The Municipal Administration in Elvas During the Portuguese Restoration War (1640-1668) Teresa Fonseca CIDEHUS/University of Évora
[email protected] Abstract The case study of Elvas – one of the main military border zones – is the subject of this essay, which studies the way in which municipal administrations reacted and adapted to the Portuguese Restoration War. It analyses the relationships between the local authorities, the army and the central government and the way in which Elvas Town Council dealt with the ever-growing defensive, logistic, economic, social, financial and administrative problems. Problems originated in an exceptionally difficult situation, which lasted for 28 years. Keywords Restoration, War, Army, Border, Municipality, Society Resumo O presente estudo aborda, através do caso de Elvas – uma das principais praças militares raianas – o modo como a administração municipal reagiu e se adaptou à Guerra da Restauração. Trata as relações dos dirigentes locais com o exército e o poder central e também o modo como enfrentaram os problemas acrescidos de natureza defensiva, logística, económica, social, financeira e administrativa, gerados por uma situação excepcionalmente difícil, que se arrastou ao longo de 28 anos. Palavras chave Restauração. Guerra Exército. Fronteira. Municipalismo. Sociedade. 1. Introduction Municipal autonomy, originally conquered when Town Councils themselves became institutionalized, was preserved, in all its essential qualities, until the implementation of the administrative liberal reform. Such preservation