Charles and Government Flashcards
Opinions differ among historians as to how Charles saw his role in governing his empire. To some, his dream was of a universal monarchy. What evidenced this?
- letter that Gattinara wrote to him in 1519 (Italien who had become Charles’ main advisor)
- “you are on the road to Universal Monarchy”
What did contemporaries believe about Charles?
- he could become the sole ruler of all Christian countries
- after Sack of Rome in 1527 one wrote “Christ has granted an extraordinary opportunity to the men of our age to realise this vision”
Charles writings provide little evidence to support the view that he wished to become ruler of all Christian countries - what examples are there?
- continually refers to his House and dynasty, suggesting these were his major concerns
- 1536: when speaking to Pope and Cardinals he denied he had any desire of gathering a universal empire under his rule
Why was it unlikely that it was Charles’ great aim to bring all his lands under central control with common institutions?
- each of his lands would have resented this and he must have known that
What were of Charles’ greatest concerns?
- fought wars to protecting his lands and concern for his dynasty
- commitment to Catholicism involved fighting wars to defend Catholicism against Protestant threat within own empire and against Muslims externally
What was a limitation of his involvement in so many areas in Europe?
- he was rarely in a position to concentrate on dealing with one issue before he was called to deal with another
How did his Spanish subjects, though never completely reconciled to the responsibilities that took him out of Spain, come to think of him?
- in general came to sympathise with him
Charles remained in Spain from 1522 - 1529. What was the significance of this period, what did he use that time to do?
- longest time spend in any one of his territories
- used opportunity to try and establish authority over the government of the kingdoms
As with other sections of his empire, what did Charles not envisage?
- joining separate kingdoms of Spain into one
- introducing a single institution through which he could govern the entirety of Spain
Why was it vital for him to ensure his hold over administration, especially that of the richest of his Spanish kingdoms - Castile?
- to have control over Spain
- obtain the money he needed for his various enterprises
What did Charles maintain within the conciliar system - what did he strive to change?
- continued reforms
- councils were still the most important feature
- composed of letrados, not the most important nobles
- additions and changes were needed to establish Charles control and to meet demands of widespread empire
What purpose did the Council of State serve? (supposed to and actually)
- supposed to advise Charles on most important matters concerning government of Spain
- deal with decisions of other councils
- actually probably designed to give social distinction to members
- little political influence, little administrative importance
Who was the membership of the Council of War?
- same as Council of State + military experts
What responsibility did the Council of War have?
- to co-ordinate all military matters concerning Crown
What was the most important administrative Council?
- Royal Council of Castile
What were the functions of the Royal Council of Castile?
- internal affairs of Castile
- court of law
- hearing appeals from lower courts
- advised on many matters (especially relations with Portugal)
How did Charles modify the Royal Council of Castile?
- reduced size
- included fewer nobles
- included ecclesiastics and letrados
- introduced smaller council (1588) of a few councillors who had special task of advising king
The administrative role of the Council of Aragon was more limited. What did it deal with?
- administration of justice
- court of highest appeal
- had some internal administrative functions
What was special about the membership of the Council of Aragon?
- usually letrados
- respected tradition that they be from kingdoms of Aragon
- except for treasurer who was a Castilian
Why was the Council of Aragon particularly useful?
- to keep Charles informed about opinions of Aragonese people
What was the function of the Council of Indies?
- gave extensive control over matters concerning running of Castile’s American possessions
What council can be considered the most innovative and important of the Councils? Why?
- Council of Finance
- managed all of Charles’ finances
- based on the good model of Financial Council in Flanders
- Cobos = new secretary
Which council linked all kingdoms of Spain together?
- Council of the Supreme and General Inquisition
In what ways was the conciliar system in Charles reign effective?
- more professional administrators (letrados)
- new ones helped to meet the increasing demands of administering an extended empire
What were some limitations of the conciliar system?
- not responsible for making sure decisions were implemented
- had no officials to do so
How did the secretariat work? How was it in Aragon?
- organisation of the secretariat was based in each kingdom
- Aragon already had a highly organised secretariat - the Chancellery
In Castile, the secretaries had different powers. What powers did they have?
- prepare agendas for council meetings
- all royal documents had to be countersigned by them
- decided whether correspondence went to Charles or one of councils
- could issue royal decrees without agreement of council
Although the secretaries were resented for their patronage, why did they powers increase during reign?
- they were able to act with a lot of speed so Charles made increasing use of them
Who is the secretary of the Council of Finance? (even though it was Gattinara’s idea)
- Los Cobos
How did Los Cobos (most important secretary for most of Charles’ reign) improve quality of those working in secretariat?
- chose men from minor gentry with administrative training and experience and came from smaller towns
- not young sons of nobles
- not necessarily men of learning/ those with university training
Why did Cobos choose these types of men for the secretariat?
- looked to him for reward and advancement
- able to rely on them for support for policies
How was Cobos able to acquire a large estate and fortune?
- received a lot of gifts from those wishing to see/ gain favours from Charles
- easy enough to use personal influence to bolster private income (60,000 ducats income a year)
Did Charles care about Cobos’ large fortune/ estate?
- prepared to accept it because he had no doubt of Cobo’s personal loyalty and efficiency
How did Charles prevent excessive corruption?
- did not depend entirely on his secretaries
- tried never to leave any matter entirely in the hands of those who were his servants - aimed to play a personal part in dealing with every issue
- sometimes wrote to ministers and ambassadors himself, rather than relying on secretaries
What was a difficulty with documentation and how was this overcome?
- some State papers in Segovia Castle, some Medina del Campo, some Valladolid
- central repository established in the fortress of Simancas
- newly appointed keepers of the archive
What were the 2 main objectives of the Council of Finance?
- coordinate work of existing accounting departments set up in 1476 Cortes of Madrigal
- act as a treasury of receipt for state income
In 26 years, how many visits did Charles make around his empire?
32
