kingdoms. Though the kings of Castile and León initially continued to take the title King of León as the superior title, and to use a lion as part of their standard, power in fact became centralized in Castile, as exemplified by the Leonese language's replacement by Castilian. The Kingdom of León and the Kingdom of Castile kept different Parliaments, different flags, different coin and different laws until the Modern Era, when Spain, like other European states, centralized governmental power. Modern era The Kingdom of León coexisted as a personal union under the Crown of Castile, with León possessing separate institutions, such as its own cortes, the Real Adelantamiento of the Kingdom of León, and the Merino mayor of León, among others, many of which lasted until the 19th century. The Castilian monarchs, however, soon began a process of unifying the laws of the two kingdoms, as exemplified by the Siete Partidas. By the 16th century, León became a captaincy-general. 19th century In the 19th century, León declared war, together with Galicia and Asturias, against France, and organised the Junta General del Reino de León as its own government. The modern region of León was established in 1833 and was divided into León, Zamora, and Salamanca provinces. Present At present, León is composed of the provinces of León, Zamora, and Salamanca, and is now part of the autonomous community of Castile and León within the modern Kingdom of Spain. Political parties representing Leonesism, the Leonese regionalist and nationalist movements, support the creation of an autonomous community separate from Castile. Leonesist parties gained 13.6% of votes cast in the León autonomic elections in 2007. There have also been initiatives approved by some Leonese city councils to establish a NUTS-2 (European Statistical Region) for León. See also León (historical region) List of Leonese monarchs Leonese language Heraldry of León Al-Andalus History of Portugal History of Spain Kingdom of Asturias Kingdom of Castile Kingdom of Galicia Nuevo León Notes References External links "History of the Kingdom of León" R.A. Fletcher, The Episcopate in the Kingdom of León in the Twelfth Century (Chapter 1): Gives the cultural context of earlier and 12th century León "A brief explanation about the modern Leonese Country regionalism" Kingdom of Castile Medieval Spain Leon Leon Leon Leon History of Portugal by polity 10th century in Spain 11th century in the Kingdom of León 12th century in the Kingdom of León