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Charles' positive actions 1
. Repression ceased after Charles returned to Spain - In 1522 he signed a general pardon following the Comuneros Revolt
. All the cities that had taken part remained untouched in their privileges and this clemency have the king a strong basis for reconciliation with his subjects
. In 1522 Charles paraded a force of 4,000 German soldiers armed with the lastest artillery through the rebellious towns of Castile as a show of force
. Charles's return to Spain 1522-29 - He looked and acted like a king and had gained in self-confidence
. Charles used the long seven years to try to establish his authority over government in Spain - When he left in 1529 he was no longer considered a foreign monarch and had adopted Spain as his spiritual home
. Spain had become the centre of his empire and the home for his family - as early as 1523 he referred to his Spanish lands as 'the head of all the rest'
Charles' positive actions 2
. On his return , the language at court was Spanish - Kamen points to the 'rapid Hispanicisation of the court'; e.g he only selected Spanish confessors
. Spaniards became eligible for foreign honours - From 1516, 10 places in the famous Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece were reserved for them
. The unpopular Chievres de Croy (died May 1521) was replaced by Mercurino Gattinara, ironically Italian, but the respected counsellor of Joanna
. Kamen credits Charles with resuming the peripatetic style of monarchy as seen under the Catholic Kings - 'He was seen by and consequently earned the direct loyalty of Spaniards. This fact is essential to an understanding of how the general suspicion of 1520 was replaced by a good measure of devotion'
. For example, Charles was in Castile in January 1526 in Madrid signing a treaty releasing Francis I from captivity, April in Seville to marry his cousin, May to late autumn he honeymooned in Granada, court moved to Valladolid in January to prepare for the 1527 Cortes
. He made a popular marriage i n1526 when he wedded Isabella, his cousin, sister of the King of Portugal - the comuneros rebels had been first to suggest this match in 1520
Reforms to conciliar system - Council of Castile
. This was inherited from the Catholic Monarchs
. Charles modernised it as it had become unwieldy with too much business to deal with
. He halved its size from 16 to 8, in order to improve efficiency
. He increased the representation of men of proven administrative efficiency whilst diminishing the representation of the Castilian artistocracy
. He limited the number of judicial appeals allowed to hear to facilitate other business
. Under Ferdinand and Isabella it had been forced to advise the Crown on all matters pertaining to the kingdom, including finance, and the appointment of royal officials
. It also served as the final court of appeal when other judicial remedies had been exhausted and by 1522 the back log of case load accumulated in the years of turmoil threatened to strangle its deliberations entirely
. Charles saw the primary function of the Council to have been administrative supervision and its highest calling the selection of honest and competent bureaucrats
. Thus Maltby concludes that the main function of the Council became 'the vetting and appointment of Crown officials and the supervision of visitas and residencias' as Charles had intended
. Only letrados were in this council - It was the highest administrative body. 'the support of my realms' Charles called it
Reforms to conciliar system - Council of Aragon
. Again inherited from Ferdinand (set up in 1494)
. Charles reduced the participation of the aristocracy - But he preserved the Council of Aragon's responsibility for the Habsburg possessions in Italy
. It dealt mainly with administering justice, as the court of highest appeal
. Officials were letrados and Charles generally respected the tradition that they came from the 3 kingdoms
. Maltby says neither the Council of Castile and Aragon 'was expected to provide advice on matters of state' - Thus highlighting their limited power compared to the King
Reforms to conciliar system - Council of State
. A new council set up in 1526
. In theory, its role was to advise the Emperor on all areas of foreign and domestic policy and to oversee the work of the other councils
. In practice though, Charles and his regents largely dispensed of its advice
. It did have a use though and provided Charles with a useful source of patronage - membership of the council conferred social prestige on its members if little political power
. It was made up of Gattinara, Henry of Nassua and fivce leading Spaniards - Aim to 'discuss the most important matters concerning the government of Spain and Germany'
. Kamen notes that 'in practice Charles did not use it and worked instead through Granvelle and Cobos'
. In practicve its existence under Charles was probably designed to give social distinction to its members, who constantly attended the Emperor
Reforms to conciliar system - Council of War
. New council set up in 1522
. It was set up to coordinate military affairs - Effectively the Council of State sitting under a different name
. It usually had the same membership as the Council of State, with added military experts
. Responsibility was to coordinate all the military matters concerning the crown
Reforms to conciliar system - Council of Finance
. New council set up by Gattinara in 1523 and run by Cobos until his death in 1546 - it met daily
. It remained a Castilian institution with Castilian members but came to supervise Charles's wider income and spending
. It drew up budgets each year and tried to balance income and expenditure - As such, it was the most innovative and important of the new councils
. Rady has a positive view of the Council of Finance that it 'ensured the proper monitoring of royal income, expenditure and borrowing'
. However, it had no authority to stop Charles spending huge amounts of money on foreign wars and interest payments on royal debt were not included, so secretaries had no awareness of the real level of debt
. Pendrill says on the surface this looked good but in reality the Council was a failure due to the constant warfare of Charles
. The Council thus oversaw the collapse of Spain's finances and didn't even know the scale of the debts, as interest payments on royal debt were not included in the annual calculation of expenditure
Reforms to conciliar system - Council of Indies and Italy
. The Council of Indies was established in 1524 and it covered Italy in 1555
. It was modelled on the Councils of Castile and Aragon and developed to administer the new lands
. The Council of the Inquisition was one of the few elements that linked all Spain together
Assessment of conciliar government 1
. MacDonald sees that the developemnt of the conciliar system had several advantages for Charles
. As the Councils of Aragon and Castile were staffed by natives of those kingdoms, they were useful in keeping Charles informed about the feeling of his subjects in those territories - Also important in checking that the regents and ministers were following his instructions in his absences
. Furthermore, MacDonald says that by expanding the role of professional administrators, letrados, at the expense of the nobles, he enhanced the efficiency and neutrality of his administrative system
. Best trained were those from Salamanca, Alcala or Valladolid universities, who could work for government after studying law for 10 years - This raised interest generally in education and encouraged the idea of a trained bureaucracy
Assessment of concilar government 2
. MacDonald syas that it is misleading to see these improvements in the conciliar system as a move to a modern style of bureaucratic government and as large scale administrative change - It was only a very early step in this direction and their powers remained limited
. MacDonald cites a considerable and confusing overlapping of functions between the various functions and their role remained advisory - Such shortcomings gave rise to a new source of political power, the royal secretaries
. The individual secretaries of the Councils took the lead in running them and preparing agendas and Charles dealt with the secretaries rather than the council, thus Rady concludes that 'cabinet government' was developed in Castile
. MacDonald says Cobos' career highlights that the conciliar system failed to function effectively until subordinated to the direction of powerful individuals who enjoyed the king's favour - In many ways it was the secretaries, and Cobos particularly, who dealt with the taks that in theory belonged to the councils
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