Barcelona was founded by the Carthaginians, and, according to tradition, it supposedly derives its name from the great Barca family of Carthage. The city flourished under the Romans and Visigoths. The title, count of Barcelona, was subsequently borne by the kings of Aragón, who made the city their capital, and later the kings of Spain. Under its strong municipal government Barcelona vastly expanded both its Mediterranean trade, becoming a rival of Genoa and Venice, and its cloth industry and flourished as a banking center. Reaching its peak around 1400, the city later shared in the general decline of Catalonia. Barcelona was always the stronghold of Catalan separatism and was the scene of many insurrections. It was the center of the Catalan revolt (1640-52) against Philip IV of Spain. It was the capital of the Catalan autonomous government (1932-39) and the seat of the Spanish Loyalist government from October 1937, until its fall to Franco in January 1939. Present-day Barcelona is a cultural center of Spain, and since the 1970s it has reasserted its Catalan linguistic character. It was the site of the 1992 Summer Olympics.
