Castilla - History Lab

Letter from Don Rodrigo Mexía to the Governors of Castile, 1521

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:46 +0000

As a testimonial example, the letters from Charles V to Rodrigo Mexía show how extensive the Emperor’s correspondence was and how useful they are for studying his biography, his personality and some of his concerns about the throne. The discovery of this type of correspondence allows us to consider a chancellor’s communication that served to keep the middle strata of society informed about issues related to the state.
The letter in this resource is found in the block dedicated to the control of Italy and the conflicts with France, being the most present theme in the collection of letters and the one that deals with the most important issues of the time among the imperial concerns, while showing the importance of diplomatic activity in a period of marked warlike actions.
The transcription is as follows:
VI
La Guardia, 16 July 1521
(Don Rodrigo Mexía writes to the Governors of Castile, acknowledging receipt of the letter
they sent him informing him of the victory over the French in Navarre).
“Rmo. limos, señores. On the sixteenth of July I received a letter from your Lordships dated in
Logroño, the first of July, in which they sent me a letter informing me of the victory of the battle and how the captain general of the French and the
how the captain-general of the French and many other captains and their people were imprisoned and lost
and lost. It pleases Almighty God to make the Emperor and King of the world our Lord
our Lord in the time and government of your Lordships whose most reverend and most illustrious
persons and state may Our Lord keep and prosper. From La Guardia on the sixteenth of July.
In the service of your Lordships, who kisses your hands, Rodrigo Mexía. (signed and initialled).
(On the back): To the Most Rmo. Illustrious Lords the Lords Governors of Castile”

The post Letter from Don Rodrigo Mexía to the Governors of Castile, 1521 first appeared on History Lab.

General Record of Confraternities (1769-1784)

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

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.

The post General Record of Confraternities (1769-1784) first appeared on History Lab.

Decree of the Nueva Planta of the Audience of the Principality of Catalonia (1716)

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

Philip V’s victory in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) led to the establishment of a new political and administrative reality in Spain. The old feudal institutions were replaced by other forms of centralist government whose aim was, in the words of Philip V, to establish “the same laws, customs, usages, customs and courts […] to abolish and entirely repeal […] all privileges, privileges, practices and customs…”. The new reality generalised the legislation of Castile to the whole territory. However, the territories that supported Philip against Archduke Charles, the Basque areas and Navarre, did maintain the foral regime. The documentation presented here corresponds to the Nueva Planta Decree of the Audiencia of the Principality of Catalonia.

The post Decree of the Nueva Planta of the Audience of the Principality of Catalonia (1716) first appeared on History Lab.