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Why did Catalonia and Valencia support Archduke Charles?

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Illustration of the Battle of Blenheim showing cavalry and infantry in combat, fallen soldiers, and smoke rising from cannon fire across a hilly battlefield. — War of the Spanish Succession The Battle of Blenheim (August 13, 1704), was the most famous victory of John Churchill, duke of Marlborough, and Eugene of Savoy during the War of the Spanish Succession.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, Catalonia, Valencia, and Aragon supported Archduke Charles primarily because they viewed the centralizing reforms of the new Bourbon king, Philip V, as a direct threat to their local privileges and autonomy.1

These regions possessed long-standing legal traditions and liberties known as fueros, which protected their independent jurisdictions from royal interference. Philip V’s administration, led by French advisors, sought to implement a modern, centralized government to extract resources for the war effort, which these regions perceived as a "Castilian centralizing imposition" that undermined their traditional rights.1

Consequently, the disaffection of these regions toward the Bourbon dynasty turned into active opposition, leading them to align with the Austrian and English invaders who backed the Archduke’s claim to the throne. This conflict ultimately resulted in the abolition of the fueros in Valencia and Aragon following the Battle of Almansa in 1707, and the eventual integration of Catalonia into a unified Spanish state under the Decree of Nueva Planta in 1716.1