Political Organization and Crises in the Kingdom of Castile
5.1. Political Organization: Institutions of the Kingdom of Castile
Royalty: At the head of the kingdom, the supreme authority is “by the grace of God.” Its power comes from the people, to whom he has delivered God. The only intermediary between God and the king is the people, represented by privileged classes. Succession to the throne in León follows the hereditary principle: the line of male succession (oldest son, 2nd child, and so on). A lack of a male could lead to women exercising sovereignty through a representative (husband). From the 13th century, succession imposes a direct line by primogeniture: if the eldest son is killed, the succession falls to him and not to his children or the other children of the king. Women could be queens by right, but after the union with Catalonia and Aragon, the exclusion of women by Salic law was imposed. The king held three powers, but his absolute power was limited by the laws of the realm, outside of estates and the Law of God.
The government institutions of the kingdom:
Curia Regia: A family composed of the king, magnates, and royal palace officials. Skills include internal affairs of the royal house (inheritance, marriage, dowries), public affairs (military campaigns, grant and confirmation of privileges, appointment of objections), and judiciary (judge’s “court cases” reserved for the king).
– Your meetings: ordinary and extraordinary. Regular meetings were very frequent, serving as a precursor to the Royal Council. Extraordinary meetings were convened only in cases of great importance, eventually leading to the Cortes.
* Royal Council: The central government, composed of trained lawyers or legal scholars, military leaders, foreign ministers, stewards of each kingdom, and the waiter. It served as a permanent consultative body for kings and the administration of the kingdom.
Courts: Derived from the Extraordinary Curia, to which representatives from the cities were added. Initial functions included control over coinage (to prevent inflation). There was high competition in Castile, with special tax concessions ordered by the king to change the representatives of cities (only paying). The king demanded the enactment of certain laws. In Aragon, new institutions arose to control revenues approved in the Courts: Diputación General or Generalitat of Catalonia and Diputación General de Aragón. An important role of the Courts was the proclamation of the heir and the swearing in of the new king.
B.2. Directors of Finance: Accountant? They managed the royal treasury accounts. In Aragon, there was a separation between the king’s money and the kingdom’s money. Money given by the king in each kingdom was managed by the general bayle and the coin of the realm was administered by the Diputación General.
B.3. The Territorial Administration of Justice:
Merindades: The highest authority was a regional delegate called merino, who collected taxes, mobilized troops, and served as the highest judicial body. In Aragon, these were called vegueries.
Overtaking: Very similar to merindades; the front was a front (high nobility).
Audience: The highest court in both criminal and civil matters, headed by a chancellor. It was formed by seven judges. They followed the king on journeys.
B.4. Local Government: Councils and Lordships
Councils: An assembly of all the neighbors to address common issues. Councils were initially open. From the 12th century, they became a restricted assembly presided over by a judge, assisted by mayors elected by the council, lord, or both. From the 12th century, Aragon became a restricted meeting chaired by zalmedina, appointed by the king among local notables, consuls, and judges.
At the end of the Middle Ages, mayors and aldermen became hereditary.
Domains: Two classes? Land: land owned by a lay lord (ancestral) or religious (Episcopalian, of abadengo, etc.). Jurisdiction: the territory over which a lord exercised his authority, which could not be master of the territory. Civilian lords took on almost the same functions as the king (appointments of officers, sanitation, tax collection) and even military (recruiting soldiers).
5.2. Demographic Crisis, Economic and Political
– In the 14th century, a great crisis affected all Western European countries, including the Spanish kingdoms.
Demographic Crisis
– In the 14th century, mass mortality occurred due to the Black Death. The number of deaths is unknown: 1/5 of the population in Catalonia and Aragon and ½ of the population in Portugal.
– The impact of the plague led to uncultivated land, increased debt, reduced revenue in the treasury due to a lack of taxpayers, a shortage of people to cover a large number of jobs, empty convents, etc.
– The lack of manpower was intended to be compensated by the slave trade. The Jews were sought to be blamed.
Economic Crisis
The Black Death wiped out almost everything uncultivated due to a lack of laborers and potential consumers, leading to expensive existing products. Overcoming the disease led to a scarcity of workers, resulting in wage increases, which matched the price and implied devaluation of currencies.
– In Catalonia, where the main economic activity was trade, regression began, and protectionism was practiced.
Political Crisis
– The economic crisis caused the hereditary succession of the Crown to be on the verge of breaking. The assumption of the throne by kings who were not legitimate children was made to please the nobility, who had to make major concessions.
Religious Crisis
– This began with the removal of the papal court from Rome to Avignon, reaching its climax when, in 1378, two popes were elected (Castile and Aragon supported the Avignon pope, while Navarra first supported the Pope in Rome and then moved to Avignon; Portugal did the reverse).
– There was a loss of faith in God’s Providence, illicit enrichment, concubinage, falsification of bulls, and the selling of sacraments.
5.3. The Expansion of the Crown of Aragon in the Mediterranean
– The Crown of Aragon could not conquer new territories in Spain due to the Treaty of Almizra, but the nobility needed wars to increase their income in the Mediterranean. Thus, they sought to strengthen and expand Catalan trade.
– Catalan trade exported cloth, leather, wool, salt, guns, and even slaves, while importing spices.
—With Peter III, Mediterranean expansion began: he was proclaimed king of Sicily. Alfonso III waived his claim in exchange for Sicily, while Mallorca was occupied. Jaime II became King of Sicily when he succeeded his brother in Aragon. Alfonso III resigned the Island of Sicily and Majorca in exchange for the rights to the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. Pedro IV focused on four areas: Mallorca, Sardinia, Sicily, and the duchies of Athens and Neopatria, which he later lost to John I.
Alfonso V of Naples took over. King John II of France gave him 200,000 crowns, and in return, he received Roussillon and Cerdanya. As John II was unable to repay the loan, both territories became sovereign French. He was succeeded by his son Ferdinand II, who was king consort of Castile by the name of Ferdinand V (the Catholic).