These results were provided by the Catalan government ... movement draws from Catalonia's strong sense of regional identity - its history, its customs, but also its distinctive language.

But some Catalan Spaniards saw the proposal as an attempt to erase their Spanish identity in the city, a sign of things to come, like Sunday's vote for independence. "This is the final crash ...

The region's sense of a distinctive national identity has surged in recent years, and Catalan nationalist parties (not all ofwhom favour independence) dominate the region's politics. That's partly ...