The Demise of the Catalan Dynasty and the Growing Estrangement of the Crown (15th-17th centuries)

The demise of the Catalan Dynasty in 1410 upon the death of Martin the Humane, who left no legitimate heir, proved decisive in the progressive assumption of powers by the Generalitat. By virtue of the Compromise of Caspe (1412) the Catalan-Aragon Crown passed into the hands of the Castilian Trastámara Dynasty in the person of Ferdinand I of Antequera. Strained relations were already evident in the Corts held in Barcelona in 1412-13. The King had to listen to a list of grievances and demands for respect of the Constitutions of Catalonia and recognition of the powers of the Generalitat. Ferdinand I agreed, thereby acknowledging not only the judicial and financial powers of the Generalitat, but also the political ones. The Generalitat assumed responsibility for defending the Constitutions of Catalonia, making demands of the king himself if necessary.

The Corts held in Barcelona in 1421, in the constitution of Lo fruit de les lleis, made the Generalitat responsible for the constitutional system, conferring upon it the power to act as a moderator which would enable it to balance monarchic authoritarianism. This step was reinforced in 1481 by the Corts convened by Ferdinand II at which the Poc valria constitution was established: “Of little use would it be to make laws if these were not respected by us – your King – and our officials.” Thus, the Generalitat continued to exercise the function of constitutional vigilance in cooperation with the Royal Audience which was reorganised in 1483 and became a sort of forerunner of the court of constitutional rights.

Thus, the Generalitat gradually became the highest representation of the interests of Catalonia and a fierce defender of its Constitutions and liberties against the encroachments of the monarchy and the Inquisition.

Depending on the social and political circumstances of each age, the Generalitat was at times an oligarchic power, as can be seen for example in the procedure for designating new members. At the outset, new members of the Generalitat were coopted – that is, those holding seats designated their successors – and the president was always the representative of the Church. In 1488, King Ferdinand II (1479-1516) imposed a new system according to which representatives were chosen by lot from a list of names drawn up by the King and the dominant power groups. At the same time, the increasing tendency towards absolute monarchical rule which was typical of the times, added to the growing power of the city of Barcelona, took power away from the Generalitat. Barcelona, in fact, became a kind of municipal republic, extending its power beyond the city limits. The city’s Consell de Cent (Council of the One Hundred), had legislative and advisory powers and acted as a sort of parliament.

The dominion of Castile was consolidated during the reign of the Catholic Kings, whose marriage brought together the crowns of Castile and Catalonia-Aragon. Ferdinand II (1479-1516) introduced Castilian institutions (such as the Inquisition), government officials and even posted Castilian troops in Catalonia. The gradual decline of Barcelona and its institutions provided a foothold for this development.

When Ferdinand II was succeeded by his grandson Charles I (1516-1556), the first monarch of the House of Hapsburg or Austria, Catalonia’s dependence on and isolation from Castile was accentuated, though this did not prevent his successor Philip II (1556-1598) from sending Catalan troops on a great expedition against the Turks. A Catalan, Lluís de Requesens, was the absolute victor of the Battle of Lepanto (1571). John of Austria, who was still a minor, was merely an honorary figure placed at the head of the armies.

With the establishment of the Hapsburg Dynasty, the monarchy became even more distanced from the interests of the people. This was exemplified by the introduction in Catalonia of the figure of the viceroy, the monarch’s envoy and representative. This delegation of powers caused friction with the Generalitat at a time when, within Catalonia, this institution was sometimes seen as an oligarchic power which did not always manage the finances in the interests of the citizens. Financial problems also created conflicts with the Crown during the reign of Philip III (1598-1621) because of the taxes Catalonia was obliged to pay to the Crown. The Generalitat was, of course, charged with the collection of these taxes. This situation made the Catalans even more distrustful and led to confrontations which led to open warfare during the reign of Philip IV (1621-1665).

Under Philip IV the Catalan institutions faced the most serious threat in their history up to that time. While the King was still a minor, the Count of Olivares promoted political centralisation at all costs and he consequently advised the King to subject all of the kingdoms of Spain “to the style and laws of Castile”. During the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), in which Castile aligned itself with Austria against France, the King and his advisor Olivares made a series of demands on the Catalans who were requested to provide funds and men for a war which in no way affected Catalonia. The Constitutions of Catalonia, which the King himself had sworn to respect, guaranteed the right of Catalans to do this freely, but never under duress. The Generalitat, and particularly its president, Pau Claris, came under considerable pressure, and Francesc de Tamarit, the military envoy, was imprisoned.

To make matters worse, Castilian royal troops sent to defend Roussillon against French territorial pretensions committed terrible excesses of libertine conduct and pillage in Catalan territory. This aroused first the indignation of the population and then a general uprising. On 7 June 1640, on the feast of Corpus Christi, the peasants entered Barcelona to fight the royalists. It was this bloody Corpus Christi which touched of f the Spanish invasion, which had already been prepared by the Count of Olivares.

The Generalitat, presided by Pau Claris, called the people to resist and dispatched ambassadors to Louis XIII, King of France, requesting aid against the invasion by the King of Spain. The aid promised by the French King, through Cardinal Richelieu, was insufficient, despite his offer to support the creation of a Catalan Republic.

On 26 January 1641, the Battle of Montjuïc was fought against the army of Philip IV, who was defeated and forced to retreat. One month later, the president – Pau Claris – died. In an obituary published in the Dietari de la Generalitat he was described as “the great restorer of our motherland Catalonia, defender and liberator of the motherland”.

After the fall of the Count of Olivares, famine and plague and Philip IV’s promise to respect Catalan institutions brought the war to an end in 1652, although this did not result in absolute peace.

Although the Thirty Years War had ended with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, in which Spanish dominions in the centre of Europe were relinquished, the war between France and Castile affecting Catalan territories to the north of the Pyrenees continued. When Louis XIV and Philip IV signed the Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659, Catalonia was mutilated when Philip IV ceded a part of Catalan territory (Roussillon, Capcir, Conflent, Vallespir and part of Cerdanya) to France, once again transgressing the Constitutions of Catalonia.

The territory of Catalonia after the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659)