Open Research Online The Open University’s repository of research publications and other research outputs Power and Finance at the Court of Charles V: Francisco De Los Cobos, Royal Secretary of Charles V Thesis How to cite: Liddle, Dryden Grant (2010). Power and Finance at the Court of Charles V: Francisco De Los Cobos, Royal Secretary of Charles V. PhD thesis The Open University. For guidance on citations see FAQs. c 2010 The Author https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Version: Version of Record Link(s) to article on publisher’s website: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21954/ou.ro.0000f1de Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online’s data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. oro.open.ac.uk UNR6£TRiCT6D Power and Finance at the Court of Charles V Francisco de los Cobos, Royal Secretary of Charles V Dryden 6. Liddle MA .'V ----- in Economics (Cantab) and MA in History (OU) OoJcC ol SubirvCsswrv.1Q> Febv^o^j 2oio Submitted for the DoOfc ol /W ard: \Q> 2oio. degree °f PhD in History February, 2010 ProQuest Number: 13837591 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 13837591 Published by ProQuest LLC(2019). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract This thesis places Francisco de los Cobos at the centre of Charles V's imperial project. It therefore discusses his role in the context of Spanish administration, society, economy and empire. Given the emperor's voracious need for finance for his many wars Cobos is shown to be inseparable from the whole question of Castilian financial resources. The thesis is thematic, beginning by tracing Cobos's rise through an analysis of his tactics for securing and maintaining political power and social ascent by his use of Castile's institutions. This establishes the context of his world. It then considers his use of power and his political network. From his rise, through his Castilian administrative skills, the thesis shows that he was at the centre of wider developments — the financing needs of imperial policy and the emerging discoveries of precious metals in the New World. The longest chapters relate to his central role in broadening the financial basis of Charles's royal domain wealth in Castile by, among other things, working with the towns to ensure a regular increase in taxes from the town's representatives in the Cortes. This solidified his position of trust and confidence with the emperor and also provided the means by which credit could be obtained through secured contracts with the bankers. The thesis redresses the imbalance of previous scholarship where, although Cobos's importance was recognised, it was usually in an oblique or subsidiary role iii showing him absorbed in the detail of administration and patronage. The thesis concludes by examining his purpose and success in entailing his wealth and family dynasty. iv Preface Francisco de los Cobos has largely been relegated by historians to a role of discreet advisor to Charles V. The thesis redresses this modest interpretation of his importance and places him at the centre of events, while recognising that not all questions have been answered or problems solved from the sources consultied. This thesis is based principally on manuscript and early printed sources from an extensive and diverse number of archives but also draws widely on existing secondary material. I am indebted to scholars who preceded me and did much of the spadework in the relevant archives. While critical of Keniston's 1958 biography, his solid archival work provided many leads to follow. The high standard he set is evident by the reluctance or inhibitions of historians to raise further questions or re-examine archival sources. Partly this is explained by the difficulty of the palaeography of Cobos's "hand' and partly by Cobos's epistolary discretion. Even such an estimable scholar as Ramon Carande has commented on this difficulty. Thus help from archivists in translating particularly difficult phrases, especially at Simancas and at the Camarasa archive in Seville, was crucial in advancing the thesis. I am also grateful for the help of the staff of the Blblioteca Nacional in Madrid where much of my time has been spent. Guidance to the archival material at the town hall in Ubeda and the private archive of Zabalburu in Madrid was also most helpful. I would like to thank Eduardo Anglado V Monzon of the Biblioteca Nacional for introducing me to Aurelio Valladares and Joaquin Montes Bardo of the Unlversldad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia in Ubeda. They were both helpful in locating manuscripts in Ubeda and in interpretating the importance to Cobos of the chapel of El Salvador in that town. I wish also to thank the John Carter Brown Library in Providence, Rhode Island and Pepe Amor for granting me the Jose Amor y Vazquez Fellowship to study at this remarkable library of early printed books and maps. My frequent visits there also gave me the opportunity to meet Fellows and Invited Scholars and to exchange ideas on our different studies. I thank Norman Fiering and Ted Widmer for permitting me to return each summer for further study and to enjoy the most stimulating of environments. My thanks also go to James Muldoon, Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University, for our long lunches and discussions on medieval institutions that continually fired my enthusiasm. I further wish to thank my supervisors at The Open University, Dr. Ole Grell and Dr. David Goodman, for their helpful criticism, and valuable advice. Finally, I am grateful to my wife, Patricia, for her forbearance in accepting my long absences and forgetfulness on many issues, and my son, also named Dryden, for proofing and improving the style of some of the chapters. 1 Contents Glossary of Spanish Terms ............................................ 4 Chapter One.................................... ............................................ 9 Introduction ........................................................... 9 Chapter Two.................................................................................44 Social Ascent and Political Power............................. ...44 Cobos and the Military Orders.............. 50 Senorfos ( private lordships)...................................................................57 Adelantamiento de Cazorla .......... 66 Chapter Three............................................................................ 91 Securing Power and its Consolidation ................................91 Cobos's Good Works.............................................................................92 Framework of Power.............................................................................. 98 Administrative Machinery and the Framework of................... Policy 104 Cobos and Tavera........................ ........................................................118 Cobos and Powerful Friends.................................................................729 Francisco de Borja.........................................................................130 Diego Hurtado de Mendoza......................................................... 140 Lope Hurtado de Mendoza............................................................. 152 Chapter Four............................................................................. 156 The Finance of Empire...............................................................156 Securing Funds for War: the role o f............................................ Cobos 156 Cobos and Cthe ortes of Castile.............................................................168 Cobos's Influence in the Council of Finance.........................................212 Cobos, Tavera and Taxes on the Clergy.................................................. 221 Chapter Five...............................................................................240 2 The Finance of Empire ....... ...................................................... 240 From Liquidity Crisis to Solvency Crisis.............................................................240 Cobos and Alienation of Royal...................................... Rights ...................... 261 Cobos, Juros and Silver ...................................................................... 269 Chapter Six.................... ...290 Property, Testament and Mayorazgo.............................................290 Conclusion............................... 321 Appendix One.................. .................................................................332 The Cobos Family Tree........................................................................332 Appendix Two ........................................................... 334 Laws Relating to the Encabezamiento...............................................334 Folio LVIil, Libro VI, titulo.................... III .............. 334 Ley I .........................................................................