Commissioners, ad hoc committees and negotiators in the cortes of Catalonia, 1701–02

ABSTRACT

In 1701–02 Philip V of Castile (IV of Catalonia) convened the cortes of Catalonia in Barcelona. The context was very delicate, not only for the Spanish Succession crisis. Many affairs were to be resolved in the aftermath of the War of Secession (1641–52). There had also been a period of more than 100 years without any political agreement between the province and the Hispanic monarchy. For the ecclesiastical, the military and the royal arms – where clergy, noblemen and citizens respectively gathered − it was not easy to reach consensus over many issues and bills. Regular parliamentary committees were therefore soon complemented or replaced by strategic ad hoc committees. When negotiations with the monarchy commenced, strong dissent between the estates’ regular representatives and the representatives of Philip V obliged both the estates and the king to elect more politically skilled delegates in order that the cortes would finally come to a satisfactory conclusion.

KEYWORDS:

• Catalonia
• cortes
• parliaments
• eighteenth century
• committees
• commissioners
• politics
• representation

Notes

1 M.B. Castellà (ed.), Poders a l’ombra: Les comissions de treball a les institucions parlamentàries i representatives (segles XV-XX) (Barcelona, 2014).

2 E. Serra, ‘Butlletí bibliogràfic sobre les Corts catalanes’, Arxiu de Textos Catalans Antics 26, (2007), pp. 663–738.

3 E. Serra, La formació de la Catalunya moderna (1640-1714) (Vic-Barcelona, 2018), p. 37.

4 M. Pérez Latre, ‘Les Corts i les veus de la terra. La participació política dels no convocats (1552-1599)’, in J. Sobrequés et al. (eds), Actes del 53è Congrés de la Comissió Internacional per a l’Estudi de la Història de les Institucions Representatives i Parlamentàries, 2 vols (Barcelona, 2005), vol. I, pp. 697–715.

5 M. Pérez Latre, ‘Dogmatizadores de malas doctrinas. Els juristes i les institucions catalanes en un temps de conflicte (1563-1602)’, Afers 23, (2008), pp. 401–30; S. Solé, ‘Juristes a les Corts catalanes de l’edat moderna’, Ius Fugit 10–11, (2003), p. 735–61.

6 Serra, La formació de la Catalunya moderna, pp. 62 and 237.

7 J. Capdeferro, ‘Sessions plenàries versus comissions de treball a les Corts catalanes del segle XVII’, in R. Ferrero and L. Guia, Corts i Parlaments de la Corona d’Aragó. Unes instituciones emblemàtiques en una monarquia composta (València, 2008), pp. 307–27.

8 J. Bartrolí, ‘La cort de 1701-1702: un camí truncat’, Recerques: història, economia, cultura 9, (1979), pp. 57–75. J. Albareda, Els catalans i Felip V (Barcelona, 1993), pp. 70–90. E. Serra, La formació de la Catalunya moderna, pp. 235–256.

9 Arxiu de la Corona d’Aragó (ACA), section Generalitat, serie N, vol. 1063 and 1064 (proceedings of the ecclesiastical arm) and vol. 1065 and 1066 (proceedings of the military arm); Arxiu de la Ciutat de Barcelona (AHCB), Consell de Cent, XVI-87 (proceedings of the royal arm, the ‘third estate’).

10 E. Serra, ‘Introducció’, in E. Serra (ed.), Cort General de Barcelona 1705-1706. Procés general del braç eclesiàstic (Barcelona, 2012), pp. XIV–XV.

11 E. Serra, ‘Catalunya després del 1652: recompenses, censura i repressió’, Pedralbes 17, (1997), pp. 191–216.

12 A. Garcia Espuche, ‘Del territori al canelobre. Sobre la decisiva transformació de Catalunya: 1550-1714’, Treballs de la Societat Catalana de Geografia 76, (2013), pp. 129–54.

13 See, for example, A. Simon Tarrés, Del 1640 al 1705: l’autogovern de Catalunya i la classe dirigent catalana en el joc de la política internacional europea (Barcelona, 2011).

14 Arxiu Municipal de Lleida (AML), vol. 871, fol. 162, 173, 179, 184 and 185.

15 In the records of the early modern cortes of Catalonia, these categories were not defined with precision; as such, committee members are often referred to as ‘officials’. This lack of conceptual accuracy is highly indicative that preliminary parliamentary proceedings were also regarded as being determined by technical criteria.

16 ACA, Generalitat, N-1063, fol. 10: ‘Per evitar alguns inconvenients que seguir se podrian y perquè més líberament y acertadament se provehesca de subjectes per los oficis’ (‘To avoid some inconvenients which may follow [with other procedures] and to guarantee that the election of officials is more freely and better done’). Only the archival references of the documents quoted are given. The rest can easily be found by arm and date. The need to cross-reference the three records (one per estate) cannot be stressed enough: although this may sound paradoxical, events occurring within one arm are often best explained in other arms’ records.

17 ACA, Generalitat, N-1065, fol. 9: ‘Que en orde dels demés negocis se estiga en la llibertat del present bras per a poder seguir los estils que·s trobaran observats en altres Corts’ (‘Concerning other matters, the military estate will be allowed to follow previous practices of the cortes’).

18 ACA, Generalitat, N-1065, fol. 122: ‘Attès que hi ha més de tres-centas personas habilitadas y que és de conveniència guanyar-se los instants per lo que puga conduhir per la conclusió de las Corts’ (‘Since there are more than three hundred men enabled to take part in the military estate and it is necessary not to waste time for the convenience of the cortes’).

19 ACA, Generalitat, N-1054, fol. 52r-53v (4 June 1599), fol. 59v-60v (5 June 1599) and fol. 88v-90r and 224 (7 June 1599). ACA, Generalitat, N-1057, fol. 8 (28 March 1626) and 28r (31 March 1626).

20 Arxiu Municipal de Girona (AMGI), Liber Curiarum de 1701–1702, s. fol., chapter 16 of the general instructions to the syndics (20 September 1701).

21 In previous cortes, the lawyers of the arms only interacted with the constitucioners committees occasionally: ACA, Generalitat, N-1054, fol. 241v (11 June 1599); N-1057, fol. 88r or 93v (11 April 1626 or 13 April 1626).

22 ACA, Generalitat, N-1063, fol. 98v-99r (9 November 1701).

23 ACA, Generalitat, N-1063, fol. 98v: ‘que estas [personas] sien dels subjectes destinats per la junta de constitutioners, com a més instruïts en los negocis que hauran de tractar y conferir’ (‘These men are to be chosen among those of the constitucioners’ committee, thus being those better informed about the affairs they will have to deal with’); ACA, Generalitat, N-1065, fol. 174r: ‘[personas que], com a més informadas, pugan placticar, abreviar y allanar los duptes, ambigüitats y reparos que·s pugan oferir en la formació de las constitucions’ (‘better informed persons, the most suitable ones to discuss and solve ambiguities and objections within legal drafts’).

24 ACA, Generalitat, N-1065, fol. 174v: ‘[Els “supercomissionats”] que no tingan lo poder absolut, sinó ab report als braços respective’ (‘The super-delegates’ are not to have an absolute power of decision, they will have to report to their respective arms’).

25 Not only at the cortes’ records – for instance, ACA, Generalitat, N-1063, fol. 252r (30 November 1701) and fol. 304 (4 December 1702); N-1065, fol. 473v (9 December 1701) –, also APL, vol. 871, fol. 208 and 214, letters by Joan Josep Casanoves and Anastasi Biosca on 2 December 1701 and 5 December 1701.

26 V. Ferro, El Dret Públic Català (Vic, 1987), pp. 220–221. In earlier periods, it is to be assumed that the arms, as the king, had appointed regular negotiators – tractadors – for each cortes.

27 For instance, ACA, Generalitat, N-1057, fol. 300 (28 April 1626), fol. 320v and 322r (29 April 1626); AHCB, Consell de Cent, XVI-82, fol. 406v (2 May 1626).

28 ACA, Generalitat, N-1057, fol. 8 (28 March 1626): ‘[El meu dissentiment no afecta] las personas nomenadores per fer envaxadas a sa magestat com per los tractadós y altres negotis, com estas sols acostuma de nomenar lo president de dit estament ab aplauso de tots, sens votar’ (‘[My dissenting statement may not affect] men to be elected as delegates before the king or his ministers or for other especial matters; these delegates have usually been exclusively chosen by the president with the consent of all members of the estate, with no need of any vote’).

29 I am not taking into consideration ad hoc committees that were constituted only for representative or protocol-related purposes.

30 J. Capdeferro, ‘The Configuration of the Tribunal de Contrafaccions of Catalonia in the Corts of 1701-1702’, in J. Albareda and M. Herrero Sánchez (eds), Political Representation in the Ancien Régime (NYC-Abingdon, 2019), pp. 231–44.

31 This clause only appears in ACA, Generalitat, N-1063, fol. 295r (3 December 1701).

32 E. Serra, La formació de la Catalunya moderna, p. 242.

33 The proceedings of the Tricentenari de la mort de Pau Ignasi de Dalmases (1670-1718), en el seu temps, amb els seus llibres (November 2018) will be published in the Butlletí de la Reial Acadèmia de Bones Lletres in late 2019.

34 ACA, Generalitat, N-1066, fol. 565v.

35 ACA, Generalitat, N-1065, fol. 385v, as indicated by clauses ‘com effectivament li permeté’ – written between lines – and ‘en intel·ligència del que acordà dita Junta’ (‘As the president was effectively allowed to do (to gather his private committee)’ and ‘coherently with what the private committee had agreed on’).

36 AHCB, Consell de Cent, XVI-87, fol. 550r. ACA, Generalitat, N-1066, fol. 576.

37 J. Albareda, Els catalans i Felip V, p. 78.

38 AHCB, Consell de Cent, XVI-87, fol. 447, and ACA, Generalitat, N-1063, fol. 355v (12 December 1701).

39 ‘No era poca cosa si tenim en compte que segons els braços la majoria de desinsaculacions s’havien produït pel fet de parlar lliurement en els consistoris’ – E. Serra, La formació de la Catalunya moderna, p. 246, (‘It was not a small concession; according to the estates, most of the times that monarchy had rejected candidates it was due to what they had previously said or done within representative institutions’).

40 ACA, Generalitat, N-1066, fol. 505v, refers to the management of this issue: ‘En cas que dits senyors tractadors [del braç militar] tinguessen algun dupte o reparo en fer esta diligència, la executen [altres]’ (21 December 1701), (‘In case any of the military estate tractadors were not sure about facing king's authority or did not want to do so, other men would replace them’).

41 The members of the royal arm proved to be the most hard-fisted, as 18 of the arm's members argued that the commisioners had already received a payment in wax and other privileges for taking up other jobs and sitting in other committees. AHCB, Consell de Cent, XVI-87, fol. 394r (5 December 1701).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Josep Capdeferro

Josep Capdeferro is Associate Professor at the Law School, Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. He is a legal historian who specializes in the early modern history of Catalonia. His research focuses on jurists and legal culture, parliamentary and representative institutions, the rule of law and compliance, the inspection of public officials, the adminstration of justice, preliberal conceptions of citizenship, the (in)tolerance towards minorities, guilds, women, etc. His publications include the three books, with Eva Serra, of the Tribunal de Contrafaccions de Cataluyna (1702–1713), (Barcelona, 2014–15).