Catalan revolt
| Catalan revolt Part of the Franco-Spanish War | |||||||||
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 Battle of Montjuïc (1641) | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Principality of Catalonia Kingdom of France |
 Monarchy of Spain | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Francesc de Tamarit Josep de Margarit Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt Jean Armand de Maillé-Brézé |
Viceroy Pedro Fajardo Duke of Fernandina Duke of Maqueda Duke of Ciudad Real Marquis of Leganés | ||||||||
The Catalan revolt (Catalan: Guerra dels Segadors, Eastern Catalan: [ˈɡɛrə ðəɫs səɣəˈðos], Western Catalan: [ˈɡɛrɛ ðeɫs seɣaˈðos]; meaning in English "Reapers' War") affected a large part of the Principality of Catalonia between the years of 1640 and 1659. It had an enduring effect in the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), which ceded the County of Roussillon and the northern half of the County of Cerdanya to France (see French Cerdagne), splitting these northern Catalan territories off from the Principality of Catalonia and the Crown of Aragon, and thereby receding the borders of Spain to the Pyrenees.
Background
The war had its roots in the discomfort generated in Catalan society by the presence of Castilian troops during the Franco-Spanish War between the Kingdom of France and the Monarchy of Spain as part of the Thirty Years' War. Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, the chief minister of Philip IV, had been trying to distribute more evenly the huge economic and military burden of the Spanish Empire, until then supported mainly by the Crown of Castile. But his Union of Arms (Spanish: Union de Armas) policy raised hostilities and protests all across the countries of Spain. Catalan peasants, who were forced to quarter Castilian troops, responded on Corpus Christi day, May 1640, with an uprising known as 'Bloody Corpus' (Catalan: Corpus de Sang), under the slogans "Long live the faith of Christ!", "Long live the land, death to bad government". This 'Bloody Corpus' which began with the death of a reaper (Catalan: segador), and led to the somewhat mysterious death of Dalmau de Queralt, Count of Santa Coloma and Spanish viceroy of Catalonia, marked the beginning of the conflict. The irregular militia involved were known as 'Miquelets'. The situation took Olivares by surprise, with most of the Spanish army fighting on other fronts far from Catalonia.
Pau Claris, head of the Generalitat of Catalonia, called the politician members of the all Principality in order to form a Junta de Braços or Braços Generals (General Estates), a consultive body. The calling was a success, and the presence of royal cities and feudal villages was exceptionally large. This assembly, which worked with individual voting, began to create and apply various revolutionary measures, such as the establishment of a Council of Defense of the Principality and a special tax for the nobility (the Batalló), while the tension with the monarchy grew.
At the same time, the Generalitat maintained contacts with France, in order to establish an alliance between the Principality of Catalonia and this country. In this way, the General Estates presided by Pau Claris proclaimed the Catalan Republic under the protection of the French monarchy, on January 17, 1641.
Conflict
In a first reaction, Spain sent a large army of 26,000 men under Pedro Fajardo to crush the Catalan Revolt. On its way to Barcelona, the Spanish army retook several cities, executing hundreds of prisoner rebels. The army of the Catalan Republic was defeated in Martorell, near Barcelona, on January, 23. These measures only reinforced the determination of the defenders of Barcelona, and the Generalitat obtained an important military victory over the Spanish army in the Battle of Montjuïc (January 26, 1641). Despite this success, the peasants uprising was becoming uncontrollable, progressively focusing on its own nobility, and the Generalitat's government itself. A little later, the death of Pau Claris created an untenable situation, which resulted in the local clergy and aristocracy half-heartedly accepting the proclamation of Louis XIII of France as sovereign count of Barcelona, as Lluís I of Catalonia. For the next decade the Catalans fought under French vassalage, taking the initiative after Montjuïc. Meanwhile, increasing French control of political and administrative affairs (maritime ports, taxes, key bureaucratic positions, etc.) and a firm military focus on the neighbouring Spanish kingdoms of Valencia and Aragon, in line with Richelieu's determined policy against Spain, was gradually undermining Catalan disposition towards France.
A French-Catalan army under Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt moved south and gained several victories. But the sieges of Tarragona, Lleida and Tortosa finally failed and the allies had to withdraw. In the north (Roussillon), they were more successful. Perpignan was taken after a siege of 10 months, and the whole of Roussillon was under French control. Shortly after, Spanish relief armies were defeated at the Battle of Montmeló and Battle of Barcelona.
In 1652 a Spanish offensive captured Barcelona bringing the Catalan capital under Spanish control again. Irregular resistance continued for several years afterwards and some fighting took place north of the Pyrenees but the mountains would remain from then on the effective border between Spanish and French territories.
Resolution
The conflict extended beyond the Peace of Westphalia, which concluded the Thirty Years' War in 1648 but remained part of the Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659) with the confrontation between two sovereigns and two Generalitats, one based in Barcelona, under the control of Spain and the other in Perpinyà (Perpignan), under the occupation of France. In 1652 the French authorities renounced Catalonia, but held control of Roussillon, thereby leading to the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659.
See also
- "Els Segadors" ("The Reapers"), the current national anthem of Catalonia. The current lyrics are from 1899, originally based in this revolt.
- Revolt of the Barretines, another Catalan revolt from 1687–1689.
Sources
- J.H. Elliott. The Revolt of the Catalans: a Study in the Decline of Spain (1598-1640). Cambridge, 1963.
- J. Sanabre. La acción de Francia en Cataluña en la pugna por la hegemonía de Europa (1640-1659). Barcelona, 1956. Still indispensable for its detailed coverage of the events from 1640/41 and later.