Editing Els Segadors (section)

==History==
[[File:Els segadors.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Reapers' War]] "Corpus de Sang" (1640). Painted in 1910]]
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| image1 = Francesc Alió i Brea.jpg
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| image2 = Emili Guanyavents Jané.jpg
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| footer = Left: [[Francesc Alió]], composer of the music.  Right: Emili Guanyavents, author of the modern lyrics
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The original song dates in the oral tradition to 1640, based on the events of June 1640 known as ''[[Corpus de Sang]]'' ("Corpus of Blood") during the [[Thirty Years' War]] (1618&ndash;1648) between Spain, England, France and Austria, the event that started the [[Reapers' War]] or {{lang|ca|Guerra dels Segadors}}, also known as the Catalan Revolt or Catalan Revolution,<ref name="oficial">{{Cite web|url=http://www.gencat.cat/catalunya/eng/coneixer-simbolsnacionals.htm|title=Generalitat de Catalunya: National symbols|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016151727/http://www.gencat.cat/catalunya/eng/coneixer-simbolsnacionals.htm|archive-date=2013-10-16}}</ref> where Catalans fought against the [[Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares|Count-Duke of Olivares]], the chief minister of King [[Philip IV of Spain]], and eventually led to an open war and the establishment of a [[Catalan Republic (1640–1641)|Catalan Republic under French protection]]. 

The song describes the events, an uprising of peasants due to the large and burdensome presence of the Spanish Royal army in the [[Principality of Catalonia]], as they were required to lodge and provision the troops, thus leading to a large tension and discomfort and the outbreak of episodes such as religious sacrileges, destruction of personal properties, and rape of women by the soldiers. The second part of the song tells the arrival of the rebel reapers in Barcelona, who kill various guards, the royal officers and the [[viceroy of Catalonia]], [[Dalmau de Queralt, Count of Santa Coloma|Dalmau de Queralt]], ending with the exhortation to Catalans to take the arms, as they are at war.

In the 19th century, the text was compiled in the ''Romancillero Catalán'', a book of folk traditions written by [[Manuel Milà i Fontanals]]. The music was standardized by [[Francesc Alió]] in 1892.<ref name="oficial" /> Its modern lyrics were written by [[Emili Guanyavents]], who won a competition convened by the political party [[Unió Catalanista]] in 1899, simplifying the text to three verses. At the time, the change of lyrics caused some controversy among conservative elements, as Guanyavents, coming from sectors close to [[anarchism]], gave them a revolutionary tone.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, "Els Segadors" became one of the most relevant symbols of [[Catalanism]] and Catalonia itself, increasing its popularity during the [[Second Spanish Republic]] and the [[Spanish Civil War|Civil War]]. Despite an early attempt of the [[Generalitat de Catalunya]] (Catalan autonomous government) in 1931 to replace it with another song, "[[El Cant del Poble]]", "Els Segadors" remained highly popular, often treated by Catalan government and population as the national anthem. The [[Franco dictatorship|dictatorship of Francisco Franco]] (1939&ndash;1975) banned the public use of Catalan national symbolism as part of the broad [[Anti-Catalan sentiment|anti-Catalanist]] policies, among them "Els Segadors". Tolerated songs, such as the "[[Virolai]]" or "[[La Santa Espina]]", were often played in its place to express Catalan identity.

After decades being use de facto, often alongside the "[[Cant de la Senyera]]", the Catalan government officially adopted "Els Segadors" as the national anthem of Catalonia on 25 February 1993, by law of the [[Parliament of Catalonia|Catalan parliament]]. The official version was made in 1994. The new [[Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia|Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006]] confirms this decision by its article 8.4, in which is explicitly defined as a national symbol of Catalonia, alongside the [[National Day of Catalonia|National Day]] and the [[Senyera|flag]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.parlament.cat/document/cataleg/150259.pdf |title=Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, Article 8.1: "The flag, the holiday and the anthem are the national symbols of Catalonia, defined as a nationality by Article 1" |publisher=parlament.cat|access-date=14 September 2019 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>