Bandolerismo - History Lab

Viceroy to the Prothonotary of Aragon

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:35 +0000

The Spanish Monarchy had many armed conflicts for which the crown-led recruitment system proved ineffective. As we entered the 17th century, economic and demographic recession was compounded by difficulties in recruiting armies. From then on, there was a tendency to decentralise recruitment systems, and even bandits were enlisted as part of this dynamic. This satisfied the military demands of the crown, but also, for a time, reduced the conflicts that had previously been caused by these bandits. Enlisting in the army was at the same time an opportunity for exemption from punishment, which generated interest in some of these bandits. However, as they were men who enlisted of their own free will, they had a preference for the places they were assigned to. Normally, the Italian instances tended to be quiet and well paid. On the contrary, destinations like Oran were truly despised. Apart from being far away, the supplies and provisions of the garrisons in North Africa were very limited, and the constant prowling of the Algerian dey made it a very dangerous posting.

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Opinion of the Count of Gausa on the plan for military cover for the Andalusian Way presented by Joaquín deItúrbide

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:35 +0000

In this text, the 1st Count of Gausa qualifies and corrects some of the ideas proposed by Joaquín de Itúrbide to protect the land routes from bandits. In contrast to the previous proposal, which sought to position troops in a localised manner, the new proposal sought to provide coverage throughout the territory, as well as greater freedom of action for the garrisons so that they could impose security. In a general context, the militarisation of public order as late as 1780 was the result of specific conditions. Since that decade, the insecurity of the land routes had become evident, especially as a result of the proliferation of bandits who caused widespread insecurity, which was reflected in public opinion. This banditry had been reinforced by other crimes such as tobacco smuggling due to the increase in the price of tobacco. This latter activity had multiplied in Extremadura and on the border with Gibraltar. The monarchy could not tolerate this, so proposals were made to solve both problems.

The post Opinion of the Count of Gausa on the plan for military cover for the Andalusian Way presented by Joaquín deItúrbide first appeared on History Lab.

Pragmatics of June 7, 1586

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:29 +0000

Banditry was a reality that affected the territories of the Crown of Aragon, especially at the end of the 16th century. The emergence of armed bands that raided the trade routes was due to the worsening economic situation in these regions. It was a widespread reality in Catalonia, Aragon and, of course, Valencia. The difficulty in dealing with this banditry lay in the fact that it involved a large number of actors, some of whom had great power, such as nobles and churchmen, many of whom were in a disastrous situation. This was intertwined with another type of banditry such as that deployed by the Moors. The latter was the variant that most monopolised the pragmatics and was accused of being the cause of all evils. Measures designed to put an end to this type of problem encountered numerous obstacles due to the nobility’s distrust of interference in their jurisdiction, so that pragmatic pragmatics were issued which tended to admonish anyone who colluded with this type of crime. In this case, it is the pragmatic order of 7 June 1586 in Valencia. With this type of ordinances and pragmatics, an attempt was made to put an end to this evil, which caused real concern in Spain at the end of the 16th century.

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