Spanish Monarchy in the 17th Century: Politics, Society, and Culture
1. Government of the *Validos*
The Austrian monarchs who reigned in the 17th century were: Philip III (1598-1621), Philip IV (1621-1665), and Charles II (1665-1700).
The main innovation in the functioning of the political system of the Spanish monarchy in the 17th century was the *validos*. The *validos* were members of the aristocracy in whom the king placed his trust. The king turned away from the work of government, and the *validos* made major decisions.
Two reasons explain their appearance: the work of government was becoming increasingly complex, and the Spanish monarchs of the 17th century, the so-called “Lesser Habsburgs,” were not noted for their industrious spirit.
It was not an exclusively Spanish phenomenon. Similar figures appeared in other European monarchies. The best examples were Mazarin and Richelieu in France.
The *validos* ruled outside the institutional system of the monarchy, regardless of the councils. Instead, as advisory bodies, they created small boards composed of their own supporters.
The new system represented an increase in corruption, since the *validos* used their power to obtain positions, pensions, and so on for their families and supporters.
The *validos* of Philip III were the Duke of Lerma and the Duke of Uceda.
The *validos* of Philip IV were the Count-Duke of Olivares and Don Luis de Haro.
The *validos* of Charles II were Father Nithard and Fernando Valenzuela during the regency of Mariana of Austria (1665-1675), the Duke of Medinaceli, and the Count of Oropesa (during Charles II’s reign).
Another phenomenon that was widespread in the 17th-century Spanish administration was the sale of offices. What began in the past as a means for the Crown to obtain money quickly spread with Philip III. These positions became hereditary, which in practice meant that the crown ceded some of its power to those who held the positions.
2. Internal Conflicts: The Crisis of 1640
The Catholic Monarchs had built the new state, which was structured as a set of united kingdoms that had the same monarch but kept their own laws and institutions. Since the 16th century, conflicts demonstrated a centralizing trend that sought to homogenize the territories of the crown, modeled after the most powerful kingdom, Castile, and a decentralizing trend that sought to maintain the laws (charters) and institutions of each territory.
These kinds of political tensions were joined in the 17th century by the harsh social and economic crisis suffered by the Hispanic monarchy.
Philip III continued the policy of religious intolerance: in 1609, he decreed the expulsion of the Moriscos. The reasons were both religious and political. It was claimed that the Moorish communities of the Mediterranean could have contacts with the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary pirates. This affected especially the kingdoms of Aragon and Valencia and led to the depopulation of certain areas and a lack of farm labor.
With Philip IV, Don Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, was an exception to the political mediocrity of his predecessors. To rebuild the monarchy and maintain hegemony in Europe, he developed a comprehensive reform program. These began with the reorganization of the administration, which included dismissing dishonest officials and prosecuting their predecessors: the Duke of Lerma and Uceda, while creating numerous boards to solve the traditional ills of Castile, such as ruined agriculture and industry, excessive luxury of the nobility, and so on. His administration was characterized by authoritarianism.
His design was intended to transform the political structure of the traditional monarchy, a patchwork of independent kingdoms with a common king, into a single state with the same laws and institutions, which were to be Castilian.
The Crisis of 1640
It was a very serious crisis due to economic problems and the policies of Olivares, the king’s favorite.
Olivares was in favor of further centralization. This line suggests that all the Spanish kingdoms contribute financially to the same extent to the costs of Castile’s wars. These ideas are contained in the Union of Arms, a decree that reflected the contribution of the various kingdoms.
The clash with these ideas took place with great violence in Catalonia. The outbreak of war with France (1635) was used by Olivares to compel the Catalans to create their own army to defend the border. The Courts refused to pay more money for this war. According to the customs of the time, the peasants were to shelter and feed soldiers in their houses. This contact was harmful and caused a lot of friction and clashes between the army and civilians. The most radical confrontation occurred on June 7, 1640, when reapers killed the Viceroy of Santa Coloma in what was called the Corpus of Blood. The government, led by Pau Claris, took command of the rebellion, and with the advance of Castilian troops, the rebels accepted the sovereignty of France. A Gallic army entered Catalonia, and Castilian troops were defeated at Montjuïc. The war ended in 1652 when Philip IV entered Barcelona.
Riots and attempts of this size multiplied throughout all the kingdoms, including highlights of the Salt Riot in Vizcaya, the secessionist attempt of Andalusia, where the Duke of Medina Sidonia proclaimed himself king, the Duke of Híjar proclaimed himself king of Aragon, and serious uprisings in Naples and Sicily.
Of all these uprisings, the only one that triumphed was in Portugal. Given the serious situation in Catalonia, Olivares asked for troops from Portugal. The Portuguese refused and rebelled, proclaiming the Duke of Braganza king under the name of John IV. The uprising had the support of France, Holland, and England. Spain recognized the independence of Portugal in 1668 by the Treaty of Lisbon.
Despite crushing all movements except the Portuguese, Philip IV continued the charters of the various kingdoms.
3. The Decline of Spanish Rule in Europe
The reign of Philip III (1598-1621) was a peaceful reign. He signed a truce with Britain and the rebels in the Netherlands (known as the Twelve Years’ Truce, from 1609 to 1621).
Under Philip IV (1621-1665) and his favorite, the Count-Duke of Olivares, Spain was again involved in major European conflicts. The Spanish monarchy participated in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), supporting the Habsburgs of Vienna (Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire) and the German Catholic princes. The conflict began with victories for the Habsburgs, such as the taking of Breda in the Netherlands and the victories of White Mountain and Nördlingen in the Germanic conflict. But soon, there were repeated defeats. The war ended with the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which ended the Thirty Years’ War and in which Spain recognized the independence of Holland.
The war continued in France until the signing of the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659), which represented for Spain the loss of Artois (in Flanders) and Roussillon and Cerdanya.
Charles II (1665-1700) was a king who had no character to govern, a weak and sickly king, known in court as “the Bewitched.” The monarchy was unable to stop the French expansionism of Louis XIV. Spain ceded various European territories in the peace treaties of Nijmegen, Aachen, and Riswick. His death without issue caused the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713) to the Spanish throne. The Peace of Utrecht in 1713 marked the end of the Spanish empire in Europe.
4. Economic and Social Developments in the 17th Century
Economy
The 17th century was a century of economic crisis in Europe in general, particularly in the Mediterranean, and especially in the Iberian Peninsula. In the Spanish Crown, the crisis was earlier and deeper than in the rest of Europe.
In the first half of the century, demographic problems were serious. There were bloody epidemics, among which were those of typhus, repeated periodically, coinciding with periods of famine and hunger. Other factors contributed to the demographic crisis: the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609 meant the loss of 3% of the population of the kingdom, especially in Valencia and Aragon, the frequent foreign wars, and increased clergy, resulting in a declining birth rate. The crisis hit the kingdoms of Castile with more force than the peripheral kingdoms.
In the second half of the century, the crisis deepened. The decline of agriculture, exacerbated by the expulsion of the Moriscos, was joined by that of sheep farming, which found serious difficulties in export, and industry, unable to compete with foreign productions.
Trade also entered a recession. French competition in the Mediterranean and English and Dutch competition in the Atlantic exacerbated a situation marked by growing self-sufficiency in the Indies and the exhaustion of American mines. A continuation of the commercial crisis was the decline in circulation.
The situation was worsened by the bad economic policies of the governments of the Crown, which exacerbated rather than solved the problems: debasement of the currency (less silver in content), tax increases, etc.
Society
Society was still a class society with two privileged classes, the clergy and the nobility, and the third estate that produced and worked.
- Nobles: They comprised 10% of the population. They were concentrated mainly in the north, where half the population was considered noble, albeit modest. The nobility was no longer rural; they lived in towns and were no longer warriors. Many nobles had this condition from purchasing the title from the king. The number of nobles increased, as did their political and social power. Many rich people paid to develop or produce “proofs,” documents that “proved” that they were noble. There were also certificates of purity of blood, essential to obtain positions.
- The clergy: The higher clergy were generally of noble birth because, for the younger sons, the church provided a good economic and social position. The convents were also one of the few places to live in dignity for single women and widows. The lower clergy were of humble origin but without economic problems due to tax exemptions, income from properties, income from their services, and donations.
- The Third Estate: This consisted of those who were not noble or ecclesiastical. The predominant group of peasants was subject to direct taxes that could amount to half the produce of their land and cattle. Their position depended on whether they were landowners: in the north, there were many laborers who were also landowners, while in Aragon, Valencia, Extremadura, and the south, the opposite was the case. Most of the artisans and merchants of the cities were organized into guilds. Given the limited relevance that crafts and trade had, the role of the business bourgeoisie was small. The Spanish bourgeoisie rushed to ennoble, leaving business to become independently wealthy and not pay taxes.
In large cities, especially Madrid, lived a large group of beggars, poor, criminals, and beggars in search of easy money, charity, etc.
5. Mind and Culture in the Golden Age
Mentality:
Spanish society marked by continued aristocratic and religious values of the collective mentality in the previous century. Nobiliare typically values like “honor” and “dignity” were claimed by all social groups. An example of this mentality were the duels, sometimes widespread custom for the offenses took place smaller. Any violation of the honor of a noble led immediately to settle the matter by the sword. It was not until the eighteenth century to be legally banned dueling.
Coupled with the above rejection extended to manual labor, considered “vile”, ie, which disgraced the “honor” and “dignity” of him who wielded.
This mentality was based on the many privileges that had held the nobility (exemption from paying direct taxes can not be imprisoned for debt, not being tortured, being sent to special prisons, not to be hanged to have the “privilege” of dying beheaded.
This mentality led to that, except for commercial cities such as Cadiz and Barcelona, can not speak of the existence of an entrepreneurial-minded bourgeoisie would foster economic development, as it tended to seek the means of ennobling.
Culture:
Spain experienced a period of unprecedented boom to the point that this period is known as the Golden Age of Castilian letters.
Century started with the figure of Cervantes (1547-1616), Hispanic letters shone with the likes of Francisco de Quevedo who cultivated poetry and prose, Luis de Gongora, Lope de Vega and Pedro Calderon de la Barca.
Also the arts reach a very high quality. In architecture and urban highlights of the clergy of Salamanca Juan Gomez de Mora and the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca Alberto Churriguera and A. García de Quiñones. In the first half of the eighteenth century facade is performed Obradoiro the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, designed by Fernando Casas Novoa, and the Hospice of San Fernando in Madrid, designed by Pedro de Ribera.
In sculpture include painted wood carvings of religious subjects. Highlights the sculptor Gregorio Fernandez, Juan Martinez Montanes, Alonso Cano and Pedro de Mena.
The painting achieved a high standard Zurbaran, Alonso Cano, Ribera, Murillo and Velazquez.