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Charles domestic policy - government and administration (Conciliar…
Charles domestic policy - government and administration
Conciliar government
Under Charles there was a distinct shift to bureaucracy (a system of government in which most of the important decisions are taken by state officials rather than by elected representatives)
HOWEVER - it would be misleading to suggest that Charles' system amounted to a modern style of bureaucratic government - the powers of the councils remained very limited and their role was purely advisory. This therefore gave rise to the dangerously powerful position of the secretaries
Councils
Council of Castile: acted as a court of law but was also involved in administering most of Castile's internal affairs. Charles modernised it by halving its size, to increase efficiency, and increased the representation of letrados whilst diminishing the number of aristocracy. there were 12 members, all letrados
Council of Aragon - remained much the same though Charles did reduce number of aristocrats
Council of Indies - formed 1524: controlled all administrative, judicial and church matters relating to the indies
Council of state: established by Gattinara in 1526: in theory it was designed to advise Charles on all matters of domestic and foreign policy, and to oversee the work of the other councils. In reality Charles often dispensed with its advice, but it did provide a valuable source of royal patronage since membership conferred social prestige on its members
Council of War - formed in 1522: set up to meet the military needs of the empire
Council of Finance - set up in 1522: supervised Charles on his imperial income and expenditure throughout empire. daily meetings were held so that finances could be scrutinised in detail. however, financial paperwork was often incomplete. But often seen as most innovative and important of new councils
Council of Italy (1555): for administration of Milan and Naples. Aragon was in control of Italian administration before
Conciliar government was never particularly effective - it was relatively inefficient and cumbersome
The development of the conciliar system provided Charles with several advantages in the government of Spain:
the councils of Castile and Argon were staffed by natives and were thus useful in keeping Charles informed about the feelings of subjects in his kingdoms
Councils were useful for checking that Charles' regents and ministers were following his instructions
in expanding the role of professional administrators at the expense of the nobility, Charles enhanced the efficiency and political neutrality of his administrative system
Cortes
Opposition
At one point the cortes of Castile declared: "Most powerful lord, you are in our service"
in 1523 the Castilian cortes met at Valladolid and begain to discuss their political grievances before granting servicios - not the usual order of events. Charles refused to - confident in his new authority over cortes since communeros
Cortes of Aragon only recognised Charles co-jointly with his mother Juana.
Some factions within Castilian cortes favoured Charles' brother Ferdinand on account of his Spanish upbringing
1518 - cortes at Valladolid refused to recognise Charles as king - it was vital for his to gain their acceptance to assert his royal authority
Castile demanded that Charles learn Spanish, be resident in Spain, and adhere to traditional laws and customs
But, in reality the cortes had very little power
Aragon cortes was rarely consulted because they were too poor
Castilian cortes only had representatives from 18 towns
Charles was easily able to extract money e.g. the Castilian cortes, despite being disrespectful, voted 600,000 ducats for Charles without conditions for the next three years in 1518
peaceful relationship
Good working relationship with Castilian cortes after 1522: Cortes was convened regularly (15 times during the reign - every three years or so), which gave the impression Charles was prepared to listen to their grievances.
General Cortes of Aragon met 6 times during the reign
Secretaries
The political influence of the secretaries expanded rapidly due to the growing paperwork and needs of a vast empire.
Held monopoly over access to the king
Cobos
rose to prominence after the death of Gattinara in 1530
Improved the quality of the secretariat by choosing minor gentry (limited political power so they were dependent on him for rewards and advancement)
Annual income of 60,000 ducats
Charles was concerned about his growing power - wrote a letter to Philip telling him to be wary of Cobos when he came to power
In Charles' absence he ruled Spain in conjunction with Charles' regents (Isabella and Philip). His career highlights the fact that the conciliar government failed to function effectively until subordinated to the direction of powerful individuals