Valencian people
| Valencians / Valencianos | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 4,185,000 (Spain nationals) (for a total population of 5,111,706) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Spain (Valencian Community) |
|
| Languages | |
| Valencian, Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Aragonese, Catalans, Occitans and other Latin peoples |
Valencians (Valencian: valencians, Spanish: valencianos) are an indigenous Romance ethnic group whose homeland is the Valencian Community, which is recognised as an historical nation in eastern Spain. The official languages of Valencia are Valencian and Spanish.
The Valencian Community is politically divided in three provinces, from south to north: Alicante, Valencia and Castellón. The current version of the Valencian Statute of Autonomy declares the Valencian Community a nationality of Spain, and its capital is the city of Valencia.
In 1237, the Moorish taifa of Valencia was taken by king James I the Conqueror of the Crown of Aragon. The population of the new kingdom was by far mostly Muslim, so the crown started a campaign of repopulation of the lands with Christians, as usual in the Reconquista. The new Christian arrivals came from Catalonia and Aragon. Aragonese presence was most dominant in the interior parts of the kingdom (as can be assumed by geaographical factors); it should be noted that those Aragonese from the eastern comarcas of Aragon (Matarranya, Casp, Baix Cinca, Llitera and Ribargorça) would have brought with them Catalan language varieties, whereas the rest of Aragonese settlers would've brought eastern Spanish and Aragonese varieties which would mix into Churro Spanish, which in much of the interior is the traditional language, as Valencian is in the coast, where most of the new inhabitants had Catalan or, less usual, Occitan origins.
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Wikipedia