After the War of the Spanish Succession, Barcelona fell to Bourbon troops in 1714, marking the definitive end of Catalan autonomy. King Philip V implemented the Nueva Planta decrees, abolishing Catalonia’s institutions and integrating the region into a centralized Spanish state. Catalan was banned from public life, and Castilian became the administrative language. Despite repression, Barcelona rebuilt and modernized, but resentment toward centralized rule and the memory of 1714 would deeply shape Catalan identity for centuries.