In this regard, the Hispanic Monarchy , forced to attend the various war fronts of its vast empire, especially on the European stage, was no exception. The exhaustion of Castile and its demographic decline in the 17th century reduced its ability to provide men to the Tercios, leading the rulers to assess the need to establish alternative mechanisms. Given the territorial structure of said Monarchy, based on the dynastic union of the various kingdoms, one of the principles used would be the obligation of the subjects to provide assistance to their monarch. However, we must not forget that the kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon (Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia) held the status of foral kingdoms, subjecting their participation to a series of assumptions that the king himself should accept, not the least of them being the geographical limitation of the use of its forces within the borders of each kingdom, (although in practice this was not always respected).
During the reign of Philip IV, the Count-Duke of Olivares presented a Memorial to the monarch in 1624, where he proposed a Union of Arms of the different territories of the Monarchy as a remedy to distribute the military and fiscal burdens, incorporating the participation of the members of the Crown of Aragon, although said plan did not prosper, frustrated in its expectations due to the reluctance of those called to participate and the events that occurred in 1640 ("the rebellion of the Catalans" and the war with Portugal).[1]
In times of Carlos II, an attempt was made to raise the so-called General Militias , considered as a reinforcement to complete the contributions of soldiers to cover their lack in the thirds, trying to extend them to the territories of the Crown of Aragon. Its implantation did not stop taking place, encouraged by the difficult war situation motivated by the French offensives, getting to move its troops, even beyond the borders of the respective kingdoms, except in the case of the Catalans whose effort fell on the defense of its border in the face of French attacks.[2]
The militias in Spain with the Bourbons
The accession to the throne of Philip V in Spain it meant a reorganization of the armies, not only replacing the thirds with the regiments, but also in the field of the militias through the Regulation of 1704, where the formation of one hundred regiments was foreseen, also regulating the salaries of their officers and soldiers and establishing as a novelty the requirement that all regiments be uniformed.[3] The War of Spanish Succession prevented it from being carried out. It would not be until later and already entrenched in the Spanish throne when the consolidation of the militia system in the Castilian area took place through the Provincial Militias, being one of the strongest defenders of it D. Jose Patino . The fundamental rule in this regard was the Ordinance of 1734, which provided for the formation of 33 militia regiments of 700 men.[4] In relation to the text of 1704, the cost of the militiamen's salaries would correspond to the king, while the municipalities should take care of the cost of clothing.
Attempts to transplant this measure and form other provincial militia regiments in the Crown territories were unsuccessful. At first, the official instances of the court were suspicious of the majority support that those populations had given to Archduke Carlos, rival of Felipe V in the succession conflict, and the scant desire to provide them with weapons, even if it was to arm the armed forces. of militiamen. Later, in the time of Fernando VI, the Marquis of Ensenada advocated in favor of it, but finally such an attempt did not come to fruition. The kingdoms of the crown of Aragon were always opposed to admitting the creation of provincial militias in their territories, hiding behind their traditions and privileges, in addition to alleging the economic damage that their inhabitants would suffer as a result.
Only for the island of Mallorca, also an integral part of the kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon, although with less institutional weight than these, Carlos III decreed the formation of two Provincial Militia regiments, each made up of two battalions, in 1762. This measure was prompted by Spain's participation in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) on the side of France, with unfavorable results for both against Great Britain, which also retained its control of Menorca.
Despite the expressions of enthusiasm of the Mallorcan nobility at the announcement of the formation of the two projected regiments, the truth is that the lukewarmness in complying with their implementation by the municipal authorities in charge delayed compliance until 1764, finally reducing the two regiments to just one, made up of militiamen from the capital Palma de Mallorca and the rest of the island (part forana ).[5]
The attempt to implant the provincial militias in Valencia in 1796 could not be carried out due to the rejection of its municipal authorities in the face of such a measure. If until then the opposition had been limited to the official order and peacefully, in 1801 a violent opposition broke out before the orders sent by Don Manuel Godoy to impose the provincial militias in Valencia, to the point of publishing a Decree that annulled the previously announced orders, in order to calm things down.[6]
During the War of Independence, the provincial militias participated in the general mobilization against the Napoleonic invasion, producing its reestablishment in 1815 by Ferdinand VII, although as the organization of the Spanish army and the recruitment systems became stronger, its role declined until it was suppressed during the 19th century.
Bibliography
- Contreras Gay, José:Provincial militias in the 18th century. Study on the regiments of Andalusia . Institute of Almerian Studies. 1993.
- Elliott, J.H.:The Count-Duke of Olivares . Criticism. Barcelona. 1990.
- Espino López, Antonio:The formation of General Militias in the kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon during the reign of Carlos II, 1665-1700 . Humanistic Studies. History. 2003, pp.
- Oñate Algueró, Paloma:Serving the king:the provincial militia (1734-1846) . Ministry of Defence. Madrid. 2003.
- Pascual Ramos, Eduardo:civil defense in times of war. The militia of Majorca (1762-1769) . Vegeta. Yearbook of the Faculty of Geography and History. 16. 2016, pp. 265-288.
Notes
[1] Elliott, J.H.:The Count-Duke of Olivares . Criticism. Barcelona. 1990.
[2] Espino López, Antonio:The formation of General Militias in the kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon during the reign of Charles II, 1665-1700 . Humanistic Studies. History. 2003, pp. 111-140.
[3] Contreras Gay, José:Provincial militias in the eighteenth century. Study on the regiments of Andalusia . Institute of Almerian Studies. 1993.
[4] Oñate Algueró, Paloma:Serving the king:the provincial militia (1734-1846) . Ministry of Defence. Madrid. 2003.
[5] Pascual Ramos, Eduardo:Civil defense in times of war. The militia of Majorca (1762-1769) . Vegeta. Yearbook of the Faculty of Geography and History. 16.2016, pp. 265-288.
[6] Corona Marzol, Carmen:Valencia and the Bourbon provincial militias. Introduction attempts and institutional opposition in the XVIII . Millars. Geography and History. 11. 1986, pp. 99-112.