Carlos III - History Lab

Letter from Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, to Charles III regarding the Jesuits’ property (1773)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:11 +0000

The extinction of the Jesuits provoked a conflict between the Papacy and Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria. The dialectic and conflict of power between Church and State was reflected in the fact that Maria Theresa wanted the assets obtained from the Jesuits to go to her civil jurisdiction, to the detriment of the Vatican’s claims. The Empress argued that in Spain, France, Portugal and Naples the goods of the Society fell to the State. Charles III supported her in this request.

The post Letter from Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria, to Charles III regarding the Jesuits’ property (1773) first appeared on History Lab.

Papers relating to the Madrid revolutions of 1766

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:04 +0000

The Esquilache riot was the most important social, economic and political revolt of the 18th century (1766). The shortage of basic foodstuffs, including bread, and the speculation of hoarders were two of the reasons that led the lower social classes to riot against the rulers. In the case of the Motín de Esquilache, the revolt ended with the march, via Cartagena, of the Marquis, who had to leave the peninsula in the face of the events and the demands of the lower social classes.

The post Papers relating to the Madrid revolutions of 1766 first appeared on History Lab.

Order declaring as null and void the casualties made by abastos on the occasion of the Madrid uprising

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:04 +0000

The post Order declaring as null and void the casualties made by abastos on the occasion of the Madrid uprising first appeared on History Lab.

Godoy y Álvarez de los Ríos y Sánchez Sarzosa, Manuel de

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:04 +0000

In 1792 Manuel Godoy became the first Secretary of the Office, replacing the Count of Aranda, Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea y Ximenez de Urrea. Linked to Enlightenment despotism, he was associated with educational and political reformism. During his career, he played a leading role in the struggle against France in the Convention War, with England as an ally, which ended with the Peace of Basel (1795) in which Spain made concessions to France in order to obtain its return.

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Manual calendar and guide for strangers in Madrid

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:51 +0000

An annual publication founded in 1722 by Luis Félix de Miraval y Spínola, who in the same year obtained the marquisate of Miraval, and Gaspar Ezpeleta, and which until 1734 was entitled Kalendario particular. From 1725 its printer was Juan Sanz, then his heirs, and from 1730, Antonio Sanz, his nephew, who in 1769 ceded the rights to the Spanish Crown in exchange for a lifelong pension. The most complete collection was acquired by the Royal Academy of History, and the one in the possession of the National Library of Spain begins in 1744, stamped with a privilege held by Antonio Sanz, printer to the King and his council. The title page states that it contains the births of the kings, queens, the seventy members of the Sacred College of Cardinals, the princes of Europe, the ministers who make up His Majesty’s courts in their kingdoms, with an indication of their private residences in Madrid. In short, it is a very complete guide to the State Administration of the ancien régime, with an indication of its executive and consultative bodies (royal councils, boards), scientific and academic institutions and other bodies and entities that the Spanish monarchy created throughout the eighteenth century (including the Royal Public Library itself), the book includes the names of the archbishops and bishops of Spain and the Indies, the composition of the courts (chancillerías and audiencias), the list of kingdoms and provinces and partidos, with the names of their governors, intendants and corregidores. It begins with the Gregorian calendar, with the saints’ calendar for each day and astronomical data, and also contains the 40-hour jubilee, as well as statistical data on marriages, births and deaths in the parishes of Madrid, and a summary of the sick in their hospitals. There is also another section on the days on which the court dresses up or the days on which the mails come and leave the General Post Office of Castile in this court, or the list of the Knights of the Golden Fleece. It will also include the values of Spanish coins and their exchange values with the most important coins in Europe. From 1768 it will be accompanied by the Estado militar de España, with its own title page, with the names of the captains and lieutenant generals of His Majesty’s Army, field marshals, brigadiers and naval officers, etc. In the 1767 edition he began to include engravings, such as those of Charles III, the Princes of Asturias and the one of the Palace of Aranjuez, and later those of Charles IV and Queen Maria Luisa, before including those of Ferdinand VII and his daughter, the young Queen Isabella II, in the 19th century. He would also print a dozen maps of Spain and plans by Tomás López and his sons. In 1774, it left the Royal Printing House of the Gazette, and included the lists of knights of Charles III, professors of the Royal Studies, ambassadors and consuls and vice-consuls of the King abroad, the chronology of the kings of Spain and the calendar of the main fairs. In 1790 it already included an index, at the end or at the beginning, and in the 19th century, the lists of the Royal Order of Noble Ladies, the economic societies and the Royal Seminary of Nobles. Its volume increased over the years, from a hundred to over four hundred pages. During the invasion of the Napoleonic army, the kalendario did not appear in 1809 or 1810, and in 1811 it left the printing house of Miguel Segovia, printer to the Royal Navy, from the Royal Island of León in Cadiz, produced by two of the editors who were in charge of the main guides for foreigners, litigants, commerce and finance, and war and the navy in Madrid, and entitled Guía patriótica de España (Patriotic Guide to Spain). It includes an introduction narrating the difficulties encountered in producing it and will consist of two parts. The first part will give an account of the legitimate government, its courts and military state, and the second of the corps and officers of the armies resident in Cadiz, as well as the list of deputies of the Cortes, accompanied by an article. Those of 1812 and 1813 were entitled Guía política de las España, and were also printed in Cádiz, the first in the office of the widow of Comes, and the second in the Imprenta Nacional. In this case it is written by a single editor, and includes patriotic ephemeris of the main events that have been taking place during the war against the French armies, and introductory articles to the list of the legislative body, list of deputies and of the court and secretariat of State of Cortes, executive power, supreme council of Regency, Council of State, ambassadors and commanders of the armies. The 1813 edition will include an addendum entitled Exércitos nacionales. On the return of Ferdinand VII, it returned to its previous title and to practically the same contents as it had published during the old regime, until during the liberal triennium, when it again changed its title and some of its contents, once again including the list of deputies to the Cortes and the new administrative institutions that the incipient liberal State was beginning to create. In 1821 it was entitled Guía de forasteros en Madrid, and in 1822 and 1823 Guía política y militar, printed at the Imprenta Nacional, formerly the Imprenta Real. For its part, the Estado militar de España, which had been published together with the kalendario, in 1821, 1822 and 1823 was entitled Estado de los ejércitos de la monarquía española (State of the Armies of the Spanish Monarchy). The calendar for 1825 is also interesting because the “purified” did not appear in the lists. This publication would continue to be published until 1837, when it was replaced by the Guía de forasteros en Madrid, which included engravings of the queen governor Maria Cristina and her daughter, Isabel II, and gave an account of the new organisation that the liberal state was creating to replace that of the old regime, the kalendario is therefore a basic source of information for understanding both the evolution of the state structure and the holders of its numerous organs and institutions, from the absolutist and enlightened monarchy of the eighteenth century to the first decades of the construction of the liberal state, with its two most influential episodes, the constituent Cortes of Cadiz and its epigone of the triennium.

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Royal Decree of Charles III authorising the creation of a National Bank called the Bank of San Carlos

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:51 +0000

The 18th century, even in a European context, saw the beginning of a period of marked economic protectionism. This period was marked by the need to impose heavy taxes on imports and to free the movement of goods within the country from these economic obstacles. In 1782, the Spanish monarchy created the Banco de San Carlos, the first national bank in Spain, to deal with this situation, although its activity did not alleviate the problems of the Treasury.

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Provision of Charles III on the riots that occurred in the town of Madrid between 23rd and 26th March

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:51 +0000

The post Provision of Charles III on the riots that occurred in the town of Madrid between 23rd and 26th March first appeared on History Lab.

Moroccan Embassy to Charles III

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:25 +0000

Painting showing the presence of a Moroccan embassy in the presence of Charles III. This is the embassy carried out by Uṯmān al-Maknāsī, envoy of the Moroccan sultan to agree both the renewal of peace between the two kingdoms and to discuss the release of Muslim captives in Spain. Diplomatic relations between Spain and the Kingdom of Morocco date back to the 16th century, when the Sa’adi monarchs needed Spanish protection to deal with Ottoman and Algerian expansion in the western Mediterranean. What makes this period, in which Charles III played a leading role in the 18th century, special is the desire on both sides to close a chapter of centuries of mutual harassment. This diplomatic encounter was followed by the extremely important peace agreements with the Ottoman Empire and later with Algeria, Tunisia and Tripoli in the 1890s. This was also a period when political primacy was no longer in the Mediterranean and treaties of peace and friendship were being forged in an attempt to promote trade.

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Charles III

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:59 +0000

Portrait of the chamber painter Anton Raphael Mengs. It shows the symbols of power. It is a state portrait, in which the sovereign appears as a military leader and depositary of the inheritance of the Hispanic Monarchy. Goya inherited from this artist the ways of representing official portraits

The post Charles III first appeared on History Lab.

Gypsy family

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:28 +0000

The persecution of gypsies in Spain had a fateful chapter in the mid-1700s, during the reign of Ferdinand VI. Given that the various punishments and levies ordered by the authorities were not enough to tackle the problem caused by their existence, the solution that emerged in enlightened circles was to draw up a plan for a General Prison that would include the separation of men and women in order to prevent the generation of gypsies. The promoter of this idea was the Marquis de la Ensenada (1702-1781), who had previously ensured the neutrality of the Church so that the gypsies could not be held sacred and escape justice. Although the disgrace of the Great Raid had been capitalised on, he had the favourable opinion of many enlightened people. The measure was well conceived, poorly executed due to insufficient financial and human resources, and ended in such a disaster that the authorities soon became aware of it. Executed in two operations between July and August 1749, it involved the imprisonment of nine to ten thousand Gypsies for the sole crime of being Gypsies. There was total confusion because, among other reasons, it was not clear who or what a Gypsy was, since the word had been forbidden by previous legislation. The exceptions for the detention of Gypsies were so varied and the escapes from the detention centres so frequent that the plan ended in total failure, as recognised by the late law of 1763, in the time of Charles III, and a later law of 1765. The sense of ridicule was so great that in 1722, in the preamble to a new law on gypsies, all mention of the Great Raid was removed at the express request of Charles III.

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