The Franco-Spanish War & The Catalan Revolt 1640-1659 C.E.
The Reapers' War
The Franco-Spanish War was waged from 1635 to 1659, and the causes of it are immaterial to our discussion. The effects of it, however, are very relevant to Barcelona. King Phillip IV was King of Spain at the time, and the pressures of empire and the war forced him to search for new sources of revenue to finance them. The royal court viewed Barcelona as a rich city, and sought to tax it more than it had been taxed in the past. This desire to tax Barcelona more heavily culminated in the demand that the Consell & Generalitat hand over one-fifth of their revenues to the royal court. This demand came to a head at the same time that the war with France was raging, and the Castilian troops that were stationed in and around Barcelona committed excesses with local people and their properties. Finally, on June 7th, 1640, the peasantry stormed Barcelona and proceeded to burn down the houses of nobles allied with the King, and ultimately killed the King’s Viceroy. In Catalonia, this revolt is known as the Reapers’ War. The leaders of the Consell and Generalitat saw this revolt as an opportunity to gain independence, and thus more power for themselves, so they began talks with the French. This culminated in 1641 with the declaration of the First Catalan Republic, which recognized King Louis XIII of France as the Count of Barcelona and sided with the French against the Spanish. The war continued to rage, but ultimately in 1651, the Spanish re-took Barcelona. Finally, in 1659 the war with France was ended. These events are important for a number of reasons. First is that it is another chapter of Catalan autonomy/independence that the modern Catalan nationalist movement looks back upon as the natural state of Catalonia. Second is that the effects of this war laid the foundations for the next. (Busquets 2005, pp. 75-77)
The War of Spanish Succession & Its Aftermath 1701-1719 C.E.
Because King Phillip IV successfully hung on to the throne of Spain, it was his one surviving son who next came to the throne. This was Charles II the Bewitched, so named because of the physical, mental, and emotional disabilities he was afflicted with due to centuries of inbreeding within the Hapsburg line. Charles II was an ineffectual king, who produced no male heirs; thus, the Spanish Hapsburg line died when he died. In his will, Charles II named the grandson of King Louis XIV of France, Phillip, as his first choice for successor to the throne of Spain, and he named his cousin Charles (who would soon become Holy Roman Emperor himself), younger son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, as his second choice. Upon the death of Charles II in 1700, both Phillip and Charles laid claim to the throne, and war broke out.
The people of Spain were divided over which claimant to support, and both Barcelona and Catalonia as a whole chose to support the Hapsburg claimant, Charles. This turned out to be a mistake, as it was Phillip who won the war and was ultimately validated as King Phillip V of Spain. In 1714, Barcelona surrendered to Phillip’s armies after a thirteen month long siege. As punishment for Barcelona’s treason, and as insurance against any future uprising, Phillip began a campaign of subjugation against the city. In 1716, Phillip issued the Nueva Planta decrees, which abolished the autonomous governing bodies of Barcelona & Catalonia, the Consell de Cent & the Generalitat. They were replaced by a military governor, who ruled with an iron fist and was responsible only to the King. (Busquets 2005, pp. 78-79) (Aibar & Bijker 1997, p. 4) Furthermore, the King also erected a major series of walls and fortifications around the city of Barcelona, as much to control the people within as to defend the city from without. The centerpiece of these fortifications was the Citadel, a star-shaped fort just east of the city, which would serve as the seat of the military governor. The people of Barcelona were forced to help build the Citadel without adequate pay, and the people whose property was confiscated to make room for the walls and the Citadel were not compensated for their losses. These fortifications quickly grew to become a symbol of subjugation and were almost universally hated by the people of Barcelona. This situation would only grow worse over time. (Busquets 2005, pp. 85-86) (Aibar & Bijker 1997, p. 4) |