Throughout the seventeenth century, many wars set France against Spain, which modified the strength relation between both powers. The kingdom of France, especially under the rule of Louis XIV, politically and militarily asserted its authority over a weaker and weaker Spain, which did not find an outlet for its institutional plurality. Catalonia was one of the most evident examples: it played the card of France against Castile in 1640 —the Catalan revolution— until in 1659 —treaty of the Pyrenees— Spain transferred the Roussillon and part of Sardinia to France, although it recovered the control over the rest of Catalonia. Among some of the consequences we must highlight: the exile towards Perpignan of the more committed and involved political Catalan authorities in the war against Castile; the starting of the French administration in the Roussillon; and the increasing anti-French feeling in Catalonia. The French involvement in Catalonia’s problems fully impelled it in the European issues and provoked the affirmation of a Catalan identity defined according to some specific criteria (geographical, political, legal and social), before a French counter-identity, reinforced by the war and the constant military pressure throughout the time.