A History of Spain Part 15

CHAPTER XVII

INSt.i.tUTIONS OF OUTLYING HISPANIC STATES, 1252-1479

So far as they have not already been discussed, in dealing with Castile and Aragon, the inst.i.tutions of Majorca, Navarre, the Basque provinces, and Granada may be dealt with here, especially in their original aspects.

_Majorca_

[Sidenote: Outline of Majorcan history.]

By the will of Jaime I, Majorca and the Roussillon were const.i.tuted into a kingdom apart from Aragon, but almost immediately afterward Pedro III of Aragon compelled Jaime II of Majorca to acknowledge the overlords.h.i.+p of the peninsula monarch. In 1349 Pedro IV of Aragon annexed Majorca, but the political change was one of monarch only, for Majorca continued to be a separate state with a history of its own. The political life of Majorca centred about the workings of the munic.i.p.al organization of Palma, its capital city (on which the government of the island was based), and was involved with social problems.

[Sidenote: The peculiar social bases of Majorca.]

After the conquest of the island by Jaime I nearly all of the great n.o.bles who had accompanied the king returned to the peninsula, granting their lands to _caballeros_ of their following, or renting them to plebeian cultivators, and Jaime I did much the same. Thus the _caballeros_, or n.o.bility of the second grade, were virtually the only representatives of the feudal aristocracy in Majorca, and laws were pa.s.sed limiting the amount of land which they might hold, so as to avoid the evil of vast estates. The _caballeros_ were reinforced by a Catalan middle cla.s.s element which const.i.tuted a majority of the Christians in the island in the early years following the conquest. From these two elements there emerged a new aristocracy, based on wealth, growing out of Majorcan commerce, an aristocracy open to all, given to pomp and luxury, and dwelling mostly in Palma. Some of the wealthy lived in the country, where there was also a large number of free tillers of the soil. A few of these became wealthy, but there was always a tendency for the rich to migrate to Palma. The position of the rural cla.s.ses was not satisfactory at any time, but two causes appeared in the fourteenth century to make it worse. One was the increase in taxation after the reincorporation into the crown of Aragon, and the other a change in the form of wealth with the decline of Majorcan commerce in the latter fourteenth century, when the aristocracy of Palma began to buy lands and rights to collect taxes. Thus the rural districts became economically dependent on the absentee landlords at the capital, who were more zealous over the collection of their rents and taxes than in cultivating the land. Society divided itself largely on the lines of the country and the city, with the inhabitants of the former bitterly hostile to the aristocracy of the latter.

[Sidenote: Conversion of the Mudejares and Jews.]

Of the despised cla.s.ses the Mudejares, as such, soon disappeared, despite their great numbers at the time of the conquest. Upon conversion to Christianity or emanc.i.p.ation from slavery they mixed with the lower cla.s.ses of the Christians, and were completely absorbed. The history of the Jews was almost identical with that of their race in the peninsula, but was involved with the peculiar social problems of Majorca apart from race and religion. The kings collected heavy tributes from them, but protected them, allowing them the free exercise of their business and the practice of their faith, exempting them from all taxation (even munic.i.p.al) except the royal tributes, aiding them in the collection of debts, and facilitating the entry of Jews and Marranos into Majorca.

Numerous attacks were made on them in the fourteenth century, culminating in the sack of the Jewish quarter of the capital in 1391 (the year which was so disastrous to the Jews in other parts of Spain), when some three hundred men and women were killed. In addition to the usual animosities against them because of their religion and the incitement of debtors this attack was in part an outgrowth of the struggle of the rural cla.s.ses against the landlords, to whom the sack of the Jewish quarter was a severe financial blow, since much of their wealth depended on their relations with the Jews, with whom also they were wont to deposit their jewels. The rioters were able to obtain decrees from the royal governor-general extinguis.h.i.+ng debts and interest due to the Jews, confirming the t.i.tle of those who had taken part in the attack to the money and jewelry they had stolen, pardoning all offences committed, and ordering an immediate conversion of the Jews. The general conversion took place at once, but had to be repeated in 1435.

[Sidenote: The munic.i.p.al form of Majorcan government.]

Since the outlying settlements were unimportant at the time of the conquest, the government of the city of Palma was extended over the entire island. At length the administration at the capital was organized on the basis of a magistracy of six persons (a _caballero_, two citizens, two merchants, and an artisan), who served for a year and appointed their successors. The attempt to maintain this organization after the rural population had grown to appreciable numbers was one of the causes of the social strife between the rural and city elements.

Within Palma itself there were also the disputes of different social cla.s.ses and of rival powerful families. By a reform of 1358 the rural population obtained some financial independence whereby their contributions were limited to those which were to be applied for expenses in which they had an interest in common with the city, and a portion was a.s.signed to them to spend on matters of their own, for which purpose a rural organization was formed to provide for the management of their affairs. Another reform established a council subordinate to the six magistrates, in which the rural population had a minority representation, thirty in ninety-three in 1398. This did not satisfy them, for they desired a complete separation from the city government.

Still other reforms were made, but they did not get at the root of the evil, for the city remained dominant over the affairs of the country, oppressing the people both economically and politically.

[Sidenote: The social wars of Majorca and Minorca.]

Shortly after the successful issue of the attack upon the Jews in 1391 the rural levies moved against their Christian enemies in Palma. This time they failed, and a number of their chiefs were executed. No further conflict of importance occurred until 1450, when a bitter civil war broke out. Aided by the laboring cla.s.ses of Palma the rural forces besieged the capital, but were unable to take it. In 1452 the insurrection was put down. In 1463 there was another uprising, and from that date to the end of the era a state of affairs bordering on anarchy prevailed, enhanced by the economic decline of Majorca, and by the disorders on the mainland which filled the reign of Juan II. In the island of Minorca a parallel situation existed throughout the era in the conflicts of the capital, Ciudadela, with the rural districts.

[Sidenote: Greatness and decline of Majorcan commerce.]

Majorca had an excellent climate and a fertile soil which fitted it for agricultural wealth, and the Moslems had furthered this by their use of irrigation. They had also engaged considerably in manufacturing, and had an already well-developed trade at the time of the conquest. Under Christian domination Majorca soon attained to an extraordinary commercial importance, trading in all parts of the Mediterranean and in Flanders, and having consuls and commercial exchanges in nearly all European countries. In the fourteenth century more than thirty thousand sailors resided in Palma, and many foreign merchants dwelt there. The wealthy trader was the veritable great lord in the island, with his palaces, country estates, and his display of luxury. The decline set in about the middle of the fourteenth century, due in part to the annexation of Majorca to the kingdom of Aragon. Other causes hastened the fall: disastrous plagues, earthquakes, and floods; the advance of the Turks into Europe, cutting off a rich commercial field; the increased importance of the Italian cities in the eastern Mediterranean trade; the raids of pirates; the expensive wars of Aragon; and the persistent social and political strife in Majorca itself. Nevertheless, a considerable trade remained until the middle of the fifteenth century, when a new series of misfortunes,--such as the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the prohibition of the entry of Majorcan cloths into Naples, the compet.i.tion of Rhodes and Portugal in the east, and hostilities with the Moslem states of northern Africa (thus cutting off that avenue of trade),--added to the continuing effect of some of the already-named evils, brought about the complete downfall of the Majorcan mercantile power. One advantage resulted, though not great enough to offset the commercial loss: a beginning was made of a more intensive cultivation of the agricultural wealth which the island was so well able to produce.

_Navarre_

[Sidenote: Backwardness of Navarre.]

The inst.i.tutions of Navarre at this time were affected by French influences, but in the main resembled those of the rest of the peninsula both in form and in their evolution, except that they displayed a backwardness which was natural in a region so thinly populated. The feudal regime persisted, although some gains were made by the servile cla.s.ses, the towns, and the kings. A corporate sense of society, as manifested in the importance of the family as a whole and in the a.s.sociations of neighbors and citizens (especially marked in the rural districts), still existed. The Mudejares and Jews were comparatively numerous, and their lot was the same as in other parts of the peninsula.

The marriage _a yuras_ was sanctioned in Navarre longer than elsewhere, although at length it was banished. _Barragania_ (much resorted to by churchmen) survived, and received a measure of acceptance. The customs of chivalry were greatly in vogue, and bull-fighting and ball-games[50]

were very popular. Agriculture, with the aid of irrigation, and stock-raising were the princ.i.p.al occupations. In intellectual culture and the fine arts Navarre was rather a continuation of France than a part of Spain. The country was markedly backward in these respects, however, as evidenced by the ignorance of the clergy, compared with churchmen in other regions, and by the fact that the kings rarely had any books other than those of prayer. Although Basque was the national tongue, such books as were written usually appeared in Latin or in Castilian,--one more demonstration of the intellectual predominance of central Spain. French Gothic prevailed in architecture, sculpture, gold work, and painting.

_The Basque provinces_

[Sidenote: Unique character of Basque inst.i.tutions.]

The three Basque provinces of alava, Vizcaya, and Guipuzcoa have always been unique in their history and inst.i.tutions, and are the subject of many popular legends more or less founded on fact, such as the one already discussed that the Basques have never been conquered, and another that they are all n.o.bles. In this period they were becoming more and more Castilian in customs, but they still retained much that was indigenous.

[Sidenote: The social and political system in alava.]

In general social organization alava did not differ from other Spanish regions. It was technically a _behetria de mar a mar_ (free town from sea to sea): made up of a group of small seigniorial estates, both n.o.ble and ecclesiastical, whose rulers were free to elect a common lord without being restrained to a determinate family. The unt.i.tled inhabitants were rural laborers, who were either serfs or in a state but little removed from serfdom, and the free, popular cla.s.ses of the towns, but neither of these elements exercised great influence. After the incorporation of alava into Castile in 1332, the older type of government, based primarily on the _Cofradia_ of Arriaga and the elected lord, underwent a radical change. The overlords.h.i.+p became fixed in the crown of Castile, and the _cofradia_ disappeared, although a similar body soon developed. The king was represented at times by an _adelantado_ as well as by lesser royal officials, and reserved high justice to himself, besides rights to military service and a certain few taxes. Local government was carried on by various a.s.semblies, reaching in a hierarchy from the lesser regional inst.i.tutions to the general a.s.sembly for the entire province. The general a.s.sembly was both a legislative and an administrative body, but its princ.i.p.al function was the inspection of royal orders to see if they conformed to the regional charters. A juridical difference existed between the towns and the country, for the former were ruled by Castilian law and the latter by ancient custom, resulting in the economic dependence of the rural laboring cla.s.ses, even after serfdom had disappeared.

[Sidenote: The social and political system in Vizcaya.]

Until its consolidation with the Castilian crown by inheritance in 1370, Vizcaya was a _behetria de linaje_ (free town within a family), electing its lord from a determinate family, but both before and after that date there was a marked lack of regional solidarity, for various groups were to a great degree autonomous. There were two princ.i.p.al types of jurisdiction: the seigniorial estates, with the usual incidents found elsewhere; and the indigenous Basque settlements, which pretended to the n.o.bility of their inhabitants, even to the point of refusing to permit foreigners to dwell among them unless they too were of n.o.ble rank. The indigenous element was to be found in rural districts, and was ruled by customs, which were written down for the first time in 1452. The patriarchal form of family life continued to exist here, as evidenced by the requirement that lands should return to the family from which they proceeded in case of a failure of direct heirs, and by the right to leave virtually one's entire estate to a single descendant. Custom recognized a right of way over the lands of others, even when enclosed,--which would seem to indicate backwardness in the development of means of communication. In government the king was represented princ.i.p.ally by a _corregidor_. The inhabitants of Vizcaya were exempt from any taxes of Castilian origin, but paid certain other contributions to the king, were subject to both military and naval service, and acknowledged the right of high justice in the royal officials. The general a.s.sembly of Vizcaya, like that of alava, had a right to inspect royal decrees.

[Sidenote: The social and political system in Guipuzcoa.]

The people of Guipuzcoa claimed to be of n.o.ble rank, and this status was legally recognized for most of them by laws enacted before, during, and after this period. Nevertheless the customs of the land itself amounted to a denial of their claim, and the familiar social differences existed, even though the majority of the people were legally n.o.bles. There was a seigniorial cla.s.s of the usual variety, with dependents in a more or less servile relation. A middle cla.s.s n.o.bility existed, composed of small proprietors or the industrial laborers and merchants of the towns.

This element was very insistent on its n.o.ble rank (which indeed carried with it special privileges, such as the exclusive right to hold public office and certain exemptions from taxation), and enacted laws excluding those who were not of n.o.ble blood from a right to live in the towns.

These laws were not enforced, however, and a popular cla.s.s grew up, composed of Guipuzcoans whose n.o.ble rank was not recognized and of foreigners, many of whom settled in the land. Politically Guipuzcoa was a _behetria_ subject alternately to the kings of Navarre and Castile, until in 1200 the overlords.h.i.+p became fixed in the Castilian crown. At first the king was represented by an _adelantado_, who was customarily ruler at the same time of alava or of the county of Castile; later a _corregidor_ for Guipuzcoa alone was named, while there were a number of royal _merinos_ as well. There was no other organization for the entire province until the fourteenth century, but each region dealt separately with the royal government. Gradually, through the formation of groups of settlements, a general league and at length a general a.s.sembly developed, with much the same powers as the a.s.semblies of alava and Vizcaya. The munic.i.p.alities continued to be the princ.i.p.al centre of regional autonomy, however, especially the more important towns, which protected the lesser settlements through an inst.i.tution similar to the Catalonian _carreratge_. Like the other Basque provinces Guipuzcoa enjoyed a number of privileges, of which the most prized was the exemption from general taxation, although certain specified tributes were regularly collected. More than once the province rose in arms to resist the imposition of taxes of Castilian origin.

[Sidenote: Inter-relations of the Basque provinces.]

Despite community of race and language the three provinces never formed a political unit. At times Guipuzcoa and alava had the same _adelantado_ or held general a.s.semblies in common, and there were some instances where the a.s.semblies of all three provinces met to discuss matters of common interest. Alliances were made between towns of the same or different provinces, perhaps including towns in France, for such purposes as the regulation of the use of lands common. In one respect there was a certain amount of unity (in interest at least): in the conflict of the towns against the great lords and their allies, the rural population, in all three provinces. The lords were so turbulent that the kings joined with the towns in attempts to suppress them, and the lords even fought one another, wherefore their power was considerably reduced, though not entirely broken.

_Granada_

[Sidenote: Social and political decadence of Granada.]

[Sidenote: Economic wealth.]

According to modern estimates Granada had a population of three or four millions in its last days, which bespeaks a great density, due largely to the migrations of Mudejares from Christian lands. In social and political organization Granada was a miniature of the early caliphate.

The Arabs reappeared as the princ.i.p.al element, and furnished the ruling family. They had the same scornful and quarrelsome aristocratic pride as in other days, and were opposed, as before, by the Berbers, who outnumbered them. The most numerous element was that of the Renegados, which was also next in importance to the Arabs. There were many thousands of Christian slaves as well. Signs of social decay were everywhere visible, especially in the pa.s.sion of the wealthy for luxury and futile diversions at vast expense, while on the other hand there existed the poverty-stricken proletariat.[51] Internal political history reduced itself to a series of riots, a.s.sa.s.sinations, rebellions, acts of vengeance, and exhibitions of partisan rancor. The influence of Christian Spain was more and more intense, manifesting itself in general customs and dress; even the practices of chivalry were introduced. Given the richness of soil and favoring climate and the great population of Granada, it was natural that there should have been a considerable measure of economic prosperity there. This became less as the period advanced, as a result of political weakness and social decay, but Granada was still wealthy at the time (in the next era) it disappeared as a kingdom.

[Sidenote: Granadine architecture.]

In sciences and letters Granada continued the intellectual traditions of Moslem Spain, but it cannot be said that its influence was great. In the arts, however, Granada introduced features of general importance, and especially in architecture, of which the outstanding example is the palace of the Alhambra in the city of Granada. The most salient note in Granadine architecture was richness in ornamentation, in which it is not surpa.s.sed by any other style in the world. The walls were adorned with relief work in stucco, and variegated azulejos tiles were also used in great profusion. The decorative motives were geometrical or floral, and the _tout ensemble_ was not only brilliant in color, but also harmoniously appealing. In structural features, too, Granadine architecture attained to great beauty.

CHAPTER XVIII

ERA OF THE CATHOLIC KINGS, 1479-1517

[Sidenote: Transition from medieval to modern Spain.]

The joint reign of Ferdinand (1479-1516) and Isabella (1474-1504), known as "the Catholic Kings," witnessed the substantial fulfilment of the aims of medieval Hispanic royalty, and at the same time began in striking fas.h.i.+on that complexity of life and action which characterizes the modern age. On the one hand the turbulent elements which had for so long stood for decentralization and disorder as opposed to national unity and internal peace were done away with or rendered powerless; on the other, life in its various inst.i.tutional phases approximated itself in a considerable degree to that of our own times, and Spain stood forth from the domestic bickerings which had formerly absorbed her attention to enter upon the career and status of a world power. The greatest single event in the period was undoubtedly the discovery of America, from which came, directly or indirectly, Spain's princ.i.p.al claims to the recognition of posterity. Important only in less degree were the conquest of Granada, the establishment of the Inquisition and the expulsion from Spain of the non-Catholic elements, and Spain's entry into the maelstrom of European politics on a greater scale than ever before, through the medium of Ferdinand's intervention in Italy.

Measured by the success attained in their own day the Catholic Kings prospered in nearly everything they undertook, but the ultimate result, which could not have been foreseen at the time, was in many respects to prove disastrous to Spain herself, if, indeed, there were counter-balancing advantages and a glorious memory. The wealth and greatness proceeding from the conquest of the Americas were to be sacrificed in a fruitless attempt to gain a predominant place in Europe,--which, indeed, Spain might have had, much as England acquired it, if she had not pursued it so directly and insistently, but had been willing to devote her attention to her colonies. On the other hand, the Americas drained Spain of some of her best resources in manhood, while the Italian wars brought her into the current of the highest European civilization. These consequences, whatever att.i.tude one may take with regard to them, did not become manifest until a much later time, but they had the most p.r.o.nounced of their impulses, if not in all cases their origins, in the reign of the Catholic Kings.