Definition of Crisis of 1640

In 1640, Spanish was an empire in which the sun never set, with possessions spanning five continents, with which the saying materialized in a palpable reality: at one time or another, it was daytime in some possession Spanish.

How could such an empire come to exist? Thanks to the Spanish conquests and the incorporation of Portugal and its overseas territories to the Hispanic crown in 1580. However, and like every empire before and after, the Spanish was also a giant with feet of clay susceptible to a shock, and this came in 1640.

The crisis of 1640 took shape, for the Spanish Empire, in the independence rebellions in Portugal and Catalonia, the first successful but not the second, with the internal problems and the loss of territories that this haulage.

To understand the situation, it is necessary to understand that at the time, the Spanish Empire did not consist of a series of territories united under the same culture, language, and laws, but consisted of several kingdoms that shared a common monarch, but had their own laws, armies, governments, and even customs between they.

Despite the fact that the differences between kingdoms were palpable, and that a series of rivalries had been generated within the Empire Among these, mostly with Castilla (by far the most important and influential), we can attribute the outbreak of the crisis to three factors: the Castilian economic crisis, external military pressure, and the attempt to unify the Empire.

The first had been dragging on since before 1630, to the point that in points of the Kingdom of Castile the use of currency had been replaced by the barter of goods and services. Constant treasury problems, aggravated by international war campaigns, led to a need to maintain a constant flow of income, which was intended to be done at the expense of the other kingdoms that were part of the Empire.

As regards military pressure, England (which was not yet united with Scotland), France, and the United Provinces (now the Netherlands), as the main rivals who harassed her in the war arena international.

Finally, the project called Arms union, devised by the Count-Duke of Olivares, valid of Felipe IV, consisted of the creation of an army together with economic contributions and soldiers' levies for all the kingdoms that are part of the Empire.

This collided head-on with the legality in force in some of the territories. For example in Catalonia, where law its citizens could not participate in conflicts outside its borders, and only for the defense of the country.

But is that the Arms union it concealed an even more disturbing end for the kingdoms that were not Castile ...

The intention of the Count-Duke of Olivares was to standardize the Empire, making the legal framework of the different kingdoms that composed it to adopt a single law: that of Castile, more favorable to the interests real.

In Castile, as in France, the king had practically unlimited power, which, for example in Catalonia, was unthinkable, since that other territories had their courts and limited the royal prerogatives and even the money that it could dispose of from the public coffers.

It is precisely in Catalonia where Olivares finds the greatest opposition, aggravated by the war with France that splashes the territory.

The Catalans were forced to house the Castilian troops in 1637, made up of mercenaries from multiple nationalities, and they face the excesses of these soldiers (as in any other army in any other part). This will further tighten the spirits of the population and the leaders of the country.

Faced with the refusal to house soldiers by both individuals and entire towns, the Imperial authorities impose harsher conditions and punishments, leading to the looting of towns integers.

On June 7, 1640, the feast of Corpus Christi (and which will go down in history as the Corpus of blood in Catalonia), the rebellion broke out at large scale, occupying the rebels Barcelona and assassinating the viceroy of Catalonia.

Knowing that they cannot win the war alone, the Catalan rulers ally themselves with the enemies of the Hispanic monarchy: the French.

Felipe IV then launched all the troops he could on Catalonia; maintaining the region was vital in his confrontation with France.

With less Castilian military pressure on their territory, it was the turn of the Portuguese to rebel, which they did on December 1, 1640.

Felipe IV had been taken in the worst way: on two fronts at the same time. Unable to attend to both, the monarch decided to continue with his campaign in Catalonia and, once it was finished, return to Portugal, with the risk that this entailed. However, dividing his troops carried an even greater risk: losing both territories.

The Portuguese acclaim the Duke of Bragança as the new king under the name of João IV. Thanks to the fact that the Castilian troops are involved in operations in Catalonia, Portugal has time to prepare troops and fortifications to resist the foreseeable Castilian attack.

Although these will be the main problems of the crown, they will not be the only ones: in 1641 dismantles in Andalusia the conspiracy of the Duke of Medina Sidonia (Gaspar Alonso Pérez de Guzmán the good).

He wanted to rebel Andalusia and turn it into an independent state, ruled by him, naturally. Due to the low internal support of the draft, failed, and those involved were imprisoned (like the Duke himself) or executed.

Similar cases occurred in Aragon and Navarra, and later in Naples and Sicily.

Meanwhile, in Catalonia, the French forces began to commit the same excesses as the Castilian forces a few years earlier. The Principality becomes a battlefield between France and the Spanish monarchy, and the one who has the worst time is the Catalan civilian population.

In 1644, Felipe IV recovers Lérida and swears the Catalan constitutions, guaranteeing obedience and I respect to the Catalan prerogatives. However, the territory will end up being chopped up in 1659 between France and Spain with the Treaty of the Pyrenees, another abuse since the king Spanish (nor in his capacity as Count of Barcelona) could not dispose of Catalan territories at his free disposal.

On the other side of the peninsula, the war against Portugal would last until 1668, almost three decades. Felipe IV could not deliver a definitive blow to Portugal because he was not able to gather enough troops, which he kept entertained in other European theaters of operations.

The crisis of 1640 is the perfect example that “whoever takes a lot of space, the less he tightens up”.

Spain lost Portugal forever, and Catalonia temporarily, in addition to losing, with the former, its overseas territories. This would not save him from losing her European possessions over time.

Photos: Fotolia - KarSol / Josemad

Issues in Crisis of 1640