Catalans have long had a cultural grievance with the parent country of Spain, but recent economic woes spurred the informal referendum to seek independence which took place Sunday.

The autonomous region of Catalonia has gotten the short end of the stick in Spain's struggling economy - as the region with the most financial strength, it has put in more than it has gotten out of the country, BBC reported.

Despite having autonomous rule, the referendum would have been funded by Madrid and operated by the federal election department, resulting in a less formal ballot question.

Catalonian leader Artur Mas warned Madrid against trying to completely shut down the informal vote -- which it said was basically a survey of the citizens.

The Spanish Constitutional Court demanded the votes be suspended earlier in the week, but the Catalan government insisted on posing the question to its 7.5 million people.

Madrid is far from letting its cash cow loose and had been trying to stop the vote, but Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he would not go as far as to unleash military tanks in the region.

Barcelona, the capital city of Catalonia, is the second largest city in the country.

It is a major industry hub known for its pride in its very own culture, sports teams and language. Barcelona has made a name for itself as one of the biggest trade fair and exhibition venues, featuring events such as the Mobile World Congress, the world's largest 3GSM conference.

The vote Sunday is a non-binding one but, unlike the recent Scottish referendum for independence, the Catalan government is confident in a clear message from its people: The region needs to be given total independence.

About 40,000 volunteers had set up the polling stations and, as of 1 p.m. local time, at least 1.1 million people had voted.

Rajoy has been visibly upset by the turnout and insistent on not recognizing the vote results in any way.

He has urged the people to return to sanity and said all their efforts are wasted since the results will have absolutely no effect.