Political
organization and institutions:
·
The
kingdom of Castile
In the western part of the peninsula appeared three major
political centers: the kingdoms of Portugal, León and Castile. Portugal
followed a distinct history and León and Castile lived a complex process in
which both crowns were united and disunited along the eleventh and twelfth
centuries. Finally Ferdinand III of Castile took place the definitive union in
1230.
The territorial organization of the kingdom was very
complex. Within the kingdom of Castile was the kingdom of Galicia, the lordship
of Biscay and Álava and Guipúzcoa. So the king had the titles of King of
Castile, Leon, lord of Biscay ...
The political history of the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries was really complex and was full of crisis. The strengthening of royal
power by Alfonso XI got the approval of the Ordinance of Alcala in 1348, was
followed by a brutal civil war crisis between Pedro I the Cruel and Henry II of
Castile. The victory of the latter brought a new dynasty, the Trastámara, power
and strengthening nobiliar power.
Castilla failed to annexation of Portugal in the battle of
Aljubarrota (1385).
·
Institutions
The king looked assisted in his action by various central
government institutions: the Royal Council , the Court , in charge of the
administration of justice , and the Royal Treasury , responsible for taxes.
In these centuries were built two institutions for the real
power : a permanent Royal Army and increasingly complex bureaucracy ,
consisting of lawyers , experts trained in universities.
In the twelfth century ( 1188 ) were born Courts , estates
assembly composed of representatives of the nobility , clergy and towns. The
agency had no legislative power but decided on extraordinary taxes and had the
ability to petition the king.
The local administration was based on the institution of
councils. Councils or city hall under the control of urban oligarchies
(nobility , clergy, bourgeoisie) .
In the fifteenth century, the reigns of John II and Henry IV
saw major internal conflicts in which the nobility reinforced their positions.
A Henry IV was succeeded by his sister Isabella of Castile, the future
Isabella.
·
The Crown
of Aragon
The kingdom of Aragon rather than a unified kingdom was a
confederation of kingdoms, Aragon, Valencia and Mallorca, and the Principality
of Catalonia had different institutions and laws.
Often the Aragonese monarchy as a "pactista
monarchy", in which the monarch's power was weak and the king had to agree
with the privileged classes and respect the laws of each kingdom when a
decision is characterized.
In front of each kingdom was a lieutenant of the King who
acted as his deputy. Other institutions were the Royal Council and the Court.
In the thirteenth century were born Courts in the kingdoms
of Catalonia, Aragon and Valencia. They were bodies in each kingdom and were
gaining increasing power.
Courts were estates assemblies where representatives of the
two privileged classes and the urban patriciate (Gentry cities) are met.
Dominated by the nobility and clergy, controlled the power of the monarch and
mourned by feudal interests of the clergy and nobility limiting the power of
the monarch.
The Catalan Cortes created an institution, the General
Council or Generalitat of Catalonia, which became in fact a kind of government
of the Principality. In Valencia and Aragon were subsequently created Councils
of the Kingdom, similar to the Catalan institutions.
Existed the institution of Justice of Aragon, cargo assigned
to a member of the nobility who watched over maintaining class privileges
against the power of the king in Aragon.
The territorial administration was organized in merindades
or veguerías. The organ of power in cities was the town in the late Middle Ages
came under the control of local oligarchies (Concell de Cent of Barcelona)
