Finance (1)

Question 1

What two things meant that the Crown’s financial position became even weaker when Charles became king (even though it was weak when he came to the throne)?

Answer 1

• the greed of the Burgundian followers

- the expense of the imperial election

Question 2

Why was the ceremonial cost of the court so much greater in Charles’ reign than under Ferdinand and Isabella?

Answer 2

• Charles made the court more Burgundian

Question 3

When Charles introduced the Order of the Golden Fleece into Spain, why did this demand more income?

Answer 3

• Charles needed to meet the salaries of many new positions and buy jewels and works of art

Question 4

What were all parts of Charles’ empire expected to be and do regarding money?

Answer 4

• self-supporting

- give support to the general needs of the empire

Question 5

Give a few examples of how different parts of the empire contributed to different elements of the reign

Answer 5

• Castile mainly paid for the imperial coronation
• the Netherlands made a major contribution to the wars with France towards the end of the reign
• in 1532, the empire paid when defending Vienna from the Turks

Question 6

However, what were parts of the empire reluctant often reluctant to do? Give an example of the Netherlands

Answer 6

• to give money for anything other than the needs of that country, only Castilian money was really used for general use
• 1539: tax revolt in Ghent, warning to Charles that they resented paying for conquests

Question 7

Why did Castile contribute the most income to Charles from Spain?

Answer 7

• there was little resistance from the Cortes to higher taxation
• but also, the majority of taxes were indirect so could be collected without consulting the Cortes

Question 8

What was agreed in 1534 that meant custom duties became a more significant source of income than the alcabala?

Answer 8

• it was agreed that the alcabala should be a fixed sum and inflation in the economy meant that it’s value gradually fell (became only 1/4 of income)

Question 9

How did Charles manage to establish the Crown’s right to recieve the servicio?

Answer 9

• it was a result of the defeat of the comuneros

+ the increase in royal power in town so that the Crown could influence the selection of representatives to the Cortes

Question 10

Due to the fact that tax was mainly falling on the lower and middle classes of Castile (as the upper-class nobility were exempt), what did Charles have to do?

Answer 10

• borrow money through the sale of juros

Question 11

Excluding Castile, how many more sources of income did the Spanish Crown have? Name them

Answer 11

3: Aragon, the Church, the New World

Question 12

Why wasn’t Aragon a very valuable source of income?

Answer 12

• the constitution meant little could be raised in taxes

- by Charles’ reign, Aragon wasn’t economically valuable to give much financial help

Question 13

Although Aragon wasn’t a very valuable source of income, what did they give?

Answer 13

• from the 6 general Cortes at Monzon, Charles received no more than 500,000 ducats for each 5 year period

Question 14

Theoretically, the Church didn’t pay taxes, so how did it actually give a lot of money?

Answer 14

• the Pope allowed Charles to receive a proportion of all income of the Spanish Church
• the cruzada was another source

Question 15

In 1523, who confirmed that the military orders were under the Crown’s ownership forever?

Answer 15

• Pope Adrian VI (Adrian of Utrecht)

Question 16

Unfortunately, why didn’t the income from the military orders go to the Crown?

Answer 16

• Charles used the money to pay back the banking houses such as the Fuggers for the money for the imperial election

Question 17

What was a more obscure source of income from the Church?

Answer 17

• the income of sees between the death of one bishop and the appointment of another

Question 18

From the 1530s onwards, why did the New World become an even more valuable asset?

Answer 18

• there were silver mines discovered in Bolivia

Question 19

Income from the New World seemed to be the solution to Spain’s financial problems, give an example of one of the high sums of income

Answer 19

1534 - 1540: approximately 324,000 ducats per year

Question 20

What elements of the revenue from the New World were the Crown entitled to?

Answer 20

• taxes
• custom duties
• Indian tribute
• 1/5 of all precious metals
• the seizure of contraband and private bullion (amounted to another 3.5 million)

Question 21

Although there was a lot of income from the New World, why wasn’t it enough to solve all of Charles’ financial problems?

Answer 21

• even without any repayment of loans
• 1 million ducats per year was needed for ordinary revenue
• and there were the expenses of Charles’ foreign policy

Question 22

Give two examples of other measures used to raise income in 1552

Answer 22

• the sales of public offices

- sale of certificates of nobility

Question 23

How did the sale of certificates of nobility actually backfire?

Answer 23

• it further decreased the size of the tax-paying population and increased the burden on taxpayers (ended up with approximately 13% of the population had noble status)

Question 24

What was the only way that Charles could have improved his financial situation?

Answer 24

• to cease fighting expensive wars

Question 25

In 1534, what was Charles’ net income and expenditure?

Answer 25

• income = 420,000 ducats

- expenditure = 1,000,000 ducats

Question 26

What was a method used by Charles to gain more money?

How did Charles use juros in this circumstance?

Answer 26

• would seize more than 1/5th of bullion

- would give juros in return

Question 27

Over his reign, how much did Charles borrow? How did he agree this?

Answer 27

39,000,000 ducats

- agreed asientos with bankers etc, prepared by Council of Finance (stipulated terms, timings etc)

Question 28

By 1543, how much of Charles’ ordinary revenues go to paying annuites?

Answer 28

65%