Socio-economic and political development of Spain in the 16th century. Between old and new. Spain in the 16th - first half of the 17th century History of Spain 16-17 centuries
Spain is very interesting in the sense that it was the largest and richest country in the world. It will soon become the poorest country (by the end of the 16th century). She owned all the gold in America. 200 thousand tons of gold were taken out of America. But they did not use this gold for internal needs (they did not invest gold in the country’s economy). They spent on purchasing foreign fabrics, or on manufactured goods, or on luxury goods. The country is located on the Iberian Peninsula (Castile, Aragon, Novarro, Granada + Portugal). At the end of the 15th century they unite. They unite 4 in 1, except Portugal. Spain controlled Sicily, Sardinia, the Kingdom of Naples and the Netherlands. These were the richest parts of Europe. The hereditary king since 1515, Charles I, decides to start a war for power in the Holy Roman Empire, he was the grandson of Emperor Maximilian I. He needed huge funds to bribe German bankers. The amount was huge. Karl collects this amount in Spain. Local cortes (communes) promised the opportunity to take the amount only on the condition that Charles remained in Spain and would not install foreign officials. The king made such a promise, but then, as soon as he was elected, he immediately left the country. He never returned to Spain. In history he received the name Charles V. He became the owner of a huge empire, received all of Spain, and used it only as a financial bag. It failed to unite politically. There was no capital in Spain. The king wandered around different cities. 1695 – City of Madrid Capital. The Empire of Charles 5 is a very fragmented state. The communes were outraged by the king's behavior. 1520-1522 – Communeros (rebellion) anti-royal. The uprising was disunited. They demanded the return of the king - the uprising was suppressed
The Spaniards were in the agricultural fields - and the nobles owned herds of sheep, and 2 times a year they transported herds from north to south, the roads were narrow and therefore the herds were transported through peasant fields. The herds trampled the farm and ruined it.
Foreign policy of Charles 5 - from 1519 (aka Charles 1 - from 1515 - 1555).
Three tasks (the king was engaged in non-Spanish affairs)
War with Turkey - mostly lost
The war with France (for Italian lands) was more successful. They captured a number of lands.
War with one’s own subjects (in Germany – Germany was not yet called Germany)
Nothing for Spain. The Catholicization of the empire failed. 1555 - agreement with Protestants. Resigns powers.
Spain - son Philip,
Empire – Ferdinand – brother
Philip 1555 – 1598.
Continues his father's work; ardent Catholic. There was a desire not to allow anything heretical, all ideas with the Catholic Church.
Domestic politics: a successful dynastic marriage. 4 wives
1. Portuguese princess - had a child
2. Mary Tudor - supported Catholicism - died
3. French daughter Francis 1.
4. Austrian Anna
1581 After the death of the last representative of the reigning dynasty of Portugal, the Portuguese Cortes proclaimed Philip 2 their king.
1568-1570 expulsion and execution of the Moriscos - inhabitants of Granada (descendants of Arab Muslims)
The Moriscos converted to Catholicism. They suspected him of sympathy for Muslims. The Inquisition expelled them from their places or executed them.
Revolt in Aragon 1585 – Aragon, the largest region of Spain, rebelled against the cruel policies of the King.
Foreign policy:
1. 1555 – 1560 – the Italian wars ended
2. Spano 0 English interests (no luck with Tudor)
England is like the first Spanish enemy. The “Invincible Armada” is coming to England - failure - they were defeated by Francis Drake.
3. Accession of Portugal 1581
4. Successful fight against the Turks (the illegitimate son of Charles 5 - Juan of Austria - commanded the army) 1570 Battle of Lepanto - the Turks lost.
5. Tries to help France in the civil war - with money - no benefit received
By the end of the 16th century, the country fell into economic decline.
At the dawn of modern times, Spain was the strongest power in Europe. As a result of the Great Geographical Discoveries, she created the largest colonial empire in the world. The strengthening of Spain was largely facilitated by the annexation of Portugal in 1580, which ranked second in terms of the size of its colonial possessions. The turbulent events of the Reformation practically did not affect it, and as a result of the Italian Wars, Spain consolidated its predominant position in the international arena. At the same time, its main rival - France - in the second half of the 16th century. for a long time plunged into the abyss of destructive civil wars caused by the religious and political division of the country.
The history of modern Spain begins with the unification of the two largest kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula - Aragon and Castile. Initially, the united Spain was a union of these two kingdoms, sealed by the marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. In 1479, the royal couple took control of both states, which continued to maintain their previous internal structure. The leading role belonged to Castile, on whose territory 3/4 of the population of the united kingdom lived.
The main factor in the unity of Aragon and Castile was foreign policy. In 1492, their combined forces defeated the last Moorish state on the territory of the Iberian Peninsula - Granada - and thus completed the Reconquista. To commemorate this event, the Pope granted Ferdinand and Isabella the honorary titles of "Catholic Kings". They fully justified the titles they received, striving to strengthen the religious unity of the country and eradicating heresies.
Political structure of Spain
The main feature of Spain's political structure was the lack of strong centralization. Great differences remained between the two kingdoms, and within them between the provinces. Each kingdom had its own bodies of class representation - the Cortes, but as royal power strengthened, their role weakened. The Cortes met less and less frequently, and their functions were limited only to approving taxes and laws established by the king. The life of the various provinces of the state was regulated by local traditions (fueros), which they valued very much.
An important indicator of the strengthening of royal power was its subordination to the Catholic Church in Spain. Starting with Ferdinand of Aragon, the kings headed influential spiritual and knightly orders that played a large role in Spanish society. The “Catholic kings” achieved the right to independently appoint bishops, while foreigners were not allowed to occupy the highest church positions in Spain. The appointment of the Grand Inquisitor, who headed a special ecclesiastical court, was also a royal prerogative. The Inquisition itself acquired not only religious, but also political functions, helping to strengthen the Spanish state. The strengthening of the religious unity of Spain was facilitated by the forced baptism or expulsion outside the borders, first of the Jews, and then of the Moors, the Moriscos, who converted to Christianity.
Features of socio-economic development
Spain entered modern times as a predominantly agricultural country with a very unique social structure. Nowhere in the world was there such a large nobility; in Spain it made up almost 10% of the population. The top layer of the nobility was represented by grandees, the middle layer by caballeros, and at the bottom level of this hierarchy stood ordinary nobles - hidalgos.
The Hidalgos for the most part represented the service class, deprived of property and incapable of any productive activity. During the Reconquista, they only learned to fight, which later ensured the success of the Spanish conquests in America and military victories in Europe.
Participation in the Reconquista was accompanied by the granting of numerous liberties to various segments of the population. This was especially true for Castile. The bulk of the peasants here by the end of the 15th century. enjoyed personal freedom, and the Castilian cities had various privileges. However, at the same time, the peasantry suffered from land shortage, and city dwellers did not have the same opportunities for entrepreneurial activity as in other European countries.
The main industries of the Spanish economy were sheep farming and wool exports. The monopoly in this area has long belonged to an association of sheep farmers called “Mesta”. This noble union had exclusive rights that allowed them to drive numerous flocks of sheep through peasant lands, causing them enormous damage.
Sheep farming in the country flourished to the detriment of grain production, which often led to a shortage of bread. At the same time, owners of sheep farms, unable to organize their own production, preferred to sell raw wool and buy finished cloth abroad. The export of cheap raw materials and the import of expensive products made from them contributed to the development of the economy not of Spain, but of its trading competitors - England and the Netherlands.
The economic life of Spanish society was greatly affected by the consequences of the Great Geographical Discoveries and the creation of the colonial empire. The massive influx of gold and silver from America (“American treasures”) put the country’s economy in new conditions. Spain became the first victim of the “price revolution” taking place in the European economy at that time. The untold wealth obtained without much difficulty in the colonies devalued money, which led to an increase in the price of goods. Over the course of a century, prices in Spain rose on average fourfold, far more than in any other European country. This led to the enrichment of some segments of the population at the expense of others. The wealth exported from the colonies deprived Spanish entrepreneurs and the state of an incentive to develop production. Ultimately, all this predetermined the general lag of Spain behind other European states, which were able to use the opportunities that colonial trade opened up to greater benefit for themselves.
Power of Philip II
The first period of the existence of a united Spain is closely connected with its participation in the Italian Wars, during which the country experienced its greatest prosperity.
The Spanish throne was occupied almost all this time by Carlos I (1516-1556), better known as Charles V of Habsburg, Holy Roman Emperor (1519-1556). After the collapse of the power of Charles V, his son Philip II became king of Spain.
In addition to Spain with its colonies, the Netherlands and Charles’s Italian possessions also came under his rule. Philip II was married to the English queen Mary Tudor, in whose alliance he victoriously ended the last of the Italian wars. The Spanish army was recognized as the strongest in Europe.
In 1571, the allied fleet of the Catholic powers under the command of the Spanish prince won a decisive victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto. In 1580, Philip II managed to annex Portugal to his possessions, thus uniting not only the entire Iberian Peninsula, but also the two largest colonial empires of that time. An entire country was named after the king - the Philippines, a Spanish colony on the Pacific Ocean. Madrid, which had been the permanent residence of the king since 1561, quickly became the true capital of a great power. The Madrid court dictated the style of behavior and fashion throughout Europe. However, having reached the heights of foreign policy power, the Spanish monarch was unable to achieve equally impressive successes in the internal development of the country.
The most profitable trade for Spain with America was carried out by monopoly companies under the strict control of royal power, which interfered with its normal development. Agriculture gradually fell into decline under conditions of mass impoverishment of the nobility, accustomed to fighting rather than organizing agricultural labor in their domains. The peasantry and cities were suffocating from high taxes. During the reign of Philip II, the consequences of the “price revolution” manifested themselves in full force. “American treasures” enriched a few representatives of the privileged strata, and also went to pay for foreign goods instead of contributing to the economic development of Spain itself. Significant funds were consumed by the wars. Despite the unprecedented growth of state revenues, which increased 12 times during the reign of Philip II, state expenses constantly exceeded them. Thus, At the moment of Spain's greatest prosperity, the first signs of its decline appeared. The uncompromising policy of Philip II led to the aggravation of all the contradictions characteristic of Spanish society, and then to the weakening of the country's international positions.
The first signal of trouble in the kingdom was the loss of the Netherlands by Spain. The richest country in the domain of Philip II was subjected to ruthless exploitation. Just 10 years after the accession of the new king, a national liberation uprising began there, and soon Spain found itself drawn into a full-scale, long, and most importantly, futile war with the newborn republic. For almost twenty years, Spain also waged a difficult war with England, during which its fleet suffered a severe defeat. The death of the "Invincible Armada", sent in 1588 to conquer England, became a turning point, after which the decline of Spain's naval power began. Intervention in the religious wars in France led at the end of the 16th century. to a clash with this power, which also did not bring glory to Spanish weapons. These were the results of the reign of the most powerful king in the history of Spain.
Spain in decline
The history of the reign of the last Spanish Habsburgs is a chronicle of the gradual decline of a once powerful power, before which other European countries trembled. The reign of Philip III (1598-1621) was marked by the final expulsion from Spain of the Moriscos - the descendants of those Moors who were forced to convert to Christianity. Since the Moriscos were the most active entrepreneurs, their expulsion dealt a heavy blow to the weakening Spanish economy. Under this king, Spain ended the war with England, and in 1609 was forced to agree to a truce with the Netherlands, effectively recognizing their independence. Spain's reconciliation with its main trading competitors caused discontent in society, since in conditions of peace, imports from these countries began to grow to the detriment of the Spanish economy.
Soon there was a return to an active foreign policy, and in alliance with the Austrian Habsburgs, Spain entered the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). Initially, success accompanied the Spaniards; their new sovereign, Philip IV (1621-1665), was called “king of the planet.” However, the war, in which Spain had to fight the Netherlands, France and Portugal, turned out to be too much for her. Ultimately, Spain lost its leading position in the international arena to France, which had revived its power. Now the role of a minor power awaited her. In the second half of the 17th century. France seized Spanish possessions along its northern borders and then laid claim to Spain itself. The fate of the country was now decided by other powers during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714). In Madrid, instead of the Habsburgs, the Buffbons established themselves, and Spain entered a new period in its history.
The rise of Spanish culture
The artistic ideals of the Renaissance and the ideology of humanism had virtually no impact on the culture of Spain, but the period of its external power was accompanied by a genuine flowering of original Spanish art. This was the golden age of Spanish literature and painting.
Signs of cultural upsurge appeared already in the first half of the 16th century, but it reached a special scale under Philip II. A great power needed great art, and the Spanish king understood this very well. The royal power, like the once Renaissance sovereigns of Italy, acted as a patron of the fine arts. During the reign of Philip II, large-scale construction was carried out, enriching Spain with a number of architectural monuments. A new royal residence, El Escorial, was built near Madrid, which became the most remarkable monument of the era.
Spanish culture of that time achieved the greatest success in the field of painting. Taking the baton from Italy, Spain became the country in which European painting took the next big step in its development.
The first great Spanish artist was El Greco (1541-1614). A native of the Greek island of Crete, he settled in Toledo in 1577, where he became a leading representative of the mystical movement in Spanish art. Following this, the rapid development of the national school of painting began. Artists X. Ribeira (1591-1652) and F. Zurbaran (1598-1669) depicted mainly religious and mythological subjects on their canvases.
Spain was especially glorified by its greatest artist, the court painter of Philip IV Diego Velazquez (1599-1660). Among his masterpieces are numerous portraits of the king, members of his family and associates; the famous painting “The Capture of Breda”, dedicated to one of the episodes of the war with the Netherlands. Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1617-1682), the last in this brilliant galaxy, became the founder of the everyday genre in Spanish art. He became the first president of the Seville Academy of Fine Arts.
The most noticeable phenomenon in the field of literature was the development of the chivalric romance, interest in which was stimulated both by memories of the past exploits of the Spanish knights and by continuous wars in Europe and in the colonies. During this period, the great Spanish writer Miguel Cervantes (1547-1616), author of the immortal “Don Quixote,” lived and created his works. This peculiar parody of a chivalric romance reflected the deep decline of the Spanish nobility and the collapse of its ideals.
Already at the end of the 15th century. Modern Spanish drama began to emerge, based on the original traditions of folk culture. The theater played a huge role in the cultural life of Spain during its heyday. In the first half of the 17th century. A genuine revolution took place in this area; Spanish drama took a leading position in European culture. Lope de Vega (1562-1635) is considered the founder of Spanish national drama, whose plays have not left the theater stage to this day. He proved himself to be a master of the “comedy of cloak and sword.” Another major Spanish playwright was Pedro Calderon (1600-1681), the founder of the “drama of honor.”
The most important consequence of the development of literature was the formation of a single Spanish language, which was based on the Castilian dialect.
The achievements of the Spaniards in music were impressive. The most common musical instrument back in the 16th century. became a guitar that, following the Spaniards, fell in love with many other peoples of the world and has not lost its popularity to this day. Spain became the birthplace of such a song genre as romance.
The artistic style of that time, which replaced the Renaissance, was called Baroque. He was distinguished by a freer artistic style, rejection of rigid canons, expansion of themes and a broad search for new subjects in art. But if Baroque became a style common in many European countries, then the so-called Moorish style remained specifically Spanish. Borrowing much from the artistic heritage of the Arab East, it, combined with the traditions of late Gothic, gave birth to many architectural masterpieces. The Alhambra Palace in Granada can be considered the most characteristic of this style.
The development of navigation, geographical discoveries, the exploration of the New World, as well as constant wars posed many practical problems for Spanish science, contributing to the development of natural science, economics, political and legal sciences. Spanish legal scholars of this period were among the founders of the science of international law, which arose in heated polemics with English and Dutch jurists who defended the positions of their countries in the fight against Spain.
From the work of the Spanish economist Don Jerónimo de Ustariza, “The Theory and Practice of Trade and Navigation,” first published in 1724.
“... It is clear that Spain is experiencing a decline only because she neglected trade and did not establish numerous manufactories throughout the vast expanses of her kingdom ... the firmly established principle is that the more the import of foreign goods exceeds the export of ours, the sooner and more inevitably it will be our ruin...
In the same way, it is clear that in order for this trade to be useful to us and bring us great benefits... it is necessary that we make use of the abundance and excellent qualities of our raw materials. Finally, we must strictly apply all those means that will give us the opportunity to sell to foreigners more products of our production than they sell us of their own...
The main thing is that we need to remove the obstacles that we ourselves have erected in the way of the development of manufactures and the sale of their products both outside the state and within it. These obstacles consist of heavy taxes on the foodstuffs that the workers consume, on the raw materials that they process; in an excessive and repeated tax... on every sale, in a tax on fabrics exported from the kingdom."
References:
V.V. Noskov, T.P. Andreevskaya / History from the end of the 15th to the end of the 18th century
In the XVI-XVIII centuries. Spain captured vast territories in America, Africa, and Asia.
Large territories in Italy were captured by Spain as a result of more than half a century of war (1494-1559) with France. Under King Charles I of Habsburg, the lands of the Netherlands were annexed to Spain. At the beginning of the 16th century, when Charles I became Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Spain became the most powerful power in the world. In her domain, as one of the Spanish kings proudly declared, “the sun never set.”
In the 16th century Spain had enormous influence in the world and was famous for its brilliant cultural, artistic and intellectual life. The country owned the strongest flotillas at that time. Gold and silver, the main booty of the conquistadors, flowed into Spain in unprecedented quantities.
In the 16th century The church further strengthened its dominant position in the country, the Inquisition reached the peak of its power. At the same time, the Counter-Reformation was looking for ways to convert Protestant Europe to Catholicism and to raise spirituality in Catholic countries. The Jesuit order, founded by the former soldier Ignatius of Loyola, became the most powerful. Missionaries of this order went around the world to convert millions of people to Catholicism.
Already in the second half of the 16th century. the first signs of economic decline appeared in Spain; they emerged even more clearly at the beginning of the 17th century.
Simultaneously with the expansion of the colonies, absolutism, the church and large feudal latifundists were strengthened. The influx of precious metals from the colonies did not contribute to the development of the Spanish economy. Unproductive spending of the nobility and clergy, capital flight due to extensive purchases of goods in other countries, endless wars (during the 16th-17th centuries), significant emigration and narrowing of agricultural activity, weakening of crafts, manufactures and trade undermined the economic foundations of Spain.
In the 17th century, Spain was defeated in wars with France and England; later, a number of its colonies achieved independence, and the once powerful colonial empire became a minor power. A relic of Spanish colonialism remains the widespread use of the Spanish language in almost all countries of so-called Latin America.
The entire 17th century passed in Spain under the sign of unprecedented impoverishment of the people and depopulation of the country. Economic decline led to an equally deep military decline: Spain was losing its dominance both at sea and on land.
The weakening of Spain led to the fact that the emerging process of forming a single nation was suspended and, on the contrary, the isolation of individual provinces and regions increased. On the outskirts of the country there was a process of formation of such peoples as Catalans, Basques, Galicians. The historical regions where these peoples lived almost everywhere still retained their ancient fueros, broad self-government and a relatively more developed economy.
At the end of the 18th century. In Spain, the industrial bourgeoisie began to develop, the policy of enlightened absolutism was ending. The land rights of nobles and monasteries were limited, the Jesuits were expelled from the country (although the Inquisition remained), irrigation canals and roads were built, mines were opened, trade developed, and state revenues increased. The country began a noticeable upturn in economics and culture.
Ferdinand VI (1746–1759) and Charles III (1759–1788), the most capable kings of the 18th century, managed to halt the collapse of the empire. Spain, together with France, fought wars against Great Britain (1739–1748, 1762–1763, 1779–1783). In gratitude for their support, France in 1763 transferred the vast territory of Louisiana in North America to Spain. Subsequently, in 1800, this territory was returned to France, and in 1803 it was sold by Napoleon to the USA.
Since the 18th century, Spain has been considered a trendsetter. In particular, the craftsmen achieved great success in the field of leather goods. Fashionable women's bags made in Spain are still popular today.
Socio-economic and political development of Spain in the 16th century. Between old and new.
Spain, which completed by the end of the 15th century. the reconquista and, by this time, transformed into a single state (as a result of the unification of Castile and Aragon in 1479), immediately took one of the first places among the states of Europe. It included almost the entire Iberian Peninsula, with the exception of its western part, which formed the territory of Portugal. Spain also belonged to the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Sicily and from 1504 ᴦ. Kingdom of Naples. The population of Spain was, according to the most conservative estimates, 7.5 million people, but it is possible that it reached 10 million during this period. Despite the significant successes of industrial development at the beginning of the 16th century. and the flourishing of a number of cities, Spain remained an agrarian country with a backward agriculture, in which there were no economic changes characteristic of the agriculture of England and other economically developed countries of Europe at that time.
The main branch of agriculture in most areas of Spain was sheep breeding. Several million sheep were driven across the entire peninsula twice a year; in densely populated areas, the herds walked along wide roads (cañadas), in more deserted places they scattered around the surrounding area. Attempts by peasants to fence their lands, thereby saving the fields from being trampled by herds, encountered resistance from the union of large sheep farmers - Mesta.
The power of the place reached at the beginning of the 16th century. its apogee, as the development of the textile industry in Western Europe sharply increased the demand for wool, and Mesta sold it to Flanders, France and other countries with great profit. The royal power, which found an important source of treasury income in sheep breeding, provided vigorous assistance to the Mesta, not caring that the activities of this union had a disastrous effect on the state of the country's agriculture as a whole. Royal Decree 1489 ᴦ. granted the Place the right to use community pastures for its needs, and on the basis of a decree of 1501 ᴦ. each member of the Place received a permanent lease of any piece of land on which his herds grazed for a season or at least several months, if the former holder of the land did not protest during this time. During the 16th century. Laws were repeatedly issued, each of which dealt with the allocation of lands plowed 10-12 years before the publication of this law for pasture. However, the legislation gave the Place convenient pretexts for seizing peasant lands. Royal officials and judges helped her destroy the hedges that surrounded these fields.
The position of the peasantry worsened even more as a result of various permanent and extraordinary taxes. In 1510 ᴦ. direct tax - service (servicio), previously levied irregularly, was turned into a permanent one by the middle of the 16th century. its size increased 3 times.
Being in such difficult living conditions, suffering from frequent crop failures and famines, many peasants became dependent on moneylenders, which completed their ruin. Concerned about the sharp decline in bread production and the rising cost of food supplies, the Cortes repeatedly complain that moneylenders buy standing grain from needy peasants at a low price, sell them bulls on credit and lend money at such a high interest rate that the peasants are unable to to pay it, and moneylenders buy up peasant lands for next to nothing. Both Spaniards and foreigners who visited Spain wrote about the insignificant size of the cultivated area and the huge wastelands.
Even when the lands passed into the hands of new owners, farming methods did not change. Agricultural technology was very primitive. Only in the south - in Granada, Andalusia and Valencia - Morisco peasants (converted to Christianity descendants of Arabs and Berbers who remained in the country after the completion of the reconquista) still widely used irrigation and grew grapes, olives, sugar cane, date palms, mulberry trees and citrus crops. The production of agricultural products in the country did not even satisfy local needs. All of Northern Spain needed imported foreign grain.
In Spain, the growth of commodity-money relations did not lead to the emergence of a capitalist mode of production in the countryside, but, on the contrary, contributed to the conservation of feudal relations and the decline of agriculture.
Aragon retained serfdom. The feudal lords still had complete power over the personality of the peasant: the peasant had to seek the master's consent to marriage, could be deprived of property, and imprisoned without trial; Moreover, some grandees exercised the right to kill a peasant without even listening to him first. Preservation of serfdom in Aragon in the 16th-17th centuries. received legal sanction: in their writings, Aragonese jurists who defended the interests of the feudal lords, referring to Roman law, equated peasants with Roman slaves and sought to prove that lords could control the life and death of peasants. The duties of the peasants of Aragon were especially burdensome: peasants paid for grazing livestock, for fishing, for entering into inheritance rights, often for grinding grain and baking bread; Feudal lords seized the property of peasants who died childless.
In Catalonia there were large peasant uprisings at the end of the 15th century. led to the elimination of the most difficult personal duties of peasants ("bad customs") and to the liberation of peasants for a ransom. At the same time, some lords arbitrarily determined the ransom amount or generally refused to release the peasants. For this reason, remnants of serfdom remained in this area in subsequent times.
In Castile, the majority of peasants have long been free. Only a relatively small stratum of peasants was under the judicial power of the feudal lords; these peasants had few duties (for shearing goats and sheep, for movable property, etc.). Free peasants - holders of the feudal lord's land - paid him a certain amount established by custom; they had the right to leave their plot of land and go elsewhere. During this period, when some of the peasants, as already indicated, were deprived of their land, a layer of landless farm laborers gradually grew - peons, often forced to work only for shelter and food. Many peasants left the village altogether and often turned into homeless beggars or vagabonds.
In the southern regions of Spain, the situation of the Moriscos, driven out of the best lands, was very difficult. They were based on the Spanish feudal lords who settled here, paid rent to their lords and high taxes to the state and church.
In the 16th century - during a period of increasing impoverishment of the peasantry, a fierce class struggle was going on in the Spanish countryside. The stubborn resistance of the peasants to Mesta's claims to peasant fields and communal lands to some extent restrained the scope of its activities, which caused such significant damage to the country's agriculture.
Social contradictions reached their greatest severity in Aragon. The peasants tried to seek relief from their fate by fleeing; sometimes entire villages left. So, in 1539 ᴦ. The lord of the village of Fabaro seized all the movable and immovable property of the peasants, punishing them for leaving the village. Peasants often submitted petitions to the king with a request to include this or that area in the crown lands, hoping in this way to be saved from the tyranny of the lords.
From time to time local uprisings broke out. The largest of them was the uprising of 1585. in the county of Rivagorza, located on the southern slope of the Pyrenees. The rebels organized their army and elected leaders. The entire county was in their hands. The Spanish peasants were joined by local Moriscos. The Aragonese Cortes, frightened by the large scale of the unrest, issued a decree that anyone who dared to rebel in arms against their lord would be subject to the death penalty. Only after the annexation of the county of Rivagorsa to the lands of the crown was it possible to suppress this uprising.
Catalan peasants also raised uprisings during this period, the main goal of which was the complete elimination of the remnants of serfdom.
The end of the 15th and especially the first half of the 16th century. are characterized by a significant rise in handicraft production, concentrated in the cities and urban districts of Spain, and the appearance in it of individual elements of capitalist production in the form of dispersed and centralized manufacture.
Seville, whose prosperity rested primarily on its monopoly on trade with the American colonies, was the largest center of trade, banking and industry. In its outskirts, cloth, soap, porcelain and silk were produced, the production of which Seville was far ahead of Granada. Seville maintained lively trade relations not only with the regions of Spain itself and the colonies in America, but also with Antwerp, the cities of England, Southern France, Italy and some port cities of Africa.
The greatest success was achieved in Spain in the production of cloth and silk fabrics, which were of high quality. In Toledo - one of the large industrial cities - in the middle of the 16th century. More than 50 thousand artisans and hired workers were employed in the production of cloth and silk fabrics, while in 1525 ᴦ. there were only 10 thousand of them. Toledo was also famous for its production of weapons and leather processing. Shipbuilding developed in Asturias and Vizcaya.
In terms of production volume and especially the quality of its fine cloths, Segovia occupied one of the first places. The ceramic industry was developed in addition to Seville, in Malaga, Murcia, Talavera and other cities. Some cities specialized in some narrow branch of industry: in Cuenca almost exclusively cloth hats of all colors were produced and exported to North Africa; gloves were made in Ocaña.
There were large manufacturing enterprises in the cloth industry (for example, some workshops in Segovia employed 200-300 workers), and in the coin production of Seville, Granada and Burgos. Scattered manufacturing began to develop in the vicinity of Toledo, Segovia, Seville, Cuenca and other cities. According to contemporaries, the textile industry of Seville was employed in the first half of the 16th century. 130 thousand people; this number also included spinners, most of whom lived in rural areas and worked in their homes for buyers.
The rise of crafts and more advanced forms of industrial production was brought about by a number of circumstances. The Spanish hidalgos - conquerors and robbers of the newly discovered New World - needed food, clothing and weapons. The colonies in America became rich buyers of Spanish goods, and paid for them in gold and silver. However, in Spain there was an accumulation of capital, which was extremely important for the organization of large enterprises.
The growth of production was also facilitated by the fact that a large number of free workers appeared, as the flight of peasants from the countryside assumed massive proportions. In some areas, beggars and vagabonds were forcibly turned into workers. In 1551 ᴦ. The Cortes of Castile submitted a characteristic petition: they asked that in every town with a population of over 1 thousand people a special official be appointed to detain all vagabonds and force them to work in industry.
Moreover, compared with the production of advanced European countries, the overall size of Spanish industry was quite modest. Thus, mining, despite rich natural resources, remained underdeveloped.
Due to the economic disunity of the provinces, which persisted even after the unification of the country, internal trade was poorly developed, although during this period Spain still had busy shopping centers - Medina del Camiao, widely known for its fairs, Burgos, etc.
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Economic disunity was preserved by the privileges of the provinces, which created obstacles to the development of trade relations with neighboring regions, and the privileges of individual grandees and cities. Numerous customs houses continued to function on the borders of Castile.
Spain's imports, even at the beginning of the 16th century - the time of its greatest economic prosperity - exceeded exports, and the latter was dominated by raw materials and agricultural products: olive oil, wines, fruits, leather and, above all, wool, as well as metals. It is significant that during the first half of the 16th century - the period of greatest development of cloth production in Spain - the export of wool, a raw material, from the country not only did not decrease, but even increased: from 1512 to 1557 ᴦ. the volume of exported wool increased 3 times. Iron was exported to France even when Spain was at war with it. The Spanish textile industry not only failed to conquer the external European market, but also could not successfully compete with Dutch, English and French goods on the domestic market. The Spanish nobility preferred to buy imported goods, which greatly contributed to the further decline of Spanish industry, the first signs of which appeared already in the 30s of the 16th century. During these years, the Cortes complained about the poor quality of Spanish shoes and cloth. From the middle of the 16th century. There is an increasingly sharp decline in industrial production associated with the general economic decline of Spain.
Socio-economic and political development of Spain in the 16th century. Between old and new. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Socio-economic and political development of Spain in the 16th century. Between the old and the new." 2017, 2018.
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After the end of the Reconquista in 1492. the entire Iberian Peninsula, with the exception of Portugal, and Sardinia, Sicily, Balearic Islands, Kingdom of Naples and Navarre were united under the rule of the Spanish kings.
IN 1516 g. ascended the throne Charles I. Being the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella on his mother's side, he was the grandson of the Emperor on his father's side. Maximilian I of Habsburg. From his father and grandfather, Charles I received the Habsburg possessions in Germany, the Netherlands and lands in South America. In 1519, he was elected to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation and became Emperor Charles V. Contemporaries often said that in his domain “the sun never sets.” At the same time, the Aragonese and Castilian kingdoms, connected only by a dynastic union, each had their own class-representative institutions - the Cortes, their own legislation and judicial system. Castilian troops could not enter Aragon's lands, and Aragon was not obliged to defend Castile's lands in the event of war.
Until 1564, there was no single political center; the royal court moved around the country, most often stopping in Valladolid. Only in 1605. became the official capital of Spain Madrid.
Reign of Charles V
Young King Charles I (V) (1516-1555) Before ascending the throne, he was raised in the Netherlands. His retinue and entourage consisted mainly of Flemings; the king himself spoke little Spanish. In the early years, Charles ruled Spain from the Netherlands. The election to the imperial throne of the Holy Roman Empire, the journey to Germany and the costs of the coronation were to be paid by Spain.
From the first years of his reign, Charles V looked at Spain primarily as a source of financial and human resources for pursuing imperial policy in Europe. He systematically violated the customs and liberties of Spanish cities and the rights of the Cortes, which caused discontent among the burghers and artisans. In the first quarter of the 16th century. the activities of opposition forces concentrated around the issue of forced loans, which the king often resorted to from the first years of his reign.
IN 1518 to pay off their creditors, German bankers Fuggers Charles V was able, with great difficulty, to obtain a huge subsidy from the Castilian Cortes, but this money was quickly spent. In 1519, in order to receive a new loan, the king was forced to accept the conditions put forward by the Cortes, among which was the requirement that he not leave Spain, not appoint foreigners to government positions, and not delegate the collection of taxes to them. But immediately after receiving money, the king left Spain, appointing the Fleming Cardinal Adrian of Utrecht as governor.
Revolt of the urban communes of Castile (comuneros).
The king's violation of the signed agreement was a signal for the uprising of urban communes against royal power, called the revolt of the communes (1520-1522). After the king's departure, when the deputies of the Cortes, who had shown excessive compliance, returned to their cities, they were met with general indignation. One of the main demands of the rebel cities was to prohibit the import of woolen fabrics from the Netherlands into the country.
In the summer of 1520, the armed forces of the rebels, led by the nobleman Juan de Padilla, united within the framework of the Holy Junta. The cities refused to obey the governor and prohibited his armed forces from entering their territory. The cities demanded the return of the crown lands seized by the grandees to the treasury and their payment of church tithes. They hoped that these measures would improve the financial position of the state and lead to a weakening of the tax burden, which fell heavily on the tax-paying class.
In the spring and summer of 1520, almost the entire country came under the control of the Junta. The Cardinal Viceroy, in constant fear, wrote to Charles V that “there is not a single village in Castile that does not join the rebels.” Charles V ordered the demands of some cities to be met in order to split the movement.
In the fall of 1520, 15 cities withdrew from the uprising; their representatives, meeting in Seville, adopted a document on withdrawal from the struggle. In the autumn of the same year, the cardinal-vicar began open military action against the rebels.
As the movement deepened, its anti-feudal character began to clearly appear. The rebel cities were joined by Castilian peasants who suffered from the tyranny of the grandees on the captured domain lands. Peasants destroyed estates and destroyed castles and palaces of the nobility. In April 1521, the Junta declared its support for the peasant movement directed against the grandees as enemies of the kingdom.
After this, the nobles and nobility openly went over to the camp of the enemies of the movement. Only a small group of nobles remained in the Junta; the middle strata of the townspeople began to play the main role in it. Taking advantage of the enmity between the nobility and the cities, the Cardinal Viceroy's troops went on the offensive and defeated the troops of Juan de Padilla at the Battle of Villalare (1522). The leaders of the movement were captured and beheaded.
In October 1522, Charles V returned to the country at the head of a detachment of mercenaries, but by this time the movement had already been suppressed.
Economic development of Spain in the 16th century.
The most populous part of Spain was Castile, where 3/4 of the population of the Iberian Peninsula lived. The bulk of the Castilian peasants were personally free. They held the lands of spiritual and secular feudal lords in hereditary use, paying a monetary qualification for them.
The socio-economic system of Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia differed sharply from the system of Castile. Here in the 16th century. The most brutal forms of feudal dependence were preserved. The feudal lords inherited the property of the peasants, interfered in their personal lives, could subject them to corporal punishment and even put them to death.
The Moriscos, descendants of the Moors who were forcibly converted to Christianity, were in a particularly difficult situation in Spain. They were subject to heavy taxes and were constantly under the supervision of the Inquisition. Contrary to this, the hardworking Moriscos have long grown such valuable crops as olives, rice, grapes, sugar cane, and mulberry trees. In the south, they created a perfect irrigation system, thanks to which the Moriscos received high yields of grain, vegetables and fruits.
For many centuries, transhumance sheep breeding was an important branch of agriculture in Castile. The largest part of the sheep flocks belonged to a privileged noble corporation - Location, which enjoyed special royal patronage.
Twice a year, in spring and autumn, thousands of sheep were driven from north to south of the peninsula along cañadas - wide roads laid through cultivated fields, vineyards, and olive groves. Moving across the country, tens of thousands of sheep caused enormous damage to agriculture. Under pain of severe punishment, peasants were forbidden to fence their fields from passing herds.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the place achieved confirmation of all the previous privileges of this corporation, which caused significant damage to agriculture.
The tax system in Spain also hampered the development of capitalist elements in the country's economy. The most hated tax was alcabala - a 10% tax on every trade transaction; in addition, there was also a huge number of permanent and emergency taxes, the size of which increased all the time during the 16th century, taking up to 50% of the income of the peasant and artisan. The difficult situation of the peasants was aggravated by all kinds of government duties (transportation of goods for the royal court and troops, soldiers' quarters, food supplies for the army, etc.).
Spain was the first country to experience the impact of the price revolution. This was a consequence of the large amount of gold and other jewelry coming to Spain from the colonies. During the 16th century, prices increased 3.5-4 times. In Spain it has become more profitable to sell than to buy. Already in the first quarter of the 16th century. There was an increase in prices for basic necessities, and above all for bread. However, the system of taxes (maximum prices for grain) established in 1503 artificially kept prices for bread low, while other products quickly became more expensive. The consequence of this was a reduction in grain crops and a sharp drop in grain production in the middle of the 16th century. Since the 30s, most regions of the country imported bread from abroad - from France and Sicily. Imported bread was not subject to the law on taxes and was sold at 2-2.5 times more expensive than grain produced by Spanish peasants.
The conquest of the colonies and the unprecedented expansion of colonial trade contributed to the rise of handicraft production in the cities of Spain and the emergence of individual elements of manufacturing production, especially in cloth making. In its main centers - Segovia, Toledo, Seville, Cuenca- manufactories arose.
Spanish wines have enjoyed great popularity in Europe since Arab times. silk fabrics, famous for their high quality, brightness and color stability. The main centers of silk production were Seville, Toledo, Cordoba, Granada and Valencia. Expensive silk fabrics were little consumed in Spain and were mainly exported, as were brocade, velvet, gloves, and hats made in the southern cities. At the same time, coarse, cheap woolen and linen fabrics were imported to Spain from the Netherlands and England.
The Toledo region was considered another old economic center of Spain. The city itself was famous for the production of cloth, silk fabrics, the production of weapons and leather processing.
In 1503, Seville's monopoly on trade with the colonies was established and the Seville Chamber of Commerce was created, which controlled the export of goods from Spain to the colonies and the import of cargo from the New World, mainly consisting of gold and silver bullion. All goods intended for export and import were carefully registered by officials and were subject to duties in favor of the treasury.
Wine and olive oil became the main Spanish exports to America. Investing money in colonial trade gave very great benefits (the profit here was much higher than in other industries). A significant part of merchants and artisans moved to Seville from other regions of Spain, primarily from the north. The population of Seville grew rapidly: from 1530 to 1594 it doubled. The number of banks and merchant companies increased. At the same time, this meant the actual deprivation of other areas of the opportunity to trade with the colonies, since due to the lack of water and convenient land routes, transporting goods to Seville from the north was very expensive. The monopoly of Seville provided the treasury with huge revenues, but it had a detrimental effect on the economic situation of other parts of the country. The role of the northern regions, which had convenient access to the Atlantic Ocean, was reduced only to the protection of flotillas heading to the colonies, which led their economy to decline at the end of the 16th century.
Despite the economic growth of the first half of the 16th century, Spain remained generally an agrarian country with an underdeveloped internal market; certain areas were locally closed economically.
Political system.
During the reign Charles V (1516-1555) and Philip II (1555-1598) There was a strengthening of central power, but the Spanish state was politically a motley conglomerate of disunited territories.
Already in the first quarter of the 16th century, the role of the Cortes was reduced exclusively to voting new taxes and loans to the king. Increasingly, only city representatives began to be invited to their meetings. Since 1538, the nobility and clergy were not officially represented in the Cortes. At the same time, in connection with the massive relocation of nobles to the cities, a fierce struggle broke out between the burghers and the nobility for participation in city government. As a result, the nobles secured the right to occupy half of all positions in municipal bodies. In some cities, for example in Madrid, Salamanca, Zamora, Seville, a nobleman had to be at the head of the city council; The city mounted militia was also formed from nobles. Increasingly, nobles acted as representatives of cities in the Cortes. True, the nobles often sold their municipal positions to wealthy townspeople, many of whom were not even residents of these places, or rented them out.
The further decline of the Cortes was accompanied in the middle of the 17th century. depriving them of the right to vote taxes, which was transferred to city councils, after which the Cortes ceased to be convened.
In the XVI - early XVII centuries. large cities largely retained their medieval appearance. These were urban communes, where the urban patriciate and nobles were in power. Many city residents who had fairly high incomes purchased “hidalgia” for money, which exempted them from paying taxes.
