Rising of Catalonia

The Rising of Catalonia (known as a Catalan under the name of Guerra dels Segadors (in French War of the Reapers and in Spanish: Guerra of los Segadores ) affected most of the Catalogne between the years 1640 and 1659. It ended with the signature of the Traité of the Pyrenees between the Spain and the France, which granted to France the Roussillon and half of the county of Cerdagne, hitherto integral parts of Catalonia.

The war started because of the discomfort which in the Catalan company the presence of troops Castilians generated during the wars between France and Spain during the Guerre Thirty Year old (1618 - 1648). The events of 1640 called Corpus of Sangre , started by the death of a reaper and which will lead to dead of the count de Santa Coloma, viceroy of Catalonia, mark the beginning of this conflict.

Antecedents

Collapse of the incomes of Castille and reduction in those of America

The capacity of Castille to defend the Spanish interests in Europe and in the rest of the world had arrived at its minimum with Philippe III and Philippe IV. Castille had already known a period of long recession since the end of the reign of Philippe II; this one worsened with its successors, because the Thirty Year old war constituted an excessive load. In addition, the trade with America was in crisis, with a great deceleration in 1631 and 1641. The incomes of the Crown on behalf of those which played the part of pillars traditionally - Castille and America - had become tiny, which resulted in seeking resources in the other parts of the kingdom.

Already before 1620, the Council of Finances, the Cortes Castilians and the economists Castilian claimed a more equitable distribution of the load of the empire, considered that Castille contributed excessively to the loads of defense and required that the other kingdoms and provinces (crown of Aragón, Portugal, Navarre, Guipúzcoa and Biscay mainly) contribute at least to provide for their own expenses of defense. In this context, the Italian possessions contributed to their defense just as the Netherlands (although in weaker share). Aragón and Valence contributed occasionally. Portugal and Catalogne refused to contribute, because they considered that what occurred out of their borders, was not theirs competence.

Union of the Weapons

It is at this time that arrived at the capacity the count-duke of Olivares under the reign of Philippe IV in 1621. It adopted the ideas of distribution and tax uniformity in its government program; in the projects of Olivares there was a greater union of the empire with uniform laws, which supposed the abandonment of the constitutional privileges of the other kingdoms and provinces; n the other hand it offered to distribute the fruits of the empire (like its loads) hitherto reserved mainly for Castille.

Olivares was impatient by nature, and even if its foreground (to distribute the loads in exchange of the privileges) were good, that required patience in order to be applied in the long run. However he proposed another way: The Union of the Weapons, which proposed the creation of an army of 140.000 reservists recruited and maintained by the various provinces, kingdoms and viceroyalties in agreement with their needs and possibilities; like that, he thought of making a success of a greater union via a military union. That was not accepted because a decree of the Cortes Castilians could not oblige Aragón, Valence and Catalonia to perceive money.

The Thirty Year old war and Catalonia

For this situation tended between the Crown and Principat, it is necessary to add the strategic situation of Catalonia in the Thirty Year old War with the return of France in the conflict in 1639, which took by surprised Spain and created a greater need for troops and money to maintain them, it with what the Catalan government continued to oppose.

A series of events led to a greater deterioration of the relations between the Crown and Catalonia:

In 1638, of the French troops besieged Fuenterrabía (Guipúzcoa), which supposed a prompt response of Castille, Basque provinces, Aragón and Valence, but the Catalan Delegation maintained Catalonia in margin, pleading its right not to intervene out of its borders;
In 1639, Olivares deliberately chooses Catalonia like face to attack France and to make so that Catalonia decides to contribute to the military efforts. This military effort was dedicated to the failure for lack of support both of Madrid and of Barcelona.
an army of some 9.000 soldiers spent the winter on the Catalan face. The Catalan laws envisaged a housing of troops which was insufficient. The troops transgressed these laws and it occurred excesses with regard to the population, which the viceroy, the count de Santa Coloma was unable to prevent.
the patience of Olivares had reached its limits as shows it a writing with the count de Santa Coloma. It imposed harder measurements concerning the presence, the pay and the recruitment of troops in Catalonia.

The patience of the peasants who accommodated the troops had also reached its limits and finally the situation was transformed into revolt in May 1640.

The Corpus of Blood

The peasants of Gérone attacked the troops which they lodged, at the beginning of May 1640. At the end of the month, the peasants arrived at Barcelona; had linked themselves with them the reapers in June and soon the revolt became Master of the city. They assassinated royal civils servant and judges. The viceroy himself was assassinated when it tried to flee by the sea, on a beach inhabitant of Barcelona. That took place during the festival of Corpus Christi, which is celebrated 60 days after Easter Sunday.

The situation took by surprised Olivares; the majority of its armies were mobilized on other faces and could not run to Catalonia.

1640 to 1652

Pau Claris, with the head of the General information of Catalonia, proclaimed the Catalan Republic. But the revolt also escaped this first and transitory control of Catalan oligarchy. Rising became a revolt of the peasants impoverished against the nobility and the rich person of the cities which were in their turn attacked. Catalan oligarchy was in the middle of an authentic social revolution, taken between the authority of the king and the radicalism of his poorest subjects.

Conscious of their incapacity to reduce the revolt and their difficulties to direct an independent state, controlling them Catalan were combined with the enemy of Philippe IV: Louis XIII. Richelieu did not lose such a good opportunity to weaken the Spanish crown. Olivares started to painfully prepare an army to recover Catalonia this same year 1640 and in September, the Catalan Delegation requested from France a help to arm itself.

In October 1640 it made it possible the French ships to use the Catalan ports and Catalonia agreed to pay a first French Army of 3.000 men whom France would send in the county. In November, an army of some 20.000 soldiers recovered Tortosa for Philippe IV, on his way towards Barcelona; this army was let go to abuses on the prisoners, which determined the Catalans to oppose a greater resistance. In January 1641 Catalonia was voluntarily subjected to the government of king de France and the General information proclaimed count de Barcelone and sovereign of Catalonia the king Louis XIII of France, as a Louis I of Barcelona. This same year, the January 26th, an army free-Catalan woman successfully defends Barcelona against the army of Philippe IV, who withdraws himself and will become only ten years later (Bataille of Montjuic). A little after this victorious resistance died Pau Claris.

Catalonia was quickly transformed into battle field of the war between France and Spain; ironically, it was in the situation that during so much of decades it had to try to avoid: to contribute to the maintenance with an army and to partially yield its administration to a foreign capacity, in this case French capacity. The French policy with respect to Catalonia was dominated by the military tactics to tackle Valence and Aragon.

Louis XIII named a French viceroy and fills the Catalan administration people pro-Frenchwomen. The cost of the French Army for Catalonia was increasingly heavy; it was transformed more and more into an occupying army. Going French started to enter in competition with going local, but while being supported by the French government which converted Catalonia into a new market for France. All that, joined to the situation of war, the inflation which resulted from it thus that the diseases, caused a dissatisfaction with the population which became aware that its situation had worsened with Louis XIII compared to that which they knew of the time of Philippe IV.

In 1643, the French Army of Louis XIII conquered Roussillon (Roselló), Monzón and Lérida. One year after Philippe IV recovered Monzón and Lérida (It) where the king the Jura obedience with the Catalan laws. In 1648 with the Treated of Westphalia and the withdrawal of its allies of the Netherlands of the war, France started to lose interest for Catalonia. Knowing the dissatisfaction with the Catalan population against the French occupation, Philippe IV considered that it was the moment to attack and in 1651 an army directed by Juan Jose de Austriche began a head office of Barcelona. The French Army of Barcelona went in 1652; Philippe IV was recognized like sovereign and Juan de Austria like viceroy in Catalonia, even if France preserved the control of Roussillon (Roselló). Philippe IV on his side signed obedience auxs Catalan laws. In 1659 was signed the Traité of the Pyrenees.

This internal instability and its end result were as detrimental for Spain as for Catalonia. On its side, France did not lose the occasion to exploit a situation which was beneficial for him at a negligible cost.

Chronology

1618 . Beginning of the War Thirty Year old.
1626 . Dissolution of the Cortes of Barcelona. Opposition to the Union of the Weapons.
1639 . French occupies Salses and Opol.
1640 . Popular revolution against the soldiers placed. Corpus of Blood (June 7th).
political Revolution. Beginning of the Guerra dels Segadors .
1640 . Rising and independence of the Portugal.
1641 . Louis XIII is proclaimed Count de Barcelone. Battle of Montjuic.
1652 . The troops Castilians occupy Barcelona.
1659 . Treated of the Pyrenees.
1660 . Louis XIV abolishes the Catalan constitutions of the Roussillon and the Cerdagne.
1667 . Beginning of the revolt of the Angelets of will terra.
1688 . Revolt of Gorretes or barretines.
1697 . French occupies Barcelona and part of Principat. Vendôme swears the Catalan Constitutions in the name of Louis XIV.
1697 . Treaty of Ryswick. France signs the rehabilitation of Principat in the inheritance of Habsbourg.

Anthem of Catalonia

The anthem of Catalonia Els Segadors is inspired by the revolt of the reapers of 1640.

External bonds

El conflicto idiot the monarquía hispánica

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