When analysing the cost of the war against France by the Hispanic Monarchy in Catalan lands, one cannot ignore what it meant for the Catalan army itself, which by then was determined to contribute more directly to its own defence. Due to the great capital needs of the crown when it reactivated the war against Portugal in the mid-17th century, it could not efficiently take charge of the Catalan army and its task of reconstructing a stable frontier for the Catalan principality, at which point the Catalan contribution to its own defence became a key event.
From the resource, the income of the general pay of the Army of Catalonia and its monthly averages can be seen. The resulting information coincides with periods of scarcity for the crown, or when it considered other matters of higher priority than Catalan territory. While the Catalan War of Secession brought in the highest contributions of the years analysed, the Portuguese War led to a sharp drop between 1656 and 1671, making it extremely difficult for the Catalan viceroys to defend the new military frontier.
Due to the small number of troops left to garrison Barcelona and its squares, in February 1663 a voluntary donation was requested from the citizens, universities and ecclesiastical personnel of Catalonia to try to meet the defence costs of the Principality. With this move and in view of the pressing need for capital, the coffers saw their income increase from 3.5 million reales in 1662 to just over 9 million in 1667, continuing to grow to 12 million in 1679.
Collection: Statistics
Project: 6. Under a cloak of terror: violence and armed conflict in Europe.
Chronology: XVII
Scope: Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, University, Postgraduate
Link: http://www.tiemposmodernos.org/tm3/index.php/tm/article/view/351
Resource type: Statistics
Format: Table
Source: Espino, A. (2013). "La financiación de la guerra en la Cataluña del Barroco, 1652-1679", en Tiempos modernos, nº 27, p. 9.
Language: Spanish
Date: 2013
Owner: Roberto José Alcalde López (Modernalia)
Copyright: ©Tiempos Modernos ©Antonio Espino López
Abstract: Table showing the income of the Catalan Army during the 17th century wars (1640-1679)
Tags
1640-1679CataluñaEjército de CataluñaFinanciación militarGuerra de CataluñaGuerra de Restauración portuguesaGuerra de Secesión catalanaSiglo XVII
