Party of the Valencian Country (PNPV) merged to con ...

, a party which had been partially inspired by it, started shifting their doctrine from Catalanism to Valencianism-proper, still within the Catalanist tenet, though. To date, ''Nosaltres els Valencians'' remains a fundamental cornerstone of the literature on Valencian identity, as much despised by some —who see in it a Catalanist fifth column in Valencia— as revered by others —who regard it as a yet to be surpassed reflection on the Valencian identity.

Sources and influences

Fuster was influenced by Jaume Vicens i Vives's 1954 essay '' Notícia de Catalunya''. ''Notícia de Catalunya'' was to initially be titled ''Nosaltres els catalans'', but it was renamed under

Josep Pla Josep Pla i Casadevall (; 8 March 1897 – 23 April 1981) was a Spanish journalist and a popular author. As a journalist he worked in France, Italy, England, Germany and Russia, from where he wrote political and cultural chronicles in Catalan ...

's advice, for fear of

Francoist censorship Censorship in Francoist Spain was mandated by Francisco Franco in Francoist Spain, between 1936-1975. In Francoist Spain, primary subjects of censorship included public display of liberal political ideology, art forms such as literature and film, ...

.''De la revolución liberal a la democracia parlamentaria: Valencia (1808-1975)'', p.35. Fuster's work has the same structure and intention of Vicens'.''Nosaltres, els valencians'', p.20 (dentro del apartado ''Introducció''.

References

External links

Nosaltres els valencians
The downloadable book ( PDF)
Biblioteca Joan Fuster
Universidad Jaime I, Castellón de la Plana

on Joan Fuster {{in lang, ca Catalan-language literature Essay collections 1962 documents

Criticism

Influence

Sources and influences

See also

References

Further reading

External links