Reino de Murcia - History Lab

Epidemics of plague in Spain: 16th and 17th centuries

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:12 +0000

The plague epidemic had an early manifestation in Spain. There is evidence of outbreaks of plague along the Mediterranean strip of the peninsula as early as the 6th-8th centuries. During the 14th century, the Black Death appeared in Europe, an epidemic which, interspersed with others such as influenza and typhus, reappeared in the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1596 the plague reached the peninsula via Santander, a port area. It spread virulently through the territories of Extremadura and the two Castiles, especially the area around Madrid. The Cantabrian coast and Andalusia were also affected, as well as the area between Alicante and Valencia. It was in the latter city that another plague epidemic broke out years later, in 1647. From Valencia it spread to the northern part of the Crown of Aragon: Catalonia and the Aragonese territories themselves were affected. Andalusia was also hit again, with the city of Seville suffering significant human losses, where it is estimated that 45% of the population died. It was in Seville that another epidemic appeared in 1676. With no time to recover, cities such as Seville, Cordoba, Malaga, Cadiz and Jaen were the protagonists of the horror. They were joined by Cartagena, in the Kingdom of Murcia. These were the last large-scale epidemics to occur in the peninsular territories of the Hispanic Monarchy. Once the epidemic, demographic and food crises of the 17th century were overcome, the 18th century ushered in a period of generalised growth.

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Cardinal Belluga y Moncada

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:19 +0000

The 18th century was one of the most transcendental periods in the history of the Kingdom of Murcia. The Enlightenment, the beginning of the industrial revolution in certain countries and the splendid demographic growth together with monarchical absolutism and political centralism are just some of the most important events of the century. For Spain, one of the most important situations was the War of Succession to the Spanish crown (1701-1714), which began after the death of Charles II “the Bewitched” (the last of the Habsburgs) and the establishment of the Bourbon monarchy with the proclamation of Philip V. The fact that the then bishop of the Diocese of Cartagena, D. Luis Belluga y Moncada (1616) was the bishop of the Diocese of Cartagena. Luis Belluga y Moncada (1662-1743) supported the cause of the Bourbons clearly conditioned the immediate future of the Kingdom of Murcia, as it became a frontier zone against the supporters of the House of Habsburg and the scene of battles such as the so-called Huerto de las Bombas or the one in which the miracle of the Virgen de las Lágrimas (Monteagudo) took place. Appointed cardinal of the Church in 1719, he was responsible for his notable work in the social field with the creation of the Pious Foundations and other initiatives such as the College of San Leandro and the Casa de la Misericordia (House of Mercy). Likewise, his good relations with the monarchy did not prevent him from becoming a champion of the rights of the Church in the face of the royalist trend.

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Marriages and Marriage Dispensations in the Kingdom of Murcia, 1773-1832

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:36 +0000

The graph shows the number of marriage dispensations in relation to the total number of marriages between 1773 and 1832 in the Kingdom of Murcia. These dispensations were granted by the Church when the spouses had consanguinity; kinship in different degrees. From 1780, the increase of consanguineous marriages is progressive and, within the social profile of the peasants, they used it as a strategy to consolidate the family by establishing double marriages. At times of change between the Ancien Régime and the liberal state, a decreasing trend of dispensations has been observed; rather, at the beginning of the 19th century, the Church relaxed these necessary dispensations by changing the degrees of prohibition. The authors point out that, while the number of dispensations decreased, the actual number of consanguineous marriages increased due to this greater permissibility.

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