The Iberian Kingdoms in the Late Middle Ages
The Kingdom of Castile
The Kingdom of Castile experienced a rise in the power of kings starting with Alfonso X, who reintroduced Roman law and promoted the theory of the divine origin of royal power. To achieve effective control over the entire kingdom, instituciones policies were created. These included:
- The Royal Council: An advisory body consisting of nobles, clergy, and lawyers.
- The Chancilleria: A supreme court based in Valladolid.
- The Royal Treasury: Based on indirect taxes (sales tax).
To increase royal control over local councils, the Crown established the system of regimientos (councils formed by aldermen) and the figure of the mayor (a royal official who headed the council). The nobles resisted this increase in power, rebelling during times of weakness (minorities, inheritance conflicts).
From 1366, with the arrival of the new Trastámara dynasty (after defeating Pedro I “the Cruel”), the Crown used its power to benefit the nobility who had helped it gain the throne. An important institution in Castile were the Cortes, assemblies that gathered nobles, clerics, and representatives of the cities (prosecutors). Their primary mission was to approve grants (new taxes) to the Crown, in exchange for submitting their petitions to the king. During the 14th century, cities gained increasing importance because they were the mainstay of the kings against the nobility, but they never had the same power as the Parliament of the Kingdom of Aragon.
The Kingdom of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon was formed by three different kingdoms: Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia, each with different laws and institutions (e.g., Cortes existed in each of the three kingdoms). Consequently, the kings never had as much power as those of Castile. Furthermore, the costly Mediterranean policy meant that the kings depended on taxes, which had to be approved by the Cortes. The Cortes used this opportunity to obtain privileges. In 1283, the Cortes of Aragon and Catalonia swore to Peter III the “General Privilege,” which gave very broad powers to the nobles of both kingdoms, including abusive practices on farmers (misuse). This model is known as political wheeling and dealing and forced the king to negotiate continuously with the nobility.
In the 14th century, the Cortes forced the king to accept the existence of a standing deputation of the Cortes (the Generalitat), which became a permanent government of Catalonia. This system later spread to other realms.
Medieval Demographic and Economic Crisis
At the end of the 13th century, the population of the Christian kingdoms reached 5 million. However, in the first half of the 14th century, a succession of famines and epidemics, culminating in the disastrous Black Death in 1348, caused a sharp decline in the population. This decline is hard to quantify, but in the most affected areas (Catalonia), it could have reached 50%. The 15th century was generally a period of demographic recovery. The main consequences of the demographic crisis were a late recovery (late 15th century: 5 million inhabitants) and the demographic preponderance of the Kingdom of Castile, which was more densely populated than the Crown of Aragon.
The main economic activity was subsistence farming. Rural depopulation caused abandoned land to be devoted to sheep by trashumante flock owners (nobility). These owners formed the Mesta to obtain privileges from the kings over grasslands at the expense of agriculture. Wool was exported to Flanders, generating significant mercantile activity. The wool trade was conducted at fairs in Medina del Campo and Burgos, and merchants were responsible for exporting it through the ports of Cantabria.
Another core business was formed around Seville, trading with the Mediterranean (Italy). Barcelona was the commercial core of the Crown of Aragon, exporting cloth by sea. Crafts were small and subsistence-oriented. The main activity was the textile industry, concentrated in cities such as Cuenca and Segovia, producing for interior consumption. In contrast, the Crown of Aragon saw extraordinary development of the textile industry aimed at exportation, especially in Barcelona, forming guilds and a powerful bourgeoisie. The demographic crisis was a major blow to industry.
Social and Political Conflicts
The demographic and economic crises led to serious social and political conflicts. The political crisis was caused by the confrontation between the kings and the nobility, who sought to control the Crown. In Castile, the main event was the civil war between Pedro I and Henry II of Trastámara. The latter gave large amounts of land and lordships to the nobility who had supported him.
In the Crown of Aragon, the Cortes were controlled by the nobility, and the kings were forced to grant a number of privileges that allowed the nobles to increase their power over the peasants and achieve remarkable autonomy in the government of each kingdom (pactism). To compensate for lost income due to depopulation, the nobility increased pressure on the peasantry, which gave rise to antiseigneurial movements (remensa peasants, Irmandiña revolt).
Conflicts also arose in the cities between the lower classes and the gentry, especially in the Crown of Aragon (Barcelona, struggle between the Busca and the Biga).
The Expansion of the Crown of Aragon in the Mediterranean
Starting in the last quarter of the 13th century, the Crown of Aragon expanded its territories in the Mediterranean, incorporating Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia, captured from the French and the Papacy. The Almogávares, Catalan mercenaries led by Roger de Flor, conquered the duchies of Athens and Neopatria in Greece and placed them under the nominal authority of the King of Aragon.
Maintaining these gains required a substantial military and financial effort, which led the Aragonese monarchs to compromise with the various bodies involved by accepting their privileges. In the 14th century, this expansion was hampered by the Black Death and the war with Castile. After a narrow victory, the Aragonese shifted their focus to North Africa.