Maulets
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Maulets are a group within the National Movement of Catalan Liberation, existing since 1988. However, the term applies to a historical partisan group, Valencians who supported Archduke Charles, who claimed the Spanish throne as Charles III, during the War of the Spanish Succession, and antagonists of the Botiflers, supporters of Philip V of Spain.
[edit] Etymology
A more restrictive use of the term Maulet applies only to those supporters of the Austrian pretender to the throne who defended, not only the rights of that Crown, but also all the urban and countryside claims, which shaped a real ideological alternative to the political and economical situation of the Valencian Kingdom during the first years of the 18th century, keeping for all the other followers of Charles III the more generic name of “austracistes”.
[edit] History
To understand the ideology and claims of the maulets during the War of Succession we have to go back to the years before the expulsion of the Arabs. As a compensation for losing the workers that this meant, the King gave the nobles all the right on the lands that these people farmed before leaving, with this the nobles were able to impose to the new Christian population taxes and partitions of lands which in some counties became a very high expenses for the peasants. Probably, the hunger of land between those poor families lead them to accept the conditions, and during 50 years there were not known protests.
Towards the third fraction of the 17th century, a part of the new peasant population in the land of the Arabs profited from the prosperity arising from cultivating certain products and from the exports, mainly the wine and its derivates, brandy and prunes, and in less quantity, from the silk. Then, they started to question the high payments asked by the nobles, and which considerably reduced the profits made out of this selling, and tried by all means, from legal suits to armed revolt, to finish off with this system. But the judiciary path, being fully under the control of the nobles, proved useless; and in respect to the armed revolt, called nowadays “Segona Germania”, was extinguished with blood by the Vice-Chancellor and armies of the nobles, in the year 1696, in the battle of “Setlla de Nunyes”.
The revolted in this “Segona Germania” kept, more or less, the same claims that the maulets made a few years later. In general terms, refused the right of the lords on the old Arab lands, and called to the legal statement given by Jaume I during the conquest of the Kingdom, to denounce the lack of legality of the exploitation, from which they were victims, by the Lords, “who treated them like Arabs”, given the case that the Laws of the Kingdom banned these kind of taxes and tributes to the Christians. The nobles, alleged that the King Felip II of Valencia, expulsing the Arabs, had given to them those lands in property, for which now they had the free right of the lands, and could impose to the actual farmers whatever conditions they wished.
In any case, after the military defeat, the peasants would not be kept quiet, but only on wait to the next opportunity that came across in order to impose their views. And the opportunity aroused at the death of Charles II of Spain, with no sons or clear heir.
When Felip de Borbó took possession of the Kingdom as a Felip IV of València, there were already lots of supporters of the archduke Carles d’Àustria in the Valencian country, likewise in the Principality and Majorca. Their reasons were various, ranging from loyalty to the dynasty of the Casa d’Àustria, hate towards the French from a portion of the merchants and the industrials, and the distrust for the suspected centralist attitude of Felip de Borbó. But in no way would have won the “austracista” cause in the Valencian Kingdom without the decisive intervention of a group of people that represented the interests of a whole social class, with its political and economical importance going high, and who learned how to contact a key person for their cause, we are talking of the merchants and exporters of wine, brandy, silk, and other farming products, and to the general Joan Baptista Basset on the other hand.
The group of merchants and exporters had very clear the reasons behind their opposition to Felip de Borbó. All their businesses were being directed to Holland and England (known in those times as a “Maritime powers”) and to the exportation to the Spanish colonies in The Americas. Remembering that being those colonies property of the Castilian Crown, the Valencian, Catalan and Majorcan merchants were considered foreigners for all matters, seeing in this way the impossibility of the free trade to the American possessions and having to sell their goods through Castilians intermediaries, who in turn would become rich with their re-selling.
On the other hand, the war had erupted in the whole of Europe with occasion of the succession of Carles III, and left the Maritime powers on the enemy side of Felip de Borbó, and avoided now their exports which meant a total downfall for them and the best placed peasants that sold to them the products. And the exports to France, a land that produced and exported the same products, did not have any way to compensate them for the loses; all the opposite, the French merchants competed with the Valencian to try to export the same produce to the whole of Europe.
And in respect to the general Basset, who had formed himself during the wars of Italy and Hungary, next to the prince Hessen-Darrnstadt, a German noble who had been before Vice-Chancellor in Catalonia (hold back this fact), was a Valencian, probably born in Alboraia in an artisan family, who spoke the people’s language and knew very well their claims and needs.
During the last third of the 17th century, had already appeared in the Principality a new social class, similar to the Valencian, formed by exporters and producers, who were leading a process of “primitive accumulation of the capital”, through earning in the exportation farming and the trade that was reinvested in a process of industrialization still quite pre-technology, a process fairly similar to the one taking place in England and Holland, who would be later on the leading countries in the technological and industrial European development. This group, which can be called bourgeois, in the progresses that will take place this term of the 18th century, had elaborated a project of recuperation, not only economical, but also national, of the Principality of Catalonia, with tendency to make the best of the old forum structures and the freedom that the Catalan Constitution offered, to promote a course of action of social and economical regeneration (known with the name of “regenerationists”), in a context of political recuperation of the Principality and the consolidation of the ties that linked it to “the rest of the lands of the Aragon’s Crown”.
The most genuine representative member of this “regeneracionists” was Narcís Feliu de la Penya, author of a book called “Fènix de Catalunya” (Phoenix of Catalonia), authentic treaty of the political, economical and social theory to renew the structures and the running of the Principality. These movement stayed well alive until the nineties in the 17th century, during the shared reign of Hessen-Darrnstadt, and it does not seem strange to suppose that the General Basset, hand right of the Vice-Chancellor and cultured person, had with them continuous contact, which would impact in the elaboration of their views of the Valencian reality; because the proposals of Basset and the maulets are very similar to the proposals of the regenarionists. If we think that the whole group of Feliu de la Penya was since the first moment supporters of Carles III of Austria, we will see how the circle closes perfectly.
Since the year 1704, Francesc Davila, who probably was a leader of the Segona Germania who had salved himself from the death, toured all the southern counties of the country explaining to the peasants that the Austrian pretender was ready to abolish all the supposed rights of the nobles to higher taxes than the ones exposed in the Jaume I Furs (Forum); if we add to this that in August 1705 Joan Baptista Basset disembarked in Altea, it only confirmed the promises. Quickly the revolt busted and spread out everywhere.
The way of Basset to València, via Dénia, Gandia and Alzira, did not find any real resistance. When the borbonic nobles or the fortresses tried to resist, it was the armed villagers who forced them to go. Starting with the Gandia Duke, a long list of nobles and “botiflers” siding with Felip de Borbó started to escape, not to València, but with the Castilians; they did not trust the resistance of the capital, and with reason.
The city opened its doors to the maulet army with no resistance, but all the opposite, in between a great popular enthusiasm. At the same time, news from the uprising in the Principality of Catalonia arrived, where the towns had expelled the “felipist” militars and in Barcelona had received the triumph Carles III himself, who had disembarked. Only these news where needed to spread the uprising to the rest of the Kingdom: from Vinaròs and Benicarló, the revolt was spread by all the Plana county, emphasizing Vila-real and Castelló as a cities where the maulets where specially strong.
Once Basset was established in València, practically exercising the Vice-Chancellor functions, and with most of the country under control of the maulets (meaning, of the armed villagers), the first thing was to legally recognise what was already a fact since the beginning of the revolt: the peasants negative to pay to the nobles any kind of tribute or tax. Possibly the initial targets, the suppression of the taxes that went against the Kingdom’s Fur (governing forum), were surpassed, and the usurpers stopped paying any kind of tax to the nobles or the tax collectors of the King.
Basset made legal, with the doubtful legality of his high office, this set of laws.
Equally he sanctioned the negative of the peasants to pay the right of doors, a hated tax upon the produce coming from the lands into València and the main cities of the Kingdom, and tolerated, or even stimulated, a real persecution, expulsion and arrest of French citizens, mainly merchants, who were seen by the population as enemies and by the native merchants as dangerous competitors.
Obviously it was re-established the relationship wit the Maritime powers, allied to Carles III, and the countries harbours saw again Dutch and English ships, which loaded their farmed produce manufactured. At the same time, Basset and the maulets arrested and ousted the most notorious “botiflers”, and seized their possessions and the ones of the high “felipist” (Felip’s partidaries) nobles.
Basset had to face also to the “borbonic” attacks, who sought to recover for their King the rule on the Valencian country, and in this direction was organized an army of maulets to help the towns under threat, army which, it seems, was not able to win to professional soldiers formed by mercenaries, besides which, little could do the armed peasants that formed the big chunk in Basset’s forces.
It was these defeats that lead the maulets chief to ask Carles III for military help. The help came, represented by the Peterborought count and his English soldiers, even thought his arrival saved the delicate situation from enemies attacks, it also meant the creation of another political power, the newly named Cardona’ chief count, with a military force independent from the maulets and with no intention of allowing what they considered “plebeian excesses”.
It all points that the Cardona count and the English general had instructions, probably from the King, to end the “excesses” of Basset and the maulets, in this way trying to approach to them the nobles, most of them siding with the Borbó, and trying to tidy up the royals pertinences.
Sure enough, Carles III, as an owner of the royal lands and main lord of the Order of Montesa, had seen also seen a reduction, by the maulets refusal to pay, on his renting in the Kingdom, renting that was absolutely necessary to keep the very expensive army with which he thought would win the war. In consequence, it was necessary to stop the maulets, and his chief, the general Basset, but it was needed to do it wisely and with indulgence.
Cardona and Peterborought started then the offensive centred in some of Bassets collaborators, accusing them of inappropriate confiscation of goods from the French and the botiflers, and were imprisoned awaiting trial. Meanwhile they faked that it was their great admiration towards the general what pushed them to encourage him to take part in the fighting, moving him away from València, taking him to Alzira first and later on to Xàtiva. They waited an opportunity to imprison him, but were fearful of his great popularity in between the people and feared a rebellion of the maulets if that ever happened.
The occasion came when it was known that Charles III had defeated the Borbons in Castile and had managed to go into Madrid. In between the popular celebrations, Peterborought secretly sent troops to Xàtiva, with the order to arrest Basset and imprison him in a fortress on hands of an English squad. When news came out, effectively the people revolted.
In València the shouts of “Long live to Basset, before than Charles III” proved clearly, in case of doubt, which was the real feeling of the Valencian maulets. In fact, Peterborought had to turn the cannons around, taken to defend València from the Borbons, to aim at the revolted populace, to success in withdrawing them, and during days there were demonstrations of protest, letters sent to the King in Barcelona and all kind of public declarations in Bassets favour and his reforms. But what could the maulets do? A new revolt, this time against who they considered represented their legitimized King, and with a Borbon army at the doors of the Kingdom threatening with invasion, would have been suicidal, and the victory of the Borbonics would have meant the return of the botiflers, with all the old taxes and repression. Consequently they resigned themselves, without being convinced, to stop their protests, believing that the King Carles, in coming to València shortly would repair the injustice and would free Basset.
Meanwhile, making the best of the bellicose situation, they went on without paying any taxes or the door rights. But when the monarch came it did not meant any improvement for the maulets. Carles III, as we have said before, refused to have made any promise to Basset about the taxes, and from València required the authorities to call for its payment, without too much success. On the other hand, the monarch only wanted to achieved a strong subsidy from the Generalitat, and in approaching the nobles and the other high classes to his cause; having achieved this in some way or another, and with the threat of Berwicks duke army, Felip de Borbó’s general, at the door of the kingdom, he started to withdraw towards Barcelona, and with him many more, certain of the borbonics invincibility. The result of the battle was already known, and it supposed the sinking of what was left from the austracista administration in the kingdom; the Vice-Chancellor, and all the staff and surviving troops withdrew to the Principality of Catalonia.
The maulets were left at their own luck, with the Borbonics advance, and with them the nobles botiflers and all the oppression they represented. And for worse, the Borbonic monarch never hid his intentions, and a Royal decree quickly abolished the Furs and the Valencian laws “by the just right of conquest”, the Valencian kingdom disappeared as a legal structure, and was left as a name, empty of meaning.
The maulets never resigned, and their resistance was ferocious. Xàtiva had to be taken by the Borbonics house by house, and afterwards razed and set on fire in revenge; on its ruins would be built a new city, with the shameful name of San Felipe, in honour of the winning monarch. In València, the maulets tried in vain to oppose the entrance of the occupiers, making their point with boycotts and passive resistance, until the repression of Berwick and Asfeld made them silent.
In the north, the Borbonics advanced towards Tortosa, burning, killing and looting the towns on their way. Gandia, Alzira, Dénia, Alcoi, Alacant, Elx, and so many others towns acknowledged the maulets resistance.
When all the cities were already in Borbonic hands, the maulets escaped to the mountains, the most accessible place in the country, and followed their resistance during years, creating serious problems to the occupant army.
Once the war seemed to turn on the side of Carles III, the city of València raised again an anti-Borbonic revolt. The maulets appeared again on the streets, awaiting in vane an Austacist float that had to disembark troops at the harbour. The Borbonic authorities followed during time capturing the guerrillas, intercepting letters sent from Catalonia, still free, which incited to carry on with the fight.
In the meantime the most brutal repression felled on the whole country; with the laws and the own language banned, the weapons confiscated to the extreme of forcing the people to tie up the kitchen knives to the table, the dead, the exiles, the arrested, and the brotherhoods fined with strong punishments, the French-Spanish troops lived in particular houses, and the fortresses were demolished…, the maulets had to withdraw slowly, at least those that survived, towards the Catalan lands still under the obedience of Carles III. The most dark night of the repression had fallen on the Valencian country.
There thousands of Valencian refugees concentrated in Barcelona and other cities of the Principality, determined to follow the fight against the invader. When the international events made clear the futility of carrying on the struggle—Carles III himself had signed a peace treaty with Felip de Borbó and went back to Germany, the Maritime powers had accepted the Borbó--, the Valencian maulets carried on fighting for their cause, even thought all was lost.
When the Borbonic armies, being managed by Berwick d’Almansa himself put siege on Barcelona, two full regiments of Valencians was formed, the “Mare de Déu dels Desamparats” and the “Sant Vicent Ferrer”, to fight next to their comrades from Catalonia.
In this sense, their manuscript asking to be considered “ as a natives of this Excm. and Fid. Principality. Because the Valencian kingdom owned most of the victories of this Excm. and Fid. Principality in the happy expulsion of the Arabs out of their homeland, no doubt in the nation, being as united in honour and the common interest” that they would be allowed to fight.
On the September 11, 1714, in falling Barcelona on Borbonic hands, after a heroic fight, it had been many the Valencian maulets that died, and many of them were buried in the Fossar de les Moreres, together with their comrades from the Principality. Many others, in between them the general Basset, who had directed the artillery of the resistors, were arrested and imprisoned. Others, who managed to escape from the Borbonic troops via Majorca, or because were later on freed, ended up exiled in Viena, at the court of “their” Carles III, and now emperor of Germany.
This was how the death, the repression, the silence and the exile ended up with what would have been a project of modernisation, social renovation and national consolidation that could have located the Valencian country in between the files of the most advanced and progressive countries in Europe: the project Maulet.
