INSTITUTIONS OF OUTLYING HISPANIC STATES, 1252-1479
So far as they have not already been discussed, in dealing with Castile
and Aragon, the institutions of Majorca, Navarre, the Basque provinces,
and Granada may be dealt with here, especially in their original
aspects.
_Majorca_
[Sidenote: Outline of Majorcan history.]
By the will of Jaime I, Majorca and the Roussillon were constituted into
a kingdom apart from Aragon, but almost immediately afterward Pedro III
of Aragon compelled Jaime II of Majorca to acknowledge the overlordship
of the peninsula monarch. In 1349 Pedro IV of Aragon annexed Majorca,
but the political change was one of monarch only, for Majorca continued
to be a separate state with a history of its own. The political life of
Majorca centred about the workings of the municipal organization of
Palma, its capital city (on which the government of the island was
based), and was involved with social problems.
[Sidenote: The peculiar social bases of Majorca.]
After the conquest of the island by Jaime I nearly all of the great
nobles who had accompanied the king returned to the peninsula, granting
their lands to _caballeros_ of their following, or renting them to
plebeian cultivators, and Jaime I did much the same. Thus the
_caballeros_, or nobility of the second grade, were virtually the only
representatives of the feudal aristocracy in Majorca, and laws were
passed limiting the amount of land which they might hold, so as to avoid
the evil of vast estates. The _caballeros_ were reinforced by a Catalan
middle class element which constituted a majority of the Christians in
the island in the early years following the conquest. From these two
elements there emerged a new aristocracy, based on wealth, growing out
of Majorcan commerce, an aristocracy open to all, given to pomp and
luxury, and dwelling mostly in Palma. Some of the wealthy lived in the
country, where there was also a large number of free tillers of the
soil. A few of these became wealthy, but there was always a tendency for
the rich to migrate to Palma. The position of the rural classes was not
satisfactory at any time, but two causes appeared in the fourteenth
century to make it worse. One was the increase in taxation after the
reincorporation into the crown of Aragon, and the other a change in the
form of wealth with the decline of Majorcan commerce in the latter
fourteenth century, when the aristocracy of Palma began to buy lands and
rights to collect taxes. Thus the rural districts became economically
dependent on the absentee landlords at the capital, who were more
zealous over the collection of their rents and taxes than in cultivating
the land. Society divided itself largely on the lines of the country and
the city, with the inhabitants of the former bitterly hostile to the
aristocracy of the latter.
[Sidenote: Conversion of the Mudéjares and Jews.]
Of the despised classes the Mudéjares, as such, soon disappeared,
despite their great numbers at the time of the conquest. Upon conversion
to Christianity or emancipation from slavery they mixed with the lower
classes of the Christians, and were completely absorbed. The history of
the Jews was almost identical with that of their race in the peninsula,
but was involved with the peculiar social problems of Majorca apart from
race and religion. The kings collected heavy tributes from them, but
protected them, allowing them the free exercise of their business and
the practice of their faith, exempting them from all taxation (even
municipal) except the royal tributes, aiding them in the collection of
debts, and facilitating the entry of Jews and Marranos into Majorca.
Numerous attacks were made on them in the fourteenth century,
culminating in the sack of the Jewish quarter of the capital in 1391
(the year which was so disastrous to the Jews in other parts of Spain),
when some three hundred men and women were killed. In addition to the
usual animosities against them because of their religion and the
incitement of debtors this attack was in part an outgrowth of the
struggle of the rural classes against the landlords, to whom the sack of
the Jewish quarter was a severe financial blow, since much of their
wealth depended on their relations with the Jews, with whom also they
were wont to deposit their jewels. The rioters were able to obtain
decrees from the royal governor-general extinguishing debts and interest
due to the Jews, confirming the title of those who had taken part in the
attack to the money and jewelry they had stolen, pardoning all offences
committed, and ordering an immediate conversion of the Jews. The general
conversion took place at once, but had to be repeated in 1435.
[Sidenote: The municipal form of Majorcan government.]
Since the outlying settlements were unimportant at the time of the
conquest, the government of the city of Palma was extended over the
entire island. At length the administration at the capital was organized
on the basis of a magistracy of six persons (a _caballero_, two
citizens, two merchants, and an artisan), who served for a year and
appointed their successors. The attempt to maintain this organization
after the rural population had grown to appreciable numbers was one of
the causes of the social strife between the rural and city elements.
Within Palma itself there were also the disputes of different social
classes and of rival powerful families. By a reform of 1358 the rural
population obtained some financial independence whereby their
contributions were limited to those which were to be applied for
expenses in which they had an interest in common with the city, and a
portion was assigned to them to spend on matters of their own, for which
purpose a rural organization was formed to provide for the management of
their affairs. Another reform established a council subordinate to the
six magistrates, in which the rural population had a minority
representation, thirty in ninety-three in 1398. This did not satisfy
them, for they desired a complete separation from the city government.
Still other reforms were made, but they did not get at the root of the
evil, for the city remained dominant over the affairs of the country,
oppressing the people both economically and politically.
[Sidenote: The social wars of Majorca and Minorca.]
Shortly after the successful issue of the attack upon the Jews in 1391
the rural levies moved against their Christian enemies in Palma. This
time they failed, and a number of their chiefs were executed. No further
conflict of importance occurred until 1450, when a bitter civil war
broke out. Aided by the laboring classes of Palma the rural forces
besieged the capital, but were unable to take it. In 1452 the
insurrection was put down. In 1463 there was another uprising, and from
that date to the end of the era a state of affairs bordering on anarchy
prevailed, enhanced by the economic decline of Majorca, and by the
disorders on the mainland which filled the reign of Juan II. In the
island of Minorca a parallel situation existed throughout the era in the
conflicts of the capital, Ciudadela, with the rural districts.
[Sidenote: Greatness and decline of Majorcan commerce.]
Majorca had an excellent climate and a fertile soil which fitted it for
agricultural wealth, and the Moslems had furthered this by their use of
irrigation. They had also engaged considerably in manufacturing, and had
an already well-developed trade at the time of the conquest. Under
Christian domination Majorca soon attained to an extraordinary
commercial importance, trading in all parts of the Mediterranean and in
Flanders, and having consuls and commercial exchanges in nearly all
European countries. In the fourteenth century more than thirty thousand
sailors resided in Palma, and many foreign merchants dwelt there. The
wealthy trader was the veritable great lord in the island, with his
palaces, country estates, and his display of luxury. The decline set in
about the middle of the fourteenth century, due in part to the
annexation of Majorca to the kingdom of Aragon. Other causes hastened
the fall: disastrous plagues, earthquakes, and floods; the advance of
the Turks into Europe, cutting off a rich commercial field; the
increased importance of the Italian cities in the eastern Mediterranean
trade; the raids of pirates; the expensive wars of Aragon; and the
persistent social and political strife in Majorca itself. Nevertheless,
a considerable trade remained until the middle of the fifteenth century,
when a new series of misfortunes,--such as the fall of Constantinople in
1453, the prohibition of the entry of Majorcan cloths into Naples, the
competition of Rhodes and Portugal in the east, and hostilities with
the Moslem states of northern Africa (thus cutting off that avenue of
trade),--added to the continuing effect of some of the already-named
evils, brought about the complete downfall of the Majorcan mercantile
power. One advantage resulted, though not great enough to offset the
commercial loss: a beginning was made of a more intensive cultivation of
the agricultural wealth which the island was so well able to produce.
_Navarre_
[Sidenote: Backwardness of Navarre.]
The institutions of Navarre at this time were affected by French
influences, but in the main resembled those of the rest of the peninsula
both in form and in their evolution, except that they displayed a
backwardness which was natural in a region so thinly populated. The
feudal régime persisted, although some gains were made by the servile
classes, the towns, and the kings. A corporate sense of society, as
manifested in the importance of the family as a whole and in the
associations of neighbors and citizens (especially marked in the rural
districts), still existed. The Mudéjares and Jews were comparatively
numerous, and their lot was the same as in other parts of the peninsula.
The marriage _á yuras_ was sanctioned in Navarre longer than elsewhere,
although at length it was banished. _Barraganía_ (much resorted to by
churchmen) survived, and received a measure of acceptance. The customs
of chivalry were greatly in vogue, and bull-fighting and ball-games[50]
were very popular. Agriculture, with the aid of irrigation, and
stock-raising were the principal occupations. In intellectual culture
and the fine arts Navarre was rather a continuation of France than a
part of Spain. The country was markedly backward in these respects,
however, as evidenced by the ignorance of the clergy, compared with
churchmen in other regions, and by the fact that the kings rarely had
any books other than those of prayer. Although Basque was the national
tongue, such books as were written usually appeared in Latin or in
Castilian,--one more demonstration of the intellectual predominance of
central Spain. French Gothic prevailed in architecture, sculpture, gold
work, and painting.
_The Basque provinces_
[Sidenote: Unique character of Basque institutions.]
The three Basque provinces of Álava, Vizcaya, and Guipúzcoa have always
been unique in their history and institutions, and are the subject of
many popular legends more or less founded on fact, such as the one
already discussed that the Basques have never been conquered, and
another that they are all nobles. In this period they were becoming more
and more Castilian in customs, but they still retained much that was
indigenous.
[Sidenote: The social and political system in Álava.]
In general social organization Álava did not differ from other Spanish
regions. It was technically a _behetría de mar á mar_ (free town from
sea to sea): made up of a group of small seigniorial estates, both noble
and ecclesiastical, whose rulers were free to elect a common lord
without being restrained to a determinate family. The untitled
inhabitants were rural laborers, who were either serfs or in a state but
little removed from serfdom, and the free, popular classes of the towns,
but neither of these elements exercised great influence. After the
incorporation of Álava into Castile in 1332, the older type of
government, based primarily on the _Cofradía_ of Arriaga and the elected
lord, underwent a radical change. The overlordship became fixed in the
crown of Castile, and the _cofradía_ disappeared, although a similar
body soon developed. The king was represented at times by an
_adelantado_ as well as by lesser royal officials, and reserved high
justice to himself, besides rights to military service and a certain few
taxes. Local government was carried on by various assemblies, reaching
in a hierarchy from the lesser regional institutions to the general
assembly for the entire province. The general assembly was both a
legislative and an administrative body, but its principal function was
the inspection of royal orders to see if they conformed to the regional
charters. A juridical difference existed between the towns and the
country, for the former were ruled by Castilian law and the latter by
ancient custom, resulting in the economic dependence of the rural
laboring classes, even after serfdom had disappeared.
[Sidenote: The social and political system in Vizcaya.]
Until its consolidation with the Castilian crown by inheritance in 1370,
Vizcaya was a _behetría de linaje_ (free town within a family), electing
its lord from a determinate family, but both before and after that date
there was a marked lack of regional solidarity, for various groups were
to a great degree autonomous. There were two principal types of
jurisdiction: the seigniorial estates, with the usual incidents found
elsewhere; and the indigenous Basque settlements, which pretended to the
nobility of their inhabitants, even to the point of refusing to permit
foreigners to dwell among them unless they too were of noble rank. The
indigenous element was to be found in rural districts, and was ruled by
customs, which were written down for the first time in 1452. The
patriarchal form of family life continued to exist here, as evidenced by
the requirement that lands should return to the family from which they
proceeded in case of a failure of direct heirs, and by the right to
leave virtually one’s entire estate to a single descendant. Custom
recognized a right of way over the lands of others, even when
enclosed,--which would seem to indicate backwardness in the development
of means of communication. In government the king was represented
principally by a _corregidor_. The inhabitants of Vizcaya were exempt
from any taxes of Castilian origin, but paid certain other contributions
to the king, were subject to both military and naval service, and
acknowledged the right of high justice in the royal officials. The
general assembly of Vizcaya, like that of Álava, had a right to inspect
royal decrees.
[Sidenote: The social and political system in Guipúzcoa.]
The people of Guipúzcoa claimed to be of noble rank, and this status was
legally recognized for most of them by laws enacted before, during, and
after this period. Nevertheless the customs of the land itself amounted
to a denial of their claim, and the familiar social differences existed,
even though the majority of the people were legally nobles. There was a
seigniorial class of the usual variety, with dependents in a more or
less servile relation. A middle class nobility existed, composed of
small proprietors or the industrial laborers and merchants of the towns.
This element was very insistent on its noble rank (which indeed carried
with it special privileges, such as the exclusive right to hold public
office and certain exemptions from taxation), and enacted laws excluding
those who were not of noble blood from a right to live in the towns.
These laws were not enforced, however, and a popular class grew up,
composed of Guipuzcoans whose noble rank was not recognized and of
foreigners, many of whom settled in the land. Politically Guipúzcoa was
a _behetría_ subject alternately to the kings of Navarre and Castile,
until in 1200 the overlordship became fixed in the Castilian crown. At
first the king was represented by an _adelantado_, who was customarily
ruler at the same time of Álava or of the county of Castile; later a
_corregidor_ for Guipúzcoa alone was named, while there were a number of
royal _merinos_ as well. There was no other organization for the entire
province until the fourteenth century, but each region dealt separately
with the royal government. Gradually, through the formation of groups of
settlements, a general league and at length a general assembly
developed, with much the same powers as the assemblies of Álava and
Vizcaya. The municipalities continued to be the principal centre of
regional autonomy, however, especially the more important towns, which
protected the lesser settlements through an institution similar to the
Catalonian _carreratge_. Like the other Basque provinces Guipúzcoa
enjoyed a number of privileges, of which the most prized was the
exemption from general taxation, although certain specified tributes
were regularly collected. More than once the province rose in arms to
resist the imposition of taxes of Castilian origin.
[Sidenote: Inter-relations of the Basque provinces.]
Despite community of race and language the three provinces never formed
a political unit. At times Guipúzcoa and Álava had the same
_adelantado_ or held general assemblies in common, and there were some
instances where the assemblies of all three provinces met to discuss
matters of common interest. Alliances were made between towns of the
same or different provinces, perhaps including towns in France, for such
purposes as the regulation of the use of lands common. In one respect
there was a certain amount of unity (in interest at least): in the
conflict of the towns against the great lords and their allies, the
rural population, in all three provinces. The lords were so turbulent
that the kings joined with the towns in attempts to suppress them, and
the lords even fought one another, wherefore their power was
considerably reduced, though not entirely broken.
_Granada_
[Sidenote: Social and political decadence of Granada.]
[Sidenote: Economic wealth.]
According to modern estimates Granada had a population of three or four
millions in its last days, which bespeaks a great density, due largely
to the migrations of Mudéjares from Christian lands. In social and
political organization Granada was a miniature of the early caliphate.
The Arabs reappeared as the principal element, and furnished the ruling
family. They had the same scornful and quarrelsome aristocratic pride as
in other days, and were opposed, as before, by the Berbers, who
outnumbered them. The most numerous element was that of the Renegados,
which was also next in importance to the Arabs. There were many
thousands of Christian slaves as well. Signs of social decay were
everywhere visible, especially in the passion of the wealthy for luxury
and futile diversions at vast expense, while on the other hand there
existed the poverty-stricken proletariat.[51] Internal political history
reduced itself to a series of riots, assassinations, rebellions, acts of
vengeance, and exhibitions of partisan rancor. The influence of
Christian Spain was more and more intense, manifesting itself in general
customs and dress; even the practices of chivalry were introduced. Given
the richness of soil and favoring climate and the great population of
Granada, it was natural that there should have been a considerable
measure of economic prosperity there. This became less as the period
advanced, as a result of political weakness and social decay, but
Granada was still wealthy at the time (in the next era) it disappeared
as a kingdom.
[Sidenote: Granadine architecture.]
In sciences and letters Granada continued the intellectual traditions of
Moslem Spain, but it cannot be said that its influence was great. In the
arts, however, Granada introduced features of general importance, and
especially in architecture, of which the outstanding example is the
palace of the Alhambra in the city of Granada. The most salient note in
Granadine architecture was richness in ornamentation, in which it is not
surpassed by any other style in the world. The walls were adorned with
relief work in stucco, and variegated azulejos tiles were also used in
great profusion. The decorative motives were geometrical or floral, and
the _tout ensemble_ was not only brilliant in color, but also
harmoniously appealing. In structural features, too, Granadine
architecture attained to great beauty.