The confraternities were the channel for associations during the Modern Age. Their growth worried the Enlightenment authorities, who began to view with suspicion the associations that manifested a quasi-fanaticised faith following Baroque religiosity. In 1769 they set out to count the number of confraternities existing in Spain by means of the Expediente General de Cofradías (General Record of Confraternities). This report was carried out in all the intendencies, provinces, and jurisdictions of mainland Spain. A total of 25,581 confraternities were counted; 19,024 in Castile and 6,557 in the Crown of Aragon. In addition, they calculated the annual expenses incurred by each of them, estimating, in general, 11.5 million reales. How did the Catholic Church view the phenomenon of the confraternities? Although they were a defence of Catholicism against Protestantism through the public manifestation of popular religiosity, many of the brotherhoods’ festivities were oriented towards leisure, feasting and excesses, excesses that the ecclesiastical authorities saw as profane. Consequently, many bishops supported measures to suppress confraternities that did not have royal or religious authority. Finally, it was during the French invasion and the subsequent liberal disentailments that the number of brotherhoods decreased significantly. The digitised file allows the municipalities to be searched through the intendancies.

Collection: Texts

Chronology: XVIII

Scope: Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, University

Link: http://pares.mcu.es/ParesBusquedas20/catalogo/description/6833119

Resource type: Historical source

Format: Unknown

Source: Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes. Portal de Archivos Españoles. Archivo Histórico Nacional

Language: Spanish

Date: 1769-1784

Owner: Pablo Ballesta Fernández (Modernalia)

Copyright: ©MECD. Archivos Estatales (España)

Abstract: Accounting, control and suppression of the most widespread form of association: the confraternities

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