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 with more than five million inhabitants.Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Madrid, 2020. Its homonymous capital Valencia is the third largest city and metropolitan area in Spain. It is located along the Mediterranean coast on the east side of the Iberian Peninsula. It borders with Catalonia to the north, Aragon and Castilla–La Mancha to the west, and Murcia to the south, and the Balearic Islands are to its east. The Valencian Community consists of three provinces which are Castellón, Valencia and Alicante.

According to Valencia's Statute of Autonomy, the Valencian people are a ''nationality''. Their origins date back to the 1238 Aragonese conquest of the Taifa of Valencia. The newly-founded Kingdom of Valencia enjoyed its own legal entity and administrative institutions as a component of the Crown of Aragon, under the purview of the Furs of Valencia. Valencia experienced its Golden Age in the 15th century, as it became the Crown's economic capital. Local institutions and laws continued during the dynastic union of the early modern Spanish Monarchy, but were suspended in 1707 as a result of the Spanish War of Succession. Valencian nationalism emerged towards the end of the 19th century, leading to the modern conception of the ''Valencian Country''.Preamble on Valencian Statutes of Autonomy 1982 and 2006: "''Aprovada la Constitució Espanyola, va ser, en el seu marc, on la tradició valenciana provinent de l'històric Regne de València es va trobar amb la concepció moderna del País Valencià i va donar origen a l'autonomia valenciana'' ..
Preamble of Valencian Statute of Autonomy (reformed in 2006)
The current autonomous community under the ''Generalitat Valenciana'' self-government institution was established in 1982 after the Spanish Transition.

Official languages are Spanish and Valencian (). As of 2020, the population of the Valencian Community comprised 10.63% of the Spanish population.

Etymology

Valencia was founded by the Romans under the name of ''Valentia Edetanorum'', or simply ''Valentia'', which translates to "strength" or "valour", in full "strength of the '' Edetani''" (note that the centre of ''Edetania'' was '' Edeta'', an important old Iberian settlement 25 km north of Valencia, in what is now modern day Llíria, other important nearby settlements included '' Arse''–''Saguntum'', '' Saetabis'' and '' Dianium'').

With the establishment of the Muslim Taifa of Valencia, during the Al-Andalus period, the name developed to (''Balansīyya''), which eventually became ''Valencia'' (Spanish) and ''València'' (Valencian) after the Christian conquests. The older spellings ''Valençia'', ''Ualençia'' and ''Ualència'' are also found in pre-reform Spanish and Valencian texts.

Naming controversy

"Valencian Community" is the standard translation of the official name in Valencian recognized by the Statute of Autonomy of 1982 (''Comunitat Valenciana''). This is the name most used in public administration, tourism, the media and Spanish written language. However, the variant of "Valencian Country" (''País Valencià'') that emphasizes the nationality status of the Valencian people is still the preferred one by left-wing parties, civil associations, Valencian written language and major Valencian public institutions.

"Valencian Community" is a neologism that was specifically adopted after democratic transition in order to solve the conflict between two competing names: "Valencian Country" and "Former Kingdom of Valencia". On one hand, "Valencian Country" represented the modern conception of nationality that Renaixença, resurged in the 19th century. It became well-established during the Second Spanish Republic and later on with the works of Joan Fuster in the 1960s, implying the existence of the "Catalan Countries" ('' Països Catalans''). This nationalist subtext was opposed by anti-Catalan blaverists, who proposed "Former Kingdom of Valencia" (''Antic Regne de València'') instead, in order to emphasize Valencian independence from Catalonia. Currently, blaverists have accepted the official denomination.

The autonomous community can be homonymously identified with its capital "Valencia". However, this could be disregarding of the provinces of Alicante and Castellón. Other more anecdotal translations have included "Land of Valencia", "Region of Valencia" and "Valencian Region". The term "Region", however, carries negative connotations among many Valencians because it could deny their nationality status.

History

The pre-Roman autochthonous people of the Valencian Community were the Iberians, who were divided in several groups (the ''Contestani'', the '' Edetani'', the '' Ilercavones'' and the '' Bastetani'').

The Greeks established colonies in the coastal towns of ''Saguntum'' and '' Dianium'' beginning in the 5th century BC, where they traded and mixed with the local Iberian populations. After the end of the First Punic War between Carthage and Rome in 241 BC, which established their limits of influence in the Ebro river, the Carthaginians occupied the whole region. The dispute over the hegemony of ''Saguntum'', a Hellenized Iberian coastal city with diplomatic contacts with Rome, destroyed by Hannibal in 219 BC, ignited the Second Punic War, which ended with the incorporation of the region to the Roman Empire.

The Romans founded the city of ''Valentia'' in 138 BC, which, over the centuries overtook ''Saguntum'' in importance. After the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the Barbarian Invasions in the 5th century AD, the region was first invaded by the Alans and finally ruled by the Visigoths (see Valencian Gothic), until the arrival of the Arabs in 711, which left a broad impact in the region, still visible in today's Valencian landscape and culture. After the fall of the Caliphate of Cordova, two main independent taifas were established at the region, Valencia and Dénia, along with the small and short living taifas of Orihuela, Alpuente, Jérica and Sagunt and the short Christian conquest of Valencia by El Cid.

However, the origins of present-day Valencia date back to the Kingdom of Valencia, which came into existence in the 13th century. James I of Aragon led the Christian conquest and colonization of the existing Islamic taifas with Aragonese and Catalan colonizers in 1208; they founded the Kingdom of Valencia as a third independent country within the Crown of Aragon in 1238.

The kingdom developed intensively in the 14th and 15th centuries, which are considered the Golden Age of the Valencian culture, with significant works like the chivalric romance of Tirant lo Blanch. Valencia developed into an important kingdom in Europe economically through the silk trade. It also rose to power politically with the rise of the Crown of Aragon, (within which the Kingdom of Valencia had achieved the largest population and the greatest economic power at that time) and the ascension of the Valencian House of Borja in Rome (see Route of the Borjas, Route of the Monasteries and Route of the Classics).

After a slow decline following the dynastic union of the Crown of Aragon with the Kingdom of Castile, Valencia's successful status came to a definite end with the Expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609 by the Hispanic Monarchy, which represented the loss of up to one third of the population of the Kingdom of Valencia and took the main agricultural labor force away. In 1707, in the context of the War of the Spanish Succession, and by means of the ''Nova Planta'' decrees, king Philip V of Spain abolished the Kingdom of Valencia, and the rest of states belonging to the former Crown of Aragon and which had retained some autonomy, and subordinated it to the structure of the Kingdom of Castile and its laws and customs. As a result of this, the institutions and laws created by the Law of Valencia (''Furs de València'') were abolished and the usage of the Valencian language in official instances and education was forbidden. Consequently, with the House of Bourbon, a new Kingdom of Spain was formed implementing a more centralized government and absolutist regime than the former Habsburg Spain.

The first attempt to gain self-government, or autonomous government, for the Valencian Community in modern-day Spain was during the Second Spanish Republic, in 1936, but the Civil War broke out and the autonomist project was suspended. In 1977, after Franco's dictatorship Valencia started to be partially autonomous with the creation of the Council of the Valencian Country (''Consell del País Valencià''), and in 1982 the self-government was finally extended into a Statute of Autonomy (''Estatut d'Autonomia'') creating several self-government institutions under the Generalitat Valenciana. The first democratically elected President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Joan Lerma, took office in 1982 as part of the transition to autonomy.

The Valencian Statute of Autonomy make clear that Valencia is intended to be the modern conception of self-government of the Valencian Community from the first autonomist movements during Second Spanish Republic, but also joining it to the traditional conception of Valencian identity, as being the successor to the historical Kingdom of Valencia. In fact, after a bipartisan reform of the Valencian Statute of Autonomy in 2006, it records the foral civil law, using the traditional conception of a kingdom, and, on the other hand, it also recognizes Valencia as a nationality, in accordance with the modern conception.

Geography

Relief

The inland part of the territory is craggy, with some of the highest peaks in the Valencia and Castellón provinces forming part of the Iberian Mountain Range. The mountains in the Province of Alicante are in turn a part of the Subbaetic Range.

The most emblematic mountain of the Valencian Community is the Penyagolosa, in the Alcalatén area. It is widely thought to be the highest peak with 1,813 m, but actually the highest peak is the ''Calderón'' (1,839 m) located in the Rincón de Ademuz, a Valencian exclave between Aragon and Castilla–La Mancha. The most emblematic mountain in the southern part of the territory is the Aitana (1,558 m).

The rather thin coastal strip is a very fertile plain mainly free of remarkable mountains except those around the Cap de la Nau area in northern Alicante province and the Peñíscola (''Peníscola'') area in the Castellón province. Typical of this coastal area are wetlands and marshlands such as '' L'Albufera'' close to Valencia, '' El Fondo'' in Elche (''Elx'') and Crevillent, ''La Marjal'' near Pego, Albufera of Gayanes in Gayanes or ''El Prat'' in Cabanes, also the former wetlands and salt evaporation ponds in the Santa Pola and Torrevieja area. All of them are key Ramsar site in the ''Saler'' area near the Albufera and in the Guardamar area, both of them were planted with thousands of trees during the 19th century in order to fix the dunes, thus forming now protected areas of remarkable ecologic value.

In addition to mainland Valencia, the Valencian territory administers the tiny Columbretes Islands and the coastal inhabited islet of Tabarca.

Climate

Valencia has a generally pleasant climate, with mild winters and hot summers, heavily influenced by the neighbouring Mediterranean sea. Still, there are important differences between areas:

*Typical Mediterranean climate ( Köppen ''Csa''). It roughly goes along the coastal plain from the northernmost border through the Benidorm area (cities included here are, amongst others, Castellón de la Plana (''Castelló de la Plana''), Gandia and Valencia). It covers in various grades the lower inland areas. In this area, winters are mild, summers are long, dry and hot; rainfall occurs mostly during spring and autumn, usually totalling around 600 mm. with a remarkably wetter micro climate in the Marina Alta and the Safor ''comarques'' just north of Cap de la Nau cape, which accumulates an average of up to 1000 mm. due to an orographic lift phenomenon.
*Mediterranean climate with continental influences ( Köppen ''Csa'') and Mediterranean highland climate ( Köppen ''Csb''). These are the innermost lands and those at a higher elevation (cities included here are, amongst others, Alcoy, Morella, Requena and Villena). Here winters are cool to cold, especially at night (a few days of snow are not unusual), summers mild to hot and rainfall more evenly distributed through the year. The lower registered temperatures in the Valencian Community were in these inland areas during the cold wave of 1956. Temperatures plunged to nearly −20 °C; as in Vistabella del Maestrat (−19 °C) and Castellfort (–17 °C).
*Hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen ''BSh''), although in higher altitude zones at the interior the average temperatures are lower, being BSk in the Köppen climate classification. It roughly goes along the coastal plain from Villajoyosa through the southernmost border of the territory (cities included here are, amongst others, Alicante, Benidorm, Elche, Orihuela and Torrevieja). Summers are hot and dry, winters are mild and its most prominent feature is a very scarce precipitation, typically below 300 mm. per year which is most likely to happen during spring and autumn. The reason for this lack of precipitation is the marked rain shadow effect caused by hills to the west of the Alicante province (and, to a lesser degree, those in the northern part of the province which, in turn, enhance the inverse orographic lift effect around Cap de la Nau).

The warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen ''Csb''), humid subtropical climate ( Köppen ''Cfa''), oceanic climate ( Köppen ''Cfb'') and the desertic climate ( Köppen ''BWh'') are also found in the Valencian Community. The ''Csb'' climate is more common and is found in inland, high altitude areas (generally starting above ) across the 3 provinces of the Valencian Community, especially in the interior of Castellón but also in El Rincón de Ademuz and the north of Los Serranos comarcas in the province of Valencia. In the province of Alicante this climate is only found in the highest altitudes of Serra de Mariola and Sierra de Aitana. Both ''Cfa'' and ''Cfb'' climates can be only found in the interior of the province of Castellón, with marginal presence in the Valencian province, only in the Rincón de Ademuz comarca. The presence of the desertic climates (''BWh'') is marginal to scarcely populated areas south of Elche.

Hydrography

There are only two major rivers: the Segura in the Province of Alicante, whose source is in Andalusia, and the Júcar (''Xúquer'') in Province of Valencia, whose source is in Castilla–La Mancha. Both are subjected to very intense human regulation for cities, industries and, especially, agricultural consumption. The river Turia (''Túria'') is the third largest and has its source in Aragon. Most rivers in the area, such as the Vinalopó, are usually short, have little current (due to agricultural usage, climatic reasons or both) and are often completely dry during the summer. Other Valencian rivers are the Serpis and Sénia.

Demographics

Urbanization

The estimate population according to the INE in January 2020 is 5,057,353 ranking the fourth most populous in Spain. The list of largest cities is topped by Valencia, the third largest city in Spain overall:

Valencian population traditionally concentrated in localities with fertile cultivation and growing lowlands by the most important rivers (Júcar, Turia, Segura, Vinalopó), also in harbour cities important to the agricultural trade. In actuality, population is particularly dense along the coast as well as in central and southern regions of the territory, and more sparse around the inner and northern regions. Important historical cities include Sagunt and Dénia in Roman times; Valencia, Alicante, Xàtiva, Orihuela, Elche, Gandia, and Villarreal (''Vila-real'') later on in history and, more recently, Alzira and Castellón de la Plana. Another set of noncoastal cities increased significantly in numbers due to industrialization in the 20th century, including Alcoy, Elda, Ontinyent, Petrer, Villena, and La Vall d'Uixó. Furthermore, traditionally small fishing towns like Benidorm and Torrevieja have increased in population significantly, more remarkably during summertime, due to seasonal migration of tourists.

Metropolitan areas

In more recent years, concentration in provincial capitals and its metropolitan areas has augmented considerably (e.g. Torrent, Mislata, Paterna, Burjassot, San Vicente del Raspeig, etc.). Besides Valencia, Alicante-Elche is the eighth most populous urban agglomeration in Spain. According to the INE, the largest metropolitan areas are:

Government

Institutions of government: ''La Generalitat''

In the process whereby democracy was restored in Spain between 1975 and 1978, the nationalist and regionalist parties pressed to grant home rule to certain territories in Spain. The constitution of 1978 opened a legal way for autonomous communities to be formed from provinces with common historical and cultural links. In recognition of the Valencian Community as a ''nationality'' of Spain, and in accordance to the second article of the Spanish Constitution which grants autonomy to the " ''nationalities'' and regions" that compose the Spanish nation, Valencia was granted self-government and constituted itself as an autonomous community in 1982, with the promulgation of its first Statute of Autonomy, the basic organic law, later approved by the General Courts of Spain.

All autonomous communities were organized politically within a parliamentary system; that is, the executive branch of government. The "President" is dependent on the direct support of the legislative power, whose members elect him by majority.

A new Statute of Autonomy was promulgated in 2006. The government of Valencia is represented by the Generalitat Valenciana (statutorily referred to simply as ''La Generalitat'') constituted by three institutions:

* the Corts Valencianes (Valencian parliament), the legislature, which is to be integrated by a minimum of ninety-two representatives (''diputats'') elected through universal suffrage by proportional representation for a four-year period;
* the President of the Generalitat Valenciana must obtain the vote of confidence from the Courts; the current President is Ximo Puig (from the Socialist Party of the Valencian Country). The Vice President is Mónica Oltra (from Compromís, a Valencianist party).
* the Council of the Generalitat Valenciana (Valencian government), a collegiate institution with executive powers, integrated by the President him/herself and the cabinet members appointed by him/her.

The Generalitat can also be integrated by the institutions that the Valencian Courts create. The Courts have approved the creation of the '' Síndic de Greuges'' ( Ombudsman), the '' Sindicatura de Comptes'' (Public Audit Office), the '' Consell Valencià de Cultura'' (Valencian Council of Culture), the ''Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua'' (Valencian Academy of the Language), the ''Consell Jurídic Consultiu'' (Juridic and Consultative Council) and the ''Comité Econòmic i Social'' (Social and Economic Committee).

The current government is formed by a left coalition between the Socialist Party of the Valencian Country and Compromís, with also the support of Podemos.

Administrative divisions

Prior to the 1833 territorial division of Spain: Alicante, Castellón, Valencia and Xàtiva.

From 1833, the current three-province system was consolidated:

*Alicante, capital: Alicante
* Castellón, capital: Castellón de la Plana
*Valencia, capital: Valencia

The Valencian Community is further divided into 34 '' comarques'' (including the city of Valencia) and 542 municipalities (141 in the Province of Alicante, 135 in the Province of Castellón, and 266 in the Province of Valencia).

Economy

Valencia is long and narrow, running mainly north–south; historically, its rather steep and irregular terrain has made communications and the exploitation of the soil difficult, although the soil of the coastal plain is particularly fertile. This coastal axis has facilitated connections with Europe, either by sea through the Mediterranean, or by land through Catalonia.

The Valencian territory has few natural resources; the only important mineral deposit is the marble quarried in Alicante province.

Hydrological resources (see Geography above) are also lacking: the demand for water exceeds the supply, with this imbalance especially serious in Alicante province. In particularly severe drought years, the problem is managed through occasional nocturnal restrictions during summer and exploitation of aquifers. Valencia's water needs result in harsh contention with neighbouring regions such as Castilla–La Mancha and Catalonia.

Agriculture—more specifically, citrus cultivation for the export market—was responsible for Valencia's first economic boom in the late 19th century, after centuries of slow development and even decay. Although in absolute terms the agricultural sector has continued to grow, the boom in the secondary and tertiary sectors during the Spanish miracle of the 1960s, has meant that its relative importance has decreased over time. The provinces of Castellón and Valencia still have thousands of hectares of citrus-producing groves and citrus continues to be a major source of income on the countryside. Province of Alicante also grows citrus, but its agriculture is more diversified with a higher presence of vegetables, especially in the Vega Baja del Segura area.

Though the low insulation rate and overall stable weather during the summer may pose a threat to water supplies for agriculture and human consumption, conversely this climate allows tourism to be the province's main industry. Very dense residential housing along the coast, occupied by locals, people from inland Spain and from other EU countries (mostly from the British Isles, Benelux, Germany and Scandinavia), boosts the summertime population (and hydrological demands).

In 2004, Valencia's GDP was 93.9% of the European Union average, although this figure may be too low because of the important presence of foreign residents either from other regions of Europe or as economic immigrants, who are not properly represented in the official statistics. As in all of Spain, there was significant growth in the years immediately following 2004, at least until the 2008–13 Spanish financial crisis.

In 2008, the Valencia Country generated 9.7% of the Spanish GDP. In L of human resources, the unemployment rate was over 21% in 2009, and even greater among women, and the rate of activity reached 56.8% in 2002. The typical Valencian business is a small-to-medium-sized company, mainly family-owned and operated, although there are some multinationals.

In addition to tourism, the Valencian Community has significant exports, and it ranks second in this respect among the Spanish autonomous communities, constituting 12% of the national total. Major exports include agricultural products, ceramic tiles, marble products and cars ( Ford has an assembly line in Almussafes), which make the port of Valencia one of the busiest in Europe.

Unemployment

The unemployment rate stood at 15.6% in 2018 and was higher than the national average.

Language

Spanish (''español'' or ''castellano'') has official status in all of Spain, including the Valencian Community. Aside from it, the Statute of Autonomy recognizes Valencian (''valencià'') as the language native (''llengua pròpia'') to the Valencian people, and commends its protection and regulation to the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL) under the Generalitat Valenciana.

''Valencian'' is the name Valencians use to refer to the Catalan language