Analyse the Strengths and Weaknesses of Spain by 1516
There were considerable differences between the Hispanic kingdoms within the
Iberian Peninsula. It was divided by language and religion, governed by different
political institutions and ruled by monarchs with conflicting foreign interests. Both
Aragon and Castile had very little in common. The economies varied in strength in
different parts of Spain, for example Catalonia was in decline whilst Valencia was
in the recovery stage. The marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand in 1469 dramatically
changed the course of Spain.
The Queen was a determined and quick-witted woman, with a ‘street-fighter’s
instinct for survival’. She guaranteed privileges to nobles and town authorities,
promised to restore law and order and was the only claimant with an undisputed
right to the throne. Ferdinand played a role in leading Isabella’s troops against
the Portuguese and French invasions and recaptured rebellious towns, all helping
to stabilize the crown. His brother also aided Isabella by commanding the
Hermandad meaning that although his father died, no Aragonese nobles
contested the crown. Royal authority had declined during the weak rule of Henry
IV and it needed to be asserted and there was also the problem of law and order
(lots of disorder in Castile due to the 5 years civil war). There were still supporters
of Joanna; a minority of the nobility had fought against Isabella e.g Marquis of
Vienna. The Hermandad at least brought some justice to the countryside, which
benefited Castilian towns as well as law-abiding landowners. Hermandades had
never been controlled so extensively by the Crown, it significantly contributed to
the improvements in local administration. Corregidores were also having an
impact (administrators of cities and districts with both administrative and judicial
powers). They were used by the Catholic Monarchs to strengthen royal authority
rather than revive local responsibility Ferdinand and Isabella travelled extensively
in Castile. They spent relatively little time in Aragon in his 37-year reign (7 years).
This was a very important means of asserting royal authority by showing
themselves to their subjects and establishing an effective working relationship
with their nobility and to discipline any troublemakers. Ferdinand and Isabella
visited every Castilian town at least once.
Ferdinand tried to increase royal authority over Aragonese towns by trying to
introduce new procedures for the election of municipal offices. His idea of
sending royal governors to towns was rejected preventing royal authority
encroaching. Isabella was able to have a greater effect on improving local
administration than her husband. She tried to protect, by intervention, town
people from impressive nobles and nominated jurados to sit on town councils.
She persisted with the idea of Corregidores in towns, despite opposition, and the
number of towns with them increased (Toledo for instance enjoyed a long period
of peace largely due to Gomez Manrique, its Corregidore.). Their authority varied,
some governed entire regions, and others had a limited impact. However,
overtime they became more corrupt lowering the standards of local
administration.
The civil war left deep scars and required close supervision to work effectively.
Both Isabella and Ferdinand dispersed justice personally. The Hermandad was
unpopular and it demanded taxation on local people for its maintenance. It was
officially dissolved in 1498 as nobles increasingly disliked it (didn’t want too much
crown influence). The crowns political strength lay into relationship with the
nobility. Ferdinand and Isabella however, due to incompatible promises in the
1470’s, were in a different situation as some families expected rewards for their
role in the civil war. This often contradicted what Isabella had said about
protecting the rights of the towns. Isabella decided to harness the power of the
nobility and tried to regain land given out by Henry IV. Isabella and Ferdinand on a
smaller scale in Aragon gave the nobles rights to collect sales tax and confirmed
their exemption from direct tax. This guaranteed their social and economic
position. Also nobles who had fought against Isabella in the civil war were given
fair agreements such as the Marquis of Vienna in order to preserve social stability.
Those on her side were awarded with for example dukedoms guaranteeing their
continuing support. Although some nobles maintained control of regional politics,
which was a big threat to the crown as they had no standing army, whereas most
nobles kept retainers. An example of when the crown and nobility worked
together to ensure the stability of the country was the Granada between 1482 and
1492. Some of the nobility actually served in the war and fought on behalf of the
crown against the Muslims. The war helped to enhance royal prestige. However,
outbreaks of civil disorder and violence in Castile in the early years of the sixteenth
century suggest that royal administration was beginning to break down.
Nobles became better educated and there was an emergence of letrados
(lawyers). Most Castilian and Aragonese peasants enjoyed a period of relative
prosperity, with wage rises, stable prices and plenty of employment in the
countryside. Town life was changing rapidly; Castilian merchants experienced a
dramatic increase in trade and commerce, which led to a growth in business and
rising prosperity for those in work. However, due to an increase in population
town authorities were faced with the problem of vagrancy where people wonder
from place to place and don’t usually have a home.
The Catholic Monarchs intended to enhance the welfare of their subjects. They
maintained the Mesta’s monopoly and continued wool trade, which was high in
demand in the Low Countries. Taxes on wool and sheep and the establishment of
trade links with America (gold bullion), proved extremely beneficial. Maintaining
the quality of Castile’s coinage and establishing a currency common to both
kingdoms, monetary if not economic unity was achieved. Overseas trade was
strengthened with Venice as a base, and the financial status and prosperity of
Barcelona recovered from the effects of the civil war in the 1460s. However the
Spanish economy had a number of weaknesses, poor communications (bad roads,
mountainous), a network of internal customs duties and inland tolls and
resistance to state intervention in effecting changes in agriculture, guilds and
industry. Regionalism was a very powerful force and applied to the economy.
There was no significant attempt to integrate the two economies, for example,
trade with Americas was a Castilian monopoly (intensified hostility between two
kingdoms, threat of inflation and decline in currency). The only measure that was
taken was the standardization of the currency in 1497.
The Spanish Crown failed to protect and promote its native industries and focused
too much on exportation of wool than developing its textile industry. Also, the
persecution of the Conversos and Jews (many of them were skilled craftsmen)
damaged wool trade, while the silk trade was damaged with war in Granada
(mudejars were main producers of silk, many were killed while others emigrated).
Spanish wealth and commercial gains from the New World could potentially fall
through due to its lack of incorporation.