The town of San Clemente played a key role in the military operations carried out on the border between the kingdoms of Castile and Valencia during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was mainly due to its geographical location between Madrid and Levante, establishing itself as one of the favourite rearguard posts for the Bourbon troops during the early years of the 18th century.
Although Philip V rewarded San Clemente for the costs and damages caused by his troops, the figures were far removed from those that several witnesses claimed were spent during the conflict. In addition to the financial cost, the nearby forests were cut down in the presence of their owners, who were unable to do anything about it. The army also had to cede to the army spaces such as all the ovens in San Clemente for baking bread or the town’s warehouses for the troops’ utensils. Furthermore, the establishment of military hospitals in San Clemente brought with it the transmission of diseases and an increase in the consumption of bread in order to attend to them.
All this cost the witnesses a total of around 150,000 ducats, which, compared to larger cities such as Cáceres, is almost half of the resources in just a few years of conflict, falling on a much smaller population that would take years to begin to recover economically.

Collection: Statistics

Project: 4. Family, daily life and social inequality in Europe., 6. Under a cloak of terror: violence and armed conflict in Europe.

Chronology: XVIII

Scope: Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, University, Postgraduate

Link: http://www.tiemposmodernos.org/tm3/index.php/tm/article/view/285

Resource type: Statistics

Format: Table

Source: García, V. A. (2012). "San Clemente en la Guerra de Sucesión (1700-1712): un reconocimiento insuficiente", en Tiempos modernos, nº 24, p. 19.

Language: Spanish

Date: 2012

Owner: Roberto José Alcalde López (Modernalia)

Copyright: ©Tiempos Modernos ©Víctor Alberto García Heras

Abstract: The table shows the costs incurred by San Clemente in maintaining Bourbon troops in its territory during the War of the Spanish Succession

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