Mayorazgo - History Lab

Mayorazgo. Feudal Property in Castile (1369-1836)

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

Clavero’s words are framed between the second half of the 18th century and the 19th century. At this time, the enlightened and reformers proposed changes aimed at modernising the country, a claim that was not always in line with the interests of other social groups, in this case the nobility. The struggle against these institutions, which according to the Enlightenment had hindered economic progress, took place as these reforms found some support in political power. Little by little, legislation would attempt to intervene in this type of feudal regimes in order to obtain greater tax revenues as well as greater political intervention. The bourgeoisie sought with this type of reform to consolidate political power on a territorial level, for which the power of the lords was an obstacle. At the same time, they wanted to establish a capitalist economy, which required the abolition of this feudal institution. For the monarchy, the interest lay in meeting the increase in state expenditure, which, according to Francisco Javier Guillamon Alvarez, had become burdensome since the end of the 18th century.

The post Mayorazgo. Feudal Property in Castile (1369-1836) first appeared on History Lab.

Some documents and private letters that belongs to the sencond duke of Gandía in Joan de Borja. Notes for the history of Alexandre V

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

The importance of this text lies in the fact that it represents from the primary source the importance given to the entailed estate. The entailed an estate was a group of goods that constituted the patrimony normally created by the nobility and accredited before a notary. It was an indivisible group that sought to maintain the lineage in perpetuity. It was normally assigned to the first-born male. However, the casuistry was extended and regulated in the Laws of Toro in 1505. Most of a nobleman’s property was normally integrated in the estate, but some could be reserved for the second-born of the family. Indeed, as it was indivisible, it passed entirely to the first-born, so that the younger siblings did not have such a guaranteed future as the first-born. For this reason, the nobility tried to place these second-born children in the church and other institutions in order to give them a stable future.

The post Some documents and private letters that belongs to the sencond duke of Gandía in Joan de Borja. Notes for the history of Alexandre V first appeared on History Lab.

Testament and codicils of don Baltasar Rodrigo de Balboa Calvillo, Huéscar, 1647

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

Transcription of the will and codicils of Don Baltasar Rodrigo de Balboa Calvillo, a member of the power elite of Huéscar (Granada), made in 1647. Lord of the villas of Cotillas and Casablanca, he was also the High Constable of the said town and a major constable of the Inquisition. From 1635 he headed the entailed estate founded by Rodrigo de Balboa, his fourth grandfather. The text refers to the lawsuit he was involved in over the Cotillas entailed estate. There are indications of a financial nature, especially referring to deeds of obligation and debts contracted. In this sense, the debts he has with his servants and for the value of 2620 masses stand out. There may be a possible case of bastardy. He justifies that a boy and a girl whose upbringing he assumed in Hellín and Murcia are not his children. The two marriages he contracted are specified, alluding to the value of the dowries, the arras and other commitments. He leaves as his heir his only daughter Doña Elvira de Balboa, as well as another possible son or daughter he might have with his second and current wife Doña Pascuala de Villanueva if she were pregnant at the time of his death. He also encloses a codicil in which he states that the post of major constable of the Inquisition, which he holds “for three lives”, should pass to his brother-in-law Don Juan García de Villanueva, his wife’s brother. And for the “third life” of the post he appoints the person his wife designates. Finally, in the codicil he makes some clarifications and additions, especially in relation to the debts contracted with his servants and other bequests made to them.

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