CATALAN HISTORICAL REVIEW, 3: 69-86 (2010) Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Barcelona DOI: 10.2436/20.1000.01.40 · ISSN: 2013-407X http://revistes.iec.cat/chr/ The War of the Spanish Succession in the Catalan-speaking Lands Agustí Alcoberro* Universitat de Barcelona Museu d’Història de Catalunya Received 30 June 2009 · Accepted 20 September 2009 Abstract The War of the Spanish Succession affected the entire continent of Europe directly or indirectly. Within the Spanish monarchy, most of the states in the Crown of Aragon sided with Archduke Charles of Austria (Charles III), while Crown of Castile lent its support to Duke Philip of Anjou (Philip V). After the Treaty of Utrecht, Catalonia prolonged its resist- ance for 14 more months under a republican government. At the end of the war, the victors imposed repression, exile and the end to the Catalan constitutions. Key words: War of the Spanish Succession, Austriacism, pactism, absolutism, history of Catalonia, 18th century The history of the Catalan-speaking lands (and the The Crown of Aragon and the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon) singles out the end of the War of the monarchy: An historical perspective Spanish Succession as a true turning point. Prior to the war, the kingdoms within the Crown of Aragon had de- The merger of the crowns, sealed with the marriage veloped their own legislation and political life. This proc- of Ferdinand II of Catalonia and Aragon to Isabel I of ess was not halted with either the merger of the crowns Castile in 1469, preserved the political and institutional which dynastically linked Aragon and Castile in the late sovereignty of the kingdoms. Only foreign affairs (diplo- 15th century or the formation of the composite Habsburg macy and/or warfare) came to depend on the higher in- monarchy. Quite the contrary, throughout the 16th and stance, which the other Courts labelled the Spanish or 17th centuries the different states within the Crown of Catholic monarchy. As several authors have pointed out, Aragon underwent institutional development character- the merger of the crowns followed the Catalan-Aragonese ised by the extension of social and territorial representa- model of confederation, as opposed to the Castilian ver- tion and an increase in the competences and fiscal sion, which pursued a more standardising, assimilating resources of their representative or parliamentary institu- model.1 This was coupled with the essentially pactist Cata- tions. In parallel, especially starting in the last few decades lan-Aragonese political model, in contrast to the funda- of the 16th century, these institutions forged their own mentally authoritarian model of the Castilian government. legal-political discourse, a process that was particularly Thus, the constitutional regime deployed successively intense in Catalonia. However, this tendency suddenly in Catalonia until 1714 included such guarantees as the ground to a halt with Catalonia’s defeat in the War of the full legislative and fiscal sovereignty of the General Court Spanish Succession. The new Bourbon order, cemented or Parliament; judicial sovereignty expressed through the with the Nueva Planta decrees, led to the imposition of a Audiencia (or Tribunal) of Catalonia; and the existence of newly-minted absolutist regime. In this article, we shall an arbitrating institution, the Tribunal de Contrafaccions analyse the Catalan-speaking lands’ involvement in the or Constitutional Tribunal, whose composition was Spanish War of Succession, focusing especially on the fac- equally divided between the king and the local institu- tors that led to their engagement in war and the conse- tions “of the land”. This tribunal resolved institutional quences brought about by their defeat.* conflicts, claims against actions by the authorities deemed unconstitutional and other similar grievances. These in- stitutions and the legal practices derived from them were grounded on a longstanding juridical-political literature which had yielded fully consolidated political values, the most important of which were the characterisation of * Contact address: Agustí Alcoberro. Departament d’Història Moderna. Facultat de Filosofia i de Geografia i Història. Carrer Montalegre 6, E-08001 sovereignty as a pact between the king and “the land” Barcelona, Catalonia, EU. Tel. +34934037956. E-mail: [email protected] (pactism); the supremacy of the law, to which govern- 70 Cat. Hist. Rev. 3, 2010 Agustí Alcoberro ments, rulers and even the monarchy itself had to submit; doms. The consecutive pacts signed with other European and as a rather original feature of the country, control states to divide the Spanish monarchy were accompanied over the revenues and expenditures of the state taxation by an increasingly direct and vast influence in the Madrid authority by the representative institutions of the branch- Court, as well as warring episodes in which France dem- es or institutions (and notably by the General Deputation, onstrated its military superiority, such as the Nine Years’ or Generalitat de Catalunya).2 War (1689-1697). In this dispute, France’s troops occu- Only a full awareness of the Generalitat’s political and pied Catalonia once again, while its armada took over the fiscal power enables us to grasp the key role played by this Mediterranean coast and bombarded strategic locations institution in the revolutionary events of 1640, 1705 and such as Alicante.4 1713. Outside the Francophile party in the Madrid Court, For its part, the Kingdom of Aragon initially had even public opinion in the different Spanish kingdoms could broader leeway in its political sovereignty. This fact was not welcome the choice of a French candidate as their driven home by the celebrated formula with which the sovereign with open arms. And yet, this is what can be Aragonese Court pledged loyalty to the monarch: the deduced from Charles II’s will. It should be borne in Aragonese branches or institutions stated that that “we mind that the hostility between the Spanish monarchy are worth as much as you are, and together more than and France had been constant throughout the previous you”, before recognising the monarch as “our king and two centuries. And the same could be said of the rivalry lord”. However, the Aragonese foral regime was substan- between the Austrians and the Bourbons, and two dynas- tially amended by the Court of 1592, called by Philip II ties that vied for European hegemony throughout the en- after his troops had put down the revolt of the kingdom. tire 17th century. To some extent, after Westphalia Likewise, despite the fact that the Kingdom of Valencia (1648), the ascent of one of Louis XIV’s direct descend- had a foral political system rooted in pactism, the mon- ants onto the Spanish throne cemented the definitive vic- arch’s competences there were always quite extensive. tory of both France and the Bourbons in that drawn-out Even clearer is the case of the Kingdom of Majorca, the conflict. only kingdom that did not have its own general Court. The monarch’s more sweeping influence in Valencia and Majorca had a clear cause: unlike Aragon and Catalonia, which were constituent kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon, Valencia and Majorca were consecutive and therefore conquered kingdoms. This determined their legal status, as it did in the Kingdom of Sardinia, the oth- er state linked to the Crown of Aragon in the modern age. However, the leeway of the representative institutions in Catalonia was substantially curtailed after the Catalan Revolt or Reapers’ War (1640-1659).3 With the Spanish troops permanently occupying Barcelona (1652), Philip IV reserved several important competences for himself. Two in particular deserve mention: control of the lists of “insaculats” or people electable by lottery from the Generalitat and the Consell de Cent (Council of One Hun- dred, or municipal government), and military control of the city (walls, the fortress on Montjuïc, etc.). Only with an awareness of how the land was militarily and politically controlled is it possible to grasp the country’s institutions’ lack of response to the signing of the Treaty of the Pyr- enees between Philip IV and Louis XIV (1659). As is well- known, this treaty meant the division of Catalonia and the annexation of its northern part (the counties of Roussillon and the French Cerdagne) to the Kingdom of France. International war and internal revolt During the Reign of Charles II (1665-1700), France de- Figure 1. Minutes of the General Court held in Barcelona between ployed an extremely active military and diplomatic policy 12th October 1701 and 14th January 1702 chaired by King Philip aimed at influencing the succession in the Spanish king- IV and V of Spain in Catalonia. (National Library of Catalonia) The War of the Spanish Succession in the Catalan-speaking Lands Cat. Hist. Rev. 3, 2010 71 Thus, the first few steps of the exceedingly young Philip prior to the 1705 uprising. More or less implicitly, the lit- of Anjou’s reign as Philip V of Spain inspired respect but any of disloyal acts committed by the monarch would not enthusiasm. This was homogeneous, widespread con- have invalidated the oath of loyalty that Catalonia had duct in all the kingdoms, and in Catalonia as well, where sworn to the General Court in 1701 and thus legitimised as is known the new king called the General Court (1701), the rupture. This argument, incidentally, invalidated the swore his oath to the constitutions and granted major accusations of rebellion that the Bourbon propaganda in- economic and political concessions.5