Guerra - History Lab

Idea of a Christian-Political Prince

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:40 +0000

Diego de Saavedra Fajardo wrote his work “Idea de un príncipe político-cristiano” in a truly decisive context in the struggle for European hegemony. His experience in the main European courts allowed him to come into contact with the high politics of the old continent and, consequently, he wrote this work with an instructive character for the young kings of the Hispanic Monarchy. In this particular fragment, Fajardo seems to refer to the population problem suffered by the peninsula due to demographic shortages. Already at the end of the 16th century, the extraordinary efforts to maintain the empire had caused a demographic recession in Castile, which was compounded by other factors arising from the complicated 17th century. The population count was indeed one of the most important muscles of the monarchies, because in addition to ensuring tax collection, it allowed armies to be enrolled in accordance with the population’s capacity. Faced with this precarious population situation, the France of Louis XIV, which was a kingdom, had 20 million inhabitants, which enabled the Sun King to build the largest armies in Europe. The demographic problem in Spain would be tackled by the Bourbon dynasty in the 18th century, facilitating new repopulation projects both by state initiative and by private individuals (nobility).

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Louis XIV to d’Embrun, 1 January 1662

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

The pre-emption of one nation’s diplomatic corps over another was a gesture denoting the hegemony of one power over another/s during the modern age. For a century and a half the hegemonic power had been in Spain. After 1659, however, France had succeeded in unseating Spanish hegemony, which required a more tangible demonstration of the new French strength. A diplomatic meeting in the English capital between the diplomats of Philip IV and Louis XIV ended in a brawl over the Catholic King’s ambassadors denying precedence to their French counterpart. On hearing of the events, Louis XIV demanded reparation from Philip IV, which was answered by giving precedence to the French diplomatic corps. It was a question of recognising the new power of the France of the Sun King.

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Royal letters

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

In the modern age, trade flows were often separated from political issues. At such a delicate time as 1630, the city of Valencia was in great trouble due to a shortage of wheat and rising prices. Amparo Felipo Orts states that this situation, which in reality responded to a European situation, had been occurring since 1628. Outbreaks of plague prevented supplies from Catalonia or France, so urgent decisions had to be taken. At that time, the Catholic Monarchy was at war with the Low Countries and England, so apparently the trade routes had broken down. The city’s need led Philip IV to agree to Dutch ships supplying the city of Valencia with wheat, despite the fact that legislation forbade trade with enemies. From a historical perspective, the supply of fish, so important for the Catholic rite, had not been interrupted since the time of Philip II with England, nor had trade with France. This makes it necessary to consider trade issues not necessarily linked to the political situation.

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