Union of the Weapons
The Union of the Weapons . Proclaimed in 1626 by Philippe IV for the creation of an army of 140.000 reservists recruited and maintained by the various provinces, kingdoms and viceroyalties according to their needs and their possibilities.
Antecedents
During XVIe and XVIIe centuries, the defense of the interests of Spanish monarchy out of the peninsular territory rested quasi exclusively on the Castille. After more than one century of uninterrupted wars, Castille passed from the state of the Spanish crown richest and dynamics to that of an area impoverished with serious problems of depopulation. The Castilian economists during tens of years, asked for a more equitable distribution of the expenditure of defense, which the Councils of Finances already recommended in 1622. Thus with the the Cortes of Castille, one proposed this year there, the replacement of the tax of los millones by the pay corresponding to an army of 30.000 soldiers to which the remainder of the provinces and kingdoms should contribute (crown of Aragón, Portugal, Navarre, Biscay and Guipúzcoa).
The Italian states were accustomed to contributing to their own expenses of defense. The Netherlands managed their defense, although on a level lower than that which the fact would have required that they constituted an open face. Navarre, Aragón and Valence contributed occasionally to the defense of the empire. Finally, the Catalogne and the Portugal had always refused some contribution that it is concerning this subject.
The structure of the Spain of then was complicated, because each kingdom and province had its own laws and an autonomous legislative power. Thus, any attempt to distribute the expenses of defense met the head-on opposition of the known as kingdoms and provinces, opposition which oligarchy presented like a defense of the regional capacity against the central capacity.
In this situation, Spain was taken in the Guerre of Thirty Years, test which Castille could support only with large pains, the more so as the great losses of revenue proceeding of the America in the years 1629-1631 and 1639-1641 are added to it. In front of the lack of means tax and military of the traditional Castilian source, on this occasion one started to consider seriously that the provinces and crowns not Castilians were to also contribute they to the defense of the interests of the unit.
In 1621, the count-duke of Olivares, with the agreement of Philippe IV, adopted the ideas of distribution and tax uniformity in its project of government; the plans of Olivares were to establish a greater union of the empire under uniform laws, which supposed an abandonment of the constitutional prerogatives of the other kingdoms and provinces; n the other hand, it offered to distribute the fruits of the empire (like its loads) until now reserved mainly for Castille.
Union of the Weapons
To this end, it chooses an indirect way to accelerate the standardization of the crowns and kingdoms Spanish: 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 according to their needs and possibilities; in this manner, he thought of making a success of a narrower union concretizing itself by a military union. But that was not accepted, because a decree of the Cortes Castilians could not oblige Aragón, Valence and Catalonia to perceive a tax.
From 1626, the king convoca the various Cortes, from Aragón and Valence, and respectively obtained subsidies for 2.000 and 1.000 soldiers per annum, during 15 years, (respectively, 144.000 and 72.000 Ducat S per annum). Catalonia, it claimed to obtain 250.000 ducats per annum for the defense of its land borders and Mediterranean; the negotiation was difficult and without success. Olivares published the Union of the Weapons , although Catalonia is against. It imposed on the Peru a contribution of 350.000 ducats and on the Mexico one of 250.000 ducats for the defense of the transatlantic trade, whereas the colonies had already a load of tax as high as that of Castille.
Reserves with its establishment
Catalonia continued to be opposed to the proposal; Olivares decides to try to insert it in the Union of the Weapons, by one second attempt in front of the Catalan Cortes. Again, the negotiation was difficult mainly because of the representatives inhabitant of Barcelona who with their opposition of principle, added their own requests. It is obvious that some of the members of the Delegation wished to sabotage the relations between the Catalan crown and Cortes to prevent an investigation into corruption affairs. In August 1632, los royal officers accepted the order to accept any proposal which can involve a projection, but in October the Catalan Cortes maintained Catalonia out of the Union of the Weapons and it was the main obstacle with this Union.
The situation envenimant itself between the crown and Catalonia, leads finally to the Soulèvement of Catalonia (1640), which will be followed immediately by another rising to the Portugal, which will involve the independence of this country.