The Hispanic Monarchy during the 17th century

17th CENTURY: DECLINE OF THE
HISPANIC MONARCHY

The 17th century has always been
characterized as a period of crisis and
decline of the Hispanic Monarchy, but most
of the Hispanic Empire was maintained until
the end of the century. Despite the
indolence of the monarchs of this century,
the people in charge of the government
were able to preserve most of the
territories, but at a high cost for the
population.
Philip II’s Empire
Colonial empires in year 1700 The Indies

Monarchs didn’t take personal care of
the government and delegated their
functions for different reasons. The
increasing bureaucracy allowed the
monarchs to delegate their work to
people they trusted, the so called
validos (privates), members of the
nobility who assumed daily
government. In several cases these
validos used their privileged access to
the monarchs for their own benefit,
fact that increased corruption and
inefficiency in the administration.
Philip III and the Duke of Lerma
Philip IV and the Count Duke of Olivares
Charles II and John Joseph of Austria

- PHILIP III
- PHILIP IV
- CHARLES II
- Validos: Duke of Lerma and Duke of Uceda
- Main facts
- Expulsion of the Moorish
- Devaluation of currency
- Twelve Years’ Truce
- Validos: Count-Duke of Olivares and Luis de Haro
- Main facts
- Olivares centralization projects
- Several wars: Low Countries, Thirty
Years war and war against France
- 1640s crisis: most serious revolts in
Catalonia and Portugal
- Validos: Nithard and Valenzuela during his minority and John
Joseph of Austria, Medinaceli and Oropesa later
- Main facts - Loss of Portugal (1668)
- Economic and demographic recovery
- Charles II’s succession
17th CENTURY

PHILIP III’s (1598-1621)
DUQUE DE LERMA
DUQUE DE UCEDA
He left the government in the hands of two main validos:
the Duke of Lerma and later the Duke of Uceda (Lerma’s
son).
His reign was characterized by the economic limitations,
which meant the adoption of a more realistic foreign policy:
- signature of the Peace of London with England in 1604
- Twelve Years’ Truce with the rebel Low Countries in the
Eighty Years’ War, from 1609 to 1621.

Decree of expulsion of the Moorish
- Devaluation of currency: the high State deficit
and the increasing expenses of the court obliged
to the reduction of precious metals in coins,
which were replaced for copper (some of the
coins were entirely made of copper).
- Expulsion of the Moorish (1609): the difficulties
of assimilation of the Moorish, the fear for their
support to a possible Ottoman Turk invasion and
the need to show strength after the signature
of the Twelve Years’ Truce were the main
reasons for this decision. Philip III made this
decision to the detriment of the opposition of
most of the nobility and even the Church. The
nobles agreed when they knew that they would
receive a compensation for the loss of their
workers.
Main facts in the Peninsula:
First series of copper coins (vellón) minted in 1603

The Moorish were obliged to
sell their properties and they
were given a deadline of 5
years to leave the Peninsula,
until 1614. Finally around
300,000 Moorish left the
Peninsula and settled down in
the North of Africa. This
expulsion left a demographic
vacuum in the Crown of
Aragón, especially in Aragón
and Valencia, and seriously
damaged production and
economy.
Moorish population in
the kingdom of Valencia
before the expulsion
Ports from which the Moorish left the
Peninsula
Expulsion of the Moorish from Denia’s harbour

Duke of Lerma’s corruption scandals:
He used his closeness to the king to
become richer and more powerful,
placing many of his friends and family
in the most important posts in the
court. His intrigues and influence
peddling reached the point of
convincing Philip III to move the capital
city from Madrid to Valladolid in 1601.
He had bought a lot of land and
buildings in this city and became very
rich when the court moved there.
Some years later, he bought land at a
lower price in Madrid and convinced
the king to move the capital city back
to Madrid again in 1606.
Valladolid at the end of the 16th century
Madrid in 1635

Lerma’s main enemies were the queen,
Margaret of Austria, his own son, the Duke
of Uceda, and the count Gaspar de Guzmán,
future Count-Duke of Olivares. Evidences
accumulated against his policy and since
1612 he found more difficulties to place his
friends. Fearing the royal punishment, in
1618 Lerma asked the Pope to appoint him
cardinal in order to escape justice, in 1619
he was ordered priest and got the king’s
permission to retire to his lordship in Lerma
(Burgos). Some of his closest collaborators
were imprisoned or executed, like Rodrigo
Calderón, known as the valido of the valido,
used as a scapegoat for Lerma’s ill-doings
and executed in 1621.
Philip III replaced Lerma for his son, the
Duke of Uceda. Although Uceda had less
power than his father, one of his decisions
was sending the tercios to help the
Habsburg Emperor against the Protestant
Bohemians at the beginning of the Thirty
Years’ War (1618-1648).
Queen Margaret of Austria
Rodrigo Calderón, the
valido of the valido,
executed in 1621
Duke of Uceda, prosecuted
by Philip IV
The Cardinal Duke of Lerma.
People sang this tune about him:
“Para no morir ahorcado,
el mayor ladrón de España
se viste de colorado”

Gaspar de Guzmán, the
powerful Count-Duke of
Olivares
PHILIP IV’S REIGN (1621-1665)
His main valido was the Count-Duke of
Olivares, whose government was
characterized by authoritarianism and
centralization. His project included:
- bigger centralization
- reinforcement of the power of the
monarchy
- fairer contribution of the different parts of
the Monarchy to the expenses and to the
military effort.
Philip IV in Brown
and Silver, painted by
Velázquez in 1635

OLIVARES IDEAS
- In 1624 he presented a report to the king called the GREAT
MEMORIAL, where he showed the situation of the Monarchy and
made some propositions to get over it. This text has been
misinterpreted, because although he said that Philip IV’s main task
had to be becoming king of Spain and not the king of several different
territories with different interests and laws, and that the laws of Castile
should extend to all the territories (“One king, one law”), he also
suggested the king to know his kingdoms better and end with the
monopoly of the Castilians in the most important posts of the
administration. Olivares’ project of centralization was similar to what
other monarchs were trying to do in their kingdoms at the same time.
- In 1626 he also presented the UNION OF ARMS’ PROJECT, which
included a contribution in men and money of the different territories
of the Monarchy in proportion to their population (“One for all, all for
one”). It consisted of creating a reserve army of 140,000 men from the
different parts of the monarchy maintained by every territory. This
idea project found a lot of resistance in the different parts of the
Monarchy, but Philip IV finally decided to put it into effect.

Philip IV’s reign meant the return to war
in different fronts:
In 1621, when Archduke Albert of
Austria died, the Low Countries came
back to the Hispanic Monarchy and the
truce wasn’t renewed and war started
again and this conflict mixed with the
Thirty Years’ War and the obliged
support to the German branch of the
Habsburgs. General Ambrosio Spinola
lifted the siege of Breda in 1625. When
the Duke of Mantua died without
successors in 1627, Olivares decided to
intervene to avoid the Duchy falling
under France’s influence. But this
provoked France’s intervention and
their support to the rebels in the Low
Countries. In this way, the Hispanic
Monarchy became completely involved
in the Thirty Years’ War.
The Surrender
of Breda,
painted by
Velázquez in
1634
The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648)

Cardinal Infant Ferdinand,
Philip IV’s brother, winner
in the Battle of Nördlingen (1634)
Philip IV sent his brother, Cardinal Infant
Ferdinand, to help the Austrian
Habsburgs. The tercios contribution was
decisive to the imperial victory at
Nördlingen (1634), but France
involvement at war became stronger in
order to try to reduce the Habsburgs
hegemony in Europe. The war against
France was the origin of the revolt in
Catalonia in 1640. In 1639 Olivares
planned a two front offensive against
France, from Flanders and Catalonia, but
he didn’t get the help of the Habsburgs
and he had to change plans, attacking
the rebel Low Countries through the sea.
This meant a new naval disaster in the
Battle of the Downs.
Battle of the Downs (1639): only 10 of the 100 ships
returned and 10,000 men out of 20,000 died

In 1643 the tercios launched an offensive in the
North of France to lighten the burden over
Catalonia, but they were defeated by the
French army at Rocroi. This was defeat meant
the end of more than one century and a half of
the tercios supremacy in Europe, but it wasn’t
the end of the Hispanic Monarchy.
The last tercio, painting by Augusto
Ferrer Dalmau about the Battle of Rocroi
In 1648 the Thirty Years’ War and the Eighty Years’ War ended with the Peace of Westphalia. The
United Provinces of the Low Countries became definitely independent.
Europe after the signature of the Peace of Westphalia (1648)

1640s CRISIS
The war situation and Olivares’
authoritarianism and centralization were
the causes of the 1640s crisis, the most
critical moment in Philip IV’s reign. In this
decade there were revolts in several
places inside the Hispanic Monarchy, but
the most serious ones took place in
Catalonia and Portugal, but there were
also problems in Andalusia, Naples and
Aragón.
All these problems provoked Olivares
destitution in 1643, replaced by Luis de
Haro, marquis of Carpio, as main valido.
After Olivares’ destitution, Philip IV took
more personal care of the government
and his validos didn’t accumulate as much
power as the Count-Duke had got.
Reapers’ War in Catalonia
The crisis of the 1640s
Luis de Haro, marquis of Carpio,
acted as Philip IV’s valido after the
Count –Duke of Olivares destitution

CATALONIA
Olivares decision of opening a new war
front against the French in the Pyrenees,
obliging the Catalans to quarter the
troops and contribute to the military
expenses, led to a general uprising
against Philip IV’s troops in 1640.
War started on the so called Corpus de
Sang (Corpus of Blood), on the 7th June
1640, when some reapers from the
surroundings of Barcelona, killed some
civil servants, including the viceroy,
Count of Coloma. The revolt, called the
Reapers’ War, became general in
Catalonia. Its leaders were Pau Claris and
Fracesc Tamarit, deputies of the
Generalitat.
Pau Claris
Corpus de Sang

Olivares decided to use force to stop
the revolt. The Catalans rejected to
continue to obey Philip IV, proclaimed
the Republic, got France’s support and
recognized Louis XIII as count of
Barcelona. The conflict didn’t finish
until 1652, when Philip IV took
advantage of the complicated situation
in France during Louis XIV’s minority.
His troops, commanded by his bastard
son John Joseph of Austria, got the
surrender of Barcelona. Philip IV didn’t
suppress the Catalan fueros, but
decided to build a quarter in Montjuïc
and the Catalan institutions lost
influence.
Louis XIII of France
Surrender of Barcelona to
John Joseph of Austria

Defenestration of Miguel de Vasconcelos,
secretary of State in Portugal
The Duke of Braganza,
John IV of Portugal,
in December 1640 the Duke of
Braganza prepared a conspiracy
with the support of part of the
Portuguese nobility, killed the
secretary of State, took power
and started reigning with the
name of John IV. Philip IV tried to
recover the control of Portugal
using military force, but the
Portuguese received the support
of England and France. Finally,
the weak situation during Charles
II’s minority obliged the Hispanic
Monarchy to sign the Treaty of
Lisbon in 1668, which recognized
Portugal’s independence.
PORTUGAL

There were also other uprisings in different parts
of the Monarchy:
- Conspiracy of the Duke of Medina Sidonia
and the Marquis of Ayamonte in Andalusia in
1641. They were accused of trying to proclaim
an independent kingdom in Andalusia and
Ayamonte was executed.
- In 1647, revolts in Naples and Sicily against
tax burden, suffocated by John Joseph of
Austria again
- Conspiracy of the Duke of Híjar in 1648, who
wanted to displace Luis de Haro. He was
accused of trying to proclaim himself king of
Aragón with France’s support and sentenced
for life.
Duke of Medina Sidonia
The Duke of Medina Sidonia asking Philip
IV for pardon

Peace of the
Pyrenees,
signed by
Philip IV and
Louis XIV in
the Pheasant
Island (1659)
War against France continued in the
north of Catalonia and the Low
Countries until 1659: after the French-
English victory in the Battle of the Dunes
or Battle of Dunkirk (1658), France and
the Hispanic Monarchy signed the Peace
of the Pyrenees in the Pheasant Island in
River Bidasoa in 1659. The Hispanic
Monarchy had to renounce definitely to
Rosellón and Cerdaña, the Pyrenees
were established as the border with
France and the marriage of Marie
Therese of Austria, Philip IV’s daughter,
and Louis XIV was also arranged. Marie
Therese would receive 500,000 escudos
as dowry in exchange for renouncing to
her succession rights.
In green,
territories
lost by the
Hispanic
Monarchy
after the
Peace of the
Pyrenees

Prince Balthasar
Charles, son of Philip
IV and his first wife,
Isabella of France,
Isabella of France
Philip IV’s first wife
Marianna of Austria,
Philip IV’s second wife
PHILIP IV’S SUCCESSION
Philip IV died in 1665, leaving his wife (and
niece) Marianna of Austria as regent,
because his son Charles wasn’t of age. Prince
Balthasar Charles, his first son, had died of
smallpox in 1646 when he was 17. Charles II
was the heir of the Hispanic Monarchy
Charles II

Traditional inbreeding in the
House of Austria resulted in a
disabled monarch.

Charles II, called the Hexed, had serious problems
from birth and his education was careless,
because everybody thought he would die soon.
All his reign was conditioned by France’s
hegemony and Louis XIV’s ambitions. During
Charles II’s minority, his mother Marianna of
Austria acted as regent. She got the support of
two different validos, the Austrian Jesuit Father
Juan Everardo Nithard (1666-1669) and
Fernando de Valenzuela (1674-1677).
The critical economic situation and the lack of
support from the Austrian branch of his family
obliged the regent Marianna of Austria to sign
two treaties in 1668:
-Treaty of Lisbon, which recognized Portugal’s
independence
- Treaty of Aachen with France, which gave Louis
XIV some territories he demanded as
compensation for his wife’s non received dowry.
CHARLES II’s REIGN (1665-1700)
Marianna of Austria’s validos, Juan Everardo Nithard,
an Austrian Jesuit priest dismissed in 1668, and
Fernando de Valenzuela, dismissed in 1677
Charles II Regent Marianna of Austria

John Joseph of Austria,
Philip IV’s bastard son and
Charles II’s half brother
Actress María Inés Calderón,
known as La Calderona, Philip
IV’s mistress and John Joseph
of Austria’s mother.
Marianna of Austria’s decisions and actions
were questioned by John Joseph of Austria,
Charles II’s half-brother, who got the
support of part of the grandees of the court
and built an alternative power from his
retire in Aragón. His intervention provoked
the fall of Nithard first and Valenzuela later.
John Joseph of Austria finally became
Charles II’s prime minister in 1677 and
began a series of reforms to improve the
economic situation, but he died in 1679. The
reform work was later continued by the
Duke of Medinaceli first and the Count of
Oropesa later. Realism in foreign policy and
the closure of most of the conflicts started
in Philip IV’s reign contributed to the
recovery of trade and the growth of the
population in the last third of the century.
Duke of Medinaceli

Mary Louise of Orleans
Maria Anna of Neuburg,
elected for her mother’s fertility
(she had been pregnant 24 times
and had had 17 children)
Charles II got married twice, first to
the French princess Marie Louise of
Orleans and later to Maria Anna of
Neuburg. None of them had
children. For that reason, Charles
II’s succession became an
international affair and a lot of
intrigues between the French and
Austrians developed in the court of
Madrid. There were also several
agreements between the European
powers, looking for compensation
for the candidates to the throne
who wouldn’t reign (Treaty of The
Hague or First Partition Treaty,
1698).

Joseph Ferdinand of
Bavaria
Philip of Anjou, French candidate
Archduke Charles of Austria
Louis XIV of France
- In 1696 Charles II’s first testament
had designated Joseph Ferdinand of
Bavaria as heir of the Hispanic
Monarchy, but when this boy died of
chicken pox in 1699, Louis XIV signed
the Second Partition Treaty with the
United Provinces of the Low Countries
to distribute the territories of the
Hispanic Monarchy.
- Charles II rejected this treaty and
wrote a second testament
designating Philip of Anjou, Louis
XIV’s grandson and his grandnephew,
as heir, but with the condition of
resigning to his rights to France’s
crown. This testament wasn’t
accepted by the Austrian Emperor
Leopold I, whose candidate was his
son archduke Charles of Austria.
CHARLES III’s TESTAMENTS

RELATIONS BETWEEN CHARLES II AND THE DIFFERENT CANDIDATES TO THE THRONE

- After so many discussions and intrigues, even
though France had been their main enemy
(four wars during Charles II’s reign), Charles II’s
counselors preferred France’s option, because
this was a way of assuring a powerful option
to keep the territories of the Monarchy united.
In October 1700 Charles II wrote his third and
last testament designating Philip of Anjou as
heir. He died on the 1st November 1700.
Initially his decision was accepted and Philip of
Anjou became the new king of the Hispanic
Monarchy (Philip V), but Louis XIV’s attitude
and actions in Europe led to the formation of
the Grand Alliance of The Hague in 1701 and
the beginning of the War of Spanish
Succession (1701-1715). Grand Alliance of the Hague

Beggars and rogues
painted by Murillo
Most of the 17th century was characterized by demographic and
economic recession, but recovery started in the last third of the
century.
- DEMOGRAPHY: Population decreased from 8 to 7 million people
in the Peninsula, due to several reasons: the expulsion of the
Moorish (it affected more to Aragón than to Castile), bad
harvests, epidemics, wars and migration to the Indies.
- ECONOMY: The demographic crisis also affected economy: there
were less workers and less demand for agricultural and industrial
products. Agricultural production decreased, partly due to the
expulsion of the Moorish, whose main activity was intensive
irrigation agriculture. So did stockbreeding, due to the lack of
pastures and wars, which dragged wool exports out.
Craftsmanship continued to be low, due to foreign competition,
especially with the products exported to the Indies.
DEMOGRAPHY, ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

El Lazarillo de Tormes and The Swindler (El
Buscón), by Quevedo reflected society and the
rogues world.
The huge expenses derived from the imperial
policy and wars created a permanent deficit.
Despite the creation of new taxes, the sale of
nobility titles, municipal posts and privileges and
several currency devaluations, there were six
defaults during this century in 1607, 1627, 1647,
1652, 1662 and 1678.
Recovery started around 1680. Population
started growing in the coastal areas and this
stimulated the demand for products and agrarian
and industrial production grew.
The complicated political and economic situation
of this century gave rise to numerous writings
which proposed solutions (arbitrios) to improve
and reform the Monarchy. These writers were
called projectors or arbitristas and some of them
were Martín González de Cellorigo, Sancho de
Moncada and Miguel Caxa de Leruela.
Nobility was the social model. They lived off rents
without working. Many bourgeois aspired to
become privileged and stop paying taxes. The
number of members of the clergy also increased.
Doing manual work was considered to be
dishonest and the number of rogues and beggars
increased.

THE GOLDEN CENTURY OF CULTURE
Quevedo
Cervantes Lope de Vega
Góngora Calderón de la
Barca Tirso de Molina
In literature:
- Luis de Góngora and Francisco de
Quevedo were the main representatives
of Culteranismo and Conceptismo
respectively in poetry
- Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca and
Tirso de Molina were the most
outstanding theater writers
- Picaresque novel originated in the
Peninsula, with examples like El
Lazarillo de Tormes in the 16th century
or The Swindler (El Buscón), by
Quevedo, and Guzmán de Alfarache, by
Mateo Alemán, in the 17th century. But
The Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
marks the beginning of modern novel in
Europe.
The 16th and 17th centuries have been considered to be a golden period for culture and art in the
Hispanic Monarchy. There was an extraordinary confluence of writers and artists.

El Greco Ribera
Ribalta
Zurbarán Murillo Velázquez
The 17th century also hosted
an extraordinary group of painters,
among which the genius of
Diego de Silva y Velázquez stood out.
Recommended by the Count-Duke
of Olivare, he worked as court painter
for Philip III and Philip IV and made
numerous paintings by the royal family
and the inhabitants of the royal palace
Jester Sebastián de Morra, painted by
Velázquez

The Hispanic Monarchy during the 17th century

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