Spanish culture in the middle ages. Medieval Spain. History of our days

During the era of Roman rule, Spain was one of the provinces of the empire. However, with the fall of the Roman Empire, they poured here barbarian tribes, in particular, the Suevi, Vandals, Alans and Visigoths. The latter managed to push the rest of the tribes into North Africa, and found a kingdom, the capital of which was located in Barcelona and Toledo. Thus, Spain in the Middle Ages entered as a territory with scattered kingdoms. Although the Visigoths occupied only 4% of the population of Spain, they managed to capture the kingdom of the Suevi and oust the Byzantines from the south of the region in the 8th century. Local tribes adopted the Christian faith, but they denied the divinity of Jesus.

In the 8th century, civil strife began in Spain, one of the parties of which asked for help from the Arabs and Berbers, who were later called the Moors. The Arabs took advantage of this to seize power in the Iberian Peninsula, which became part of the Umayyad Caliphate. Subsequently, Spain became the bridgehead from which the Moors carried out an attack on Western Europe. Among the followers of Islam, the Moors were remarkable for their tolerance, they did not destroy the local religion and did not oppress the population. Although a period of prosperity began in the region under the Moors, in the 11th century the Caliphate of Cordoba weakened and disintegrated into many small states.

In the same period, such a concept as the Reconquista appeared, the process of recapturing Spain from the Arabs, which lasted several centuries. Spain in the Middle Ages became the site of an ongoing battle between Christians and Arabs. The Visigoths managed to retain a small area in the Pyrenees Mountains, from where they raided the Arabs. After the defeat of the Moors in the 9th century by Charlemagne, the Spanish Mark was founded - the border area separating the Frankish state and Arab Spain. In the 9-11 centuries, it was divided into the kingdoms of Aragon, Navarre and Leon. In the 13th century, the formed Portugal and the Kingdom of Leon (Spain) inflicted a number of defeats on the Moors, and already in 1492 the Reconquista was completed - the Moors were completely ousted from the territory of Spain

Germany in the Middle Ages

Although over time, the French and German peoples became isolated, and completely different from each other, they have common roots. Germany in the Middle Ages, in the early period, was not an independent state. The Franks began to play the most important role among the Germanic tribes in the further development of Europe after the death of the Western Roman Empire. In 481, Clovis I united almost all Frankish and Alemannic tribes within one state. Over time, the Frankish state captured all of modern Germany.

In 800, Charlemagne was declared the Roman emperor by the Pope himself, it was an attempt to isolate himself from Byzantium, and take on the role of heir to the fallen Western Roman Empire. After Charles' death, the state quickly disintegrated, but the ambitions of the future German people remained. Germany took shape as an independent state as a result of the Treaty of Verdun. In 843, the territory of modern Germany and part of the surrounding lands went to Louis the German. In the 10th century, the name Regnum Teutonicorum appeared, which translates as Reich Germans. In fact, this was the first Reich, and Otto I in 962 was proclaimed emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

This state was a political association, which until 1806 had an unchanging form, and did not renounce its claims. The history of this state can be easily seen from its external relations from the 9th to the 19th century. The emperors of the Holy Roman Empire quite often claimed the Roman throne, many of them did not abandon the idea of ​​world domination. In the end, the ideas cultivated among the people for many centuries led to the formation of fascist Germany. In the Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire was much more often engulfed in internal strife. The independence of local duchies, constant peasant uprisings - all this did not allow the state to be a powerful force throughout its history.

One of the most prominent rulers of the Holy Roman Empire was Frederick II Barbarossa. Under him, Germany in the Middle Ages again became a single force, and entered into active rivalry with Italy and Rome, and took part in the Crusade. In general, friction between the Emperor and the Pope lasted for almost the entire history of the Holy Roman Empire.

962 year... Formation of the Holy Roman Empire.

1077 year... "Walking to Canossa" by Emperor Henry IV.

1356 year... Signing of the "Golden Bull" by Charles IV.

Already in the III millennium BC. e. Iberian tribes appeared in the south and east of Spain. It is believed that they came here from North Africa. These tribes gave the peninsula its ancient name - Iberian. Iberians gradually settled on the territory of modern Castile, lived in fortified villages, were engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding and hunting. They made their tools of work from copper and bronze. In those ancient times, the Iberians already had their own written language.

At the beginning of the millennium BC. tribes of representatives of the Indo-European peoples, mainly Celts, invaded through the Pyrenees. The newcomers preferred to wage wars and graze livestock, rather than engage in agriculture.

Celts and Iberians lived side by side, sometimes united, then at war with each other. In the area between the upper reaches of the Duero and Tahoe rivers, archaeologists have found traces of more than 50 settlements. This area was later named Celtiberia... It was the people of the Celtiberian culture who invented the double-edged sword, which later became the standard weapon of the Roman army. Later, the Romans used this sword against the Celtiberian tribes. These ancient inhabitants of the Spanish land were skilled warriors. .In the event of an attack by enemies Union of Celtiberian Tribes could put up to 20 thousand soldiers. They fiercely defended their capital from the Romans - Numantia, and not immediately the Romans managed to win.

In Andalusia from the first half to the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. there was a state in the fertile valley of the Guadalquivir Tartess... Perhaps this was the rich area mentioned in the Bible “ Tarshish"Known to the Phoenicians. The Tartesian culture also spread north to the Ebro Valley, where it laid the foundation for the Greco-Iberian civilization. There is still no consensus about the origin of the inhabitants of Tartess - turdetanov... They are close to the Iberians, but were at a higher stage of development.

Part of the Empire of Carthage

At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. Phoenicians founded their colonies on the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula Ghadir (Cadiz), Malaka, Cordoba and others, and the Greeks settled on the east coast.

In the V-IV centuries. BC e. increasing influence Carthage, which became the main center of the Phoenician civilization. The Empire of Carthage occupied most of Andalusia and the Mediterranean coast. The Carthaginians established a trade monopoly in the Strait of Gibraltar. The largest Carthaginian colony in the Iberian Peninsula was New Carthage (modern Cartagena). On the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, Iberian cities were founded, reminiscent of the Greek city-states.

The defeat of the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War in 210 BC e. led to the establishment of Roman rule on the peninsula. The Carthaginians finally lost their possessions after the victories of Scipio the Elder (206 BC).

Under Roman rule

The Romans established complete control over east coast Iberian Peninsula (Near Spain), where they entered into an alliance with the Greeks, giving them power over Carthaginian Andalusia and the hinterland of the peninsula (Far Spain).

In 182 BC. the Romans invaded the Ebro Valley and defeated the Celtiberian tribes. In 139 BC. the Lusitanians and Celts were conquered, the troops of the Romans entered the territory of Portugal and placed their garrisons in Galicia.

Between 29 and 19 BC the lands of the Cantabras and other tribes of the northern coast were conquered.

By the 1st century. AD v Andalusia under Roman influence, the local languages ​​were forgotten. The Romans built a network of roads in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula. In the major centers of Roman Spain, in Tarrakone (Tarragona), Italica (near Seville) and Emerite (Meride), theaters and hippodromes, monuments and arenas, bridges and aqueducts were erected. The seaports actively traded in olive oil, wines, wheat, metals and other goods. Local tribes resisted and were resettled to remote areas.

Spain became the second most important territory of the Roman Empire after Italy itself.

It became the birthplace of four Roman emperors. The most famous are Trajan and Adrian. The southern part of Spain gave Theodosius the Great, the writers Martial, Quintilian, Seneca and the poet Lucan.

The strongest Roman influence was in Andalusia, southern Portugal and the Catalan coast near Tarragona. Basque tribes that inhabited the northern part of the peninsula were never completely conquered and romanized, which explains their modern special language dialect, which has nothing to do with the Latin group of languages. Other pre-Roman peoples of Iberia were assimilated by the 1st - 2nd centuries. n. e. The three living Spanish languages ​​are rooted in Latin, and Roman laws became the foundation of the Spanish legal system.

The spread of Christianity

Very early in the II century. AD Christianity penetrated here and began to spread, despite the bloody persecution. By the III century. Christian communities already existed in the main cities. The early Christians in Spain were severely persecuted, but documents from a council held around 306 at Iliberis near Granada indicate that even before the baptism of the Roman emperor Constantine in 312, the Christian church in Spain had a good organizational structure.

At the beginning of the 5th century, the Vandals, Alans and Suevi entered Spain and settled in Andalusia, Lusitania and Galicia; the Romans were still holding on to the eastern half of the peninsula.

The Visigoths, who invaded Italy in 410, were used by the Romans to restore order in Spain. In 468, the Visigoth king Eirich resettled his subjects in northern Spain. In 475, he created the earliest in the states formed by the Germanic tribes, a written code of laws (the code of Eirich).

The Roman emperor Zeno in 477 officially recognized the transfer of all Spain to the rule of Eirich.

Visigoths accepted arianism and created a caste of aristocrats. The Visigothic elite denied the divinity of Christ, while the local population professed the Catholic religion. Also in 400 at Toledo Cathedral a single one for all Christians in Spain was adopted Catholicism... The cruel treatment of the local population in the south of the Iberian Peninsula by the Arian Visigoths caused the invasion of the Byzantine troops of the Eastern Roman Empire, which remained in the southeastern regions of Spain until the 7th century.

The Visigoths drove the Vandals and Alans who came before them to North Africa and created a kingdom with the capital in Barcelona. Suevi created Suevian kingdom in the northwest in Galicia. Visigothic king Athanagild (554-567) moved the capital of the kingdom to Toledo and conquered Seville from the Byzantines.

King Leovigild (568-586) took Cordoba and tried to replace the elective monarchy of the Visigoths with a hereditary one. The Visigoths made up only 4% of the population of the lands under their control. Forced to reckon with the Catholic faith of the bulk of the population, Leovigild reformed the laws in favor of the Catholics of the south.

King Recared (586-601) abandoned Arianism and converted to Catholicism. Recared convened a council at which he was able to convince the Arian bishops to recognize Catholicism as the state religion.

After his death, there was a temporary return to Arianism, but with the accession to the throne Sisebuta (612-621) Catholicism again became the state religion.

The first Visigothic king to rule all of Spain was

Pig (621-631).

At Reckeswint (653–672) In about 654, an outstanding document of the Visigothic period was promulgated - the famous code of laws " Lieber Judicorum". He canceled the existing legal differences between the Visigoths and local peoples.

In the Visigothic kingdom, under the conditions of an elective monarchy, a struggle was inevitable between the pretenders to the throne. Riots, conspiracies and intrigues weakened royal power. Despite the recognition of Catholicism by the Visigoths, religious strife only intensified. By the 7th century. all non-Christians, especially Jews, were faced with a choice: exile or conversion to Christianity.

The three hundred year rule of the Visigoths left a significant mark on the culture of the peninsula, but did not lead to the creation of a single nation.

Part of the vast domains of the Umayyad Caliphate.

V 711 year one of the Visigothic groups turned to the Arabs and Berbers from North Africa for help. The conquerors who came from Africa and caused the fall of Visigothic rule were called Moors in Spain.

The Arabs crossed from Africa to Spain and, having won a number of victories, put an end to the Visigothic state that had existed for almost 300 years. In a short time, almost all of Spain was conquered by the Arabs. Despite the desperate resistance of the Visigoths, ten years later, only the mountainous regions of Asturias remained unconquered.

Since Spain was conquered by African troops, it was considered dependent on the African possessions of the Umayyad Caliphate. The emir of Spain was appointed by the African governor, who in turn was subordinate to the caliph, whose residence was in Damascus, Syria.

The Arabs did not seek to convert the conquered peoples to Islam. They provided the peoples of the conquered countries with the right: either to convert to Islam, or to pay a poll tax (in excess of the land tax). The Arabs, preferring earthly benefits to religious interests, believed that it was not worthwhile to introduce conquered peoples to Islam by force; for such actions deprived them of additional taxes.

The Arabs respected the way of life and customs of the conquered peoples. The bulk of the Spanish-Roman and Visigothic population was ruled by their own counts, judges, bishops and used their churches. The conquered peoples continued to live under the rule of the Muslims in conditions of almost complete civil independence.

Churches and monasteries also paid taxes.

Part of the land was included in a special public fund. This fund included church property and land that belonged to the Visigoth state, fled tycoons, as well as the property of owners who resisted the Arabs.

For those who surrendered or submitted to the conquerors, the Arabs recognized the ownership of all their property with the obligation to pay land tax on arable land and land planted with fruit trees. The conquerors did the same in relation to a number of monasteries. In addition, the owners were now free to sell their property, which was not so easy in the Visigothic era.

Muslims treated slaves more leniently than the Visigoths, while it was enough for any Christian slave to convert to Islam to become free

The advantages of the Arab system of government were devalued in the eyes of the conquered, since now Christians were subordinated to the gentiles. This subordination was especially difficult for the church, which depended on the caliph, who arrogated to himself the right to appoint and depose bishops and to convene councils.

The Jews benefited more from the Arab conquest, as the shy laws of the Visigothic era were overturned by the conquerors. Jews were given the opportunity to occupy administrative positions in Spanish cities.

Emirate of Cordoba

Noble family Umayyad, which for a long period stood at the head of the Arab Caliphate, was eventually overthrown from the throne by representatives of another family - the Abbasids.

The change of dynasties caused general turmoil in the Arab possessions. Under similar circumstances, a young man from the Umayyad family named Abdarrahman in the course of hostilities seized power in Spain and became an emir, independent of the Abbasid caliph. The main city of the new state was Cordoba. From this time begins new era in the history of Arab Spain ( 756 BC).

For a long time, representatives of various tribes disputed or did not recognize the authority of the new independent emir. Thirty-two years of Abdarrahman's rule were filled with constant wars. As a result of one of the conspiracies organized against the emir, the Frankish king invaded Spain Charlemagne... The conspiracy failed, conquering several cities in northern Spain, the Frankish king was forced to return with his troops, as other matters required the presence of the ruler in his kingdom. The rearguard of the Frankish army was completely destroyed in Ronceval gorge unconquered Basques; in this battle, the famous Frankish warrior, Count of Breton died Roland... The famous legend was created about the death of Roland, which served as the basis for the epic poem “ Song of Roland».

Brutally suppressing the indignation, curbing numerous opponents, Abdarrahman strengthened his power and recaptured the cities captured by the Franks.

Son of Abdarrahman Hisham I (788-796) was a devout, merciful and humble sovereign. Hisham was most interested in religious affairs. He patronized the theologians - fuqaha, who gained great influence under him. The significance of the fanatics became especially noticeable during the reign of Hisham's successor, Hakama I (796-822)... The new emir limited the participation of the fuqaha in government affairs. The religious party, striving for power, began to conduct agitation, inciting the people against the emir and organizing various conspiracies. It got to the point that stones were thrown at the emir when he drove through the streets. Hakam I punished the rebels in Cordoba twice, but this did not help. In 814, fanatics laid siege to the emir in his own palace. The emir's troops managed to suppress the uprising, many were killed, the rest of the rebels were expelled by Hakam from the country. As a result, 15,000 families moved to Egypt and up to 8,000 went to Fez, in northwestern Africa.

Having dealt with the fanatics, Hakam began to eliminate the danger that came from the inhabitants of the city of Toledo.

This city, although nominally subordinate to the emirs, actually enjoyed genuine autonomy. There were few Arabs and Berbers in the city. The inhabitants of Toledo did not forget that their city was the capital of independent Spain. They were proud of this and stubbornly defended their independence. Hakam decided to end it. He summoned the most noble and wealthy citizens to his palace and interrupted them. Toledo, deprived of its most influential citizens, remained subordinate to the emir, but seven years later, in 829, it again proclaimed its independence.

Successor to Hakama Abdarrahman II (829) had to fight with Toledo for eight years. In 837 he took possession of the city thanks to the disagreements that began in Toledo between Christians and renegades (former Christians who converted to Islam). Under subsequent rulers, attempts were made repeatedly to achieve political independence in different areas country.

Cordoba Caliphate

Only Abdarrahman III (912-961), one of the greatest Umayyad rulers, gifted with great political and military abilities, in a short time conquered all the enemies of the central government. V 923 He dropped the title of independent emir, which had been held by the previous Umayyads. Abdarrahman III assumed the title caliph, thereby equating himself with the Baghdad caliph. The new caliph had a goal - to establish a lasting absolute monarchy. After undertaking a series of campaigns against Christians, Abdarrahman III then established friendly relations with the Christian kings. The emir intervened in the internal affairs of Leon, supporting the pretenders to the throne pleasing to him and sowing unrest in the Christian state. His troops captured North Africa and subjugated it to the Cordoba Caliphate.

By his wise policy, Abdarrahman III gained universal respect, the successes of the Caliph drew the attention of all of Europe to him.

Abdarrahman III had a large battle-worthy army and the most powerful fleet in the Mediterranean.

All European kings sent embassies to him with requests for alliances. Arab Spain has become the political and cultural center of Europe.

Abdarrahman patronized the development of agriculture, crafts, trade, literature and education. During his reign, Arab science and art in Spain reached the highest degree of prosperity. Populous cities adorned the countries, large art monuments were created. Cordoba had about half a million inhabitants and became one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Many mosques, baths, palaces and gardens were erected in the city. Grenada, Seville, Toledo competed with Cordova.

Son of Abdarrahman, poet and scholar Hakam II (961-976), continued his father's policy, especially in the field of culture. He collected in his library up to 400,000 scrolls, the University of Cordoba was then the most famous in Europe. Hakam II also successfully waged wars, first with the Christians of the north, and then with the rebellious Africans.

Son of the caliph Hisham II (976-1009) came to the throne at the age of 12. During his reign, the military power of the Caliphate reached its climax. In fact, power was in the hands of the first minister Muhammad-ibn-Abu-Amir nicknamed al-Mansour(winner). He ruled as if on behalf of Hisham II, in fact isolated the young caliph from the world and had all the power in his hands.

Muhammad was a warrior by nature. He reorganized the army to include a large number of personally loyal Berbers who had been recruited from Africa. As a result of military campaigns, almost the entire kingdom recognized its dependence on al-Mansur. Only part of Asturias and Galicia and some lands in Castile remained independent.

After the death of al-Mansur in 1002, the care of the administration of the caliphate fell on his son Muzaffar, who was titled hajib, although he was the true caliph.

The transfer of supreme power to the representatives of the surname al-Mansur angered many. The struggle for power began. In 1027, Hisham III, a representative of the Umayyad family, was elected caliph. But the new caliph did not have the proper management skills, and in 1031 he lost the throne. 275 years after its foundation, the Cordoba Caliphate, founded by Abdarrahman I, ceased to exist.

A number of small independent states arose on the ruins of the Cordoba Caliphate.

Until the end of Arab domination, wars, fragmentation, and power struggles continued.

Christian Kingdom in Asturias

All this favored the Christian states that existed within Spain. At the beginning of the Arab conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the few Visigoths who fled to the Asturian mountains retained their independence. They united under rule Pelayo, or Pelagia, who, according to legend, was a relative of the Visigoth kings. Pelayo became the first king of Asturias. The Spanish chronicles call him the renewer of the freedom of the Spaniards.

Part of the Visigothic nobility, led by Pelayo, began a continuous centuries-old war against the Moors, which was called the Reconquista (reconquest).

According to the reports of the most ancient chroniclers, the Visigothic elements showed continuous resistance in only one area - in Asturias.

Under the protection of the mountains, counting on the help of local residents, they intended to resolutely resist the conquerors

In 718, the advance of the Moors expeditionary force at Covadonga was stopped.

The Asturian court in many ways continued the traditions of Toledo. Here, too, the struggle continues between the king and the nobility - the king is fighting for the right to inherit the throne and for the strengthening of his autocracy, and the nobility - for participation in the election of the king, for the preservation of the always desired independence. Throughout the VIII century, the history of Asturias is reduced precisely to this struggle. Pelagius died in 737, his son Favila, did nothing to expand the borders of the kingdom.

Grandson of Pelayo Alphonse I (739-757) connected Cantabria with Asturias. In the middle of the VIII century, Asturian Christians, taking advantage of the Berber revolt, under the leadership of King Alfonso I, occupied neighboring Galicia. The coffin of Saint James (Santiago) was discovered in Galicia, and Santiago de Compostela becomes a center of pilgrimage.

The death of Alfonso I coincided with the creation of the independent Emirate of Cordoba. This powerful power prevented Christians from achieving any significant success. And the kings of the Christian state were forced to deal with their internal affairs: the struggle with the nobility and the settlement of cities and territories.

The situation changed when he came to the throne Alphonse II the Chaste (791-842), He was a contemporary of the emirs Hakam I and Abdarrahman II, with whom he fought for the Portuguese lands, making raids, capturing booty and prisoners. The king's military campaigns led to the conclusion of treaties with the emirs. Alphonse II sought an alliance with the Emperor Charlemagne, and with his son Louis the Pious.

He restored the forgotten Visigothic laws and founded cities, attracting new settlers to the country. Alphonse II transferred his court to Oviedo.

Christian centers in the Pyrenees.

While the Christians of Asturias and Galicia were expanding their possessions, in the north-west of Spain, the Franks stopped the advance of Muslims into Europe and created Spanish stamp- the border area between the possessions of the Franks and the Arabs, which disintegrated in the 9th-11th centuries into the counties of Navarre, Aragon and Barcelona. They have become new centers of resistance.

Each of these Christian centers fought independently; and although Christians repeatedly opposed each other, instead of jointly fighting against Muslims, the Arabs could not completely suppress the resistance of several Christian states at once.

In the almost never-ending wars with the infidels, a brave feudal nobility took shape. Gradually, four groups of Christian dominions were formed, with legislative assemblies and rights recognized for the estates:

• Asturias, Leon and Galicia in the northwest in the 10th century were united into the kingdom of Leon, and in 1057, after a short submission to Navarre, they formed the kingdom of Castile;
• The Kingdom of Navarre, which included the Basque country together with the neighboring region, Garcia, under Sancho the Great (970-1035) extended its power to all Christian Spain, in 1076-1134 it was united with Aragon, but then freed again;
• Aragon, a country on the left bank of the Ebro, became an independent kingdom in 1035;
• Barcelona, ​​or Catalonia, hereditary margrave.

By 914, the Kingdom of Asturias included Leon and most of Galicia and northern Portugal. The Spanish Christians expanded their holdings into the mountainous areas between Asturias and Catalonia, building many border fortresses. The name of the province "Castile" comes from the Spanish word "castillo", meaning "castle", "fortress".

After the fall of the Umayyad dynasty ( 1031 year) the county of Leon-Asturias under the rule of Ferdinad I received the status of a kingdom and became the main stronghold of the Reconquista. In 1085, the Christians took over Toledo. Later Talavera, Madrid and other cities fell under Christian rule.

Alphonse I of Aragon, by marriage with the heiress of Castile, temporarily ( before 1127) unified both kingdoms and took the title of Emperor of Spain (held out until 1157). He conquered Zaragoza in 1118 year and made it his the capital.

After the separation of Castile from Aragon, both states remained allies in the fight against the infidels. Thanks to a dynastic marriage, Aragon merged with Catalonia.

During the XII-XIII centuries. Christian states have won a number of significant victories. By the end of the 13th century, only the Emirate of Grenada remained on the peninsula, forced to pay tribute.

In Christian kingdoms, peasants and city dwellers who fought alongside the knights received significant benefits. Cities and rural communities had their own special rights, recognized for them by special agreements, most of the peasants did not experience serfdom. The estates were going to the Seims (Cortes), where questions about the welfare and security of the country, about laws and taxes were decided. The adopted laws contributed to the development of trade and industry. The poetry of the troubadours flourished.

V 1469 year a marriage was concluded between Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile leading to the unification of the largest kingdoms in Spain.

V 1478 year Ferdinand and Isabella approved by the ecclesiastical court - inquisition... The persecution of Jews and Muslims began. Several thousand suspected heresy were burned at the stake. In 1492, the head of the Inquisition, a Dominican priest Tomaso Torquemada convinced Ferdinand and Isabella to persecute non-Christian people throughout the country. Numerous Jews (160,000 thousand) were expelled from the state.

V 1492 was released Granada... As a result of more than 10 years of struggle of the Spaniards fell Emirate of granada- the last stronghold of the Moors in the Iberian Peninsula. The Reconquista ends with the conquest of Granada (January 2, 1492).

In the same 1492, Columbus, with the support of Isabella, made his first expedition to the New World and established Spanish colonies there. Ferdinand and Isabella moved their residence to Barcelona. In 1512, the kingdom of Navarre was included in Castile.

After the end of the Reconquista in 1492. the entire Iberian Peninsula, excluding Portugal, and Sardinia, Sicily, Balearic Islands, Kingdom of Naples and Navarre were united under the rule of the Spanish kings.

V 1516 g... ascended the throne Charles I... As the maternal grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella, he was the emperor's grandson on his paternal side. Maximilian I of Habsburg... From his father and grandfather, Charles I received the possessions of the Habsburgs in Germany, the Netherlands and lands in South America. In 1519 he was elected to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation and became Emperor Charles V. Contemporaries often said that in his domain "the sun never sets." At the same time, the Aragonese and Castilian kingdoms, connected only by a dynastic union, each had their own estate-representative institutions - the Cortes, their own legislation and judicial system. Castilian troops could not enter the lands of Aragon, and Aragon was not obliged to defend the lands of Castile in case of war.

Until 1564, there was no single political center, the royal court moved around the country, most often stopping at Valladolid... Only in 1605... the official capital of Spain became Madrid.

The reign of Charles V

Young king Charles I (V) (1516-1555) before joining the pre-table he was brought up in the Netherlands. His retinue and entourage consisted mainly of Flemings, the king himself spoke poor Spanish. In the early years, Karl ruled Spain from the Netherlands. The election to the imperial throne of the Holy Roman Empire, travel to Germany and the costs of the coronation were to be paid by Spain.

Charles V from the first years of his reign looked at Spain primarily as a source of financial and human resources for carrying out imperial policy in Europe. He systematically violated the customs and liberties of Spanish cities and the rights of the Cortes, which caused discontent among the burghers and artisans. In the first quarter of the 16th century. the activities of the opposition forces concentrated around the issue of compulsory loans, which the king often resorted to from the first years of his reign.

V 1518 g. to pay off their creditors, German bankers Fuggers Charles V was able to get a huge subsidy from the Castilian Cortes with great difficulty, but this money was quickly spent. In 1519, in order to obtain a new loan, the king was forced to accept the conditions put forward by the Cortes, among which was the requirement that he not leave Spain, appoint foreigners to public office, or give them tax collection at the mercy. money, the king left Spain, appointing the Flemish governor, Cardinal Adrian of Utrecht.

Revolt of the urban communes of Castile (Comuneros).

The king's violation of the signed agreement was the signal for an uprising of urban communes against the royal power, called the Comuneros uprising (1520-1522). After the king's departure, when the deputies of the Cortes, who had shown excessive compliance, returned to their cities, they were greeted with general indignation. One of the main demands of the rebellious cities was the prohibition of the import of woolen fabrics from the Netherlands into the country.

In the summer of 1520, the armed forces of the rebels, led by the nobleman Juan de Padilla, united under the Sacred Junta. The cities refused to obey the governor and forbade his armed forces to enter their territory. The cities demanded the return to the treasury of the crown lands seized by the giants, the payment of church tithes by them. They hoped that these measures would improve the financial position of the state and lead to a weakening of the tax burden, which was borne by all its burden on the tax-paying estate.

In the spring and summer of 1520, almost the entire country was under the control of the Junta. The governor-cardinal, being in constant fear, wrote to Charles V that "there is not a single village in Castile that would not join the rebels." Charles V ordered to fulfill the demands of some cities in order to split the movement.

In the fall of 1520, 15 cities withdrew from the uprising, their representatives, having gathered in Seville, adopted a document on the withdrawal from the struggle. In the autumn of the same year, the Cardinal Lieutenant began open hostilities against the rebels.

As the movement deepened, its anti-feudal character began to manifest itself clearly. The rebellious cities were joined by the Castilian peasants, who suffered from the tyranny of the grandees in the occupied domains. The peasants smashed the estates, destroyed the castles and palaces of the nobility. In April 1521, the Junta declared its support for a peasant movement directed against the grandees as enemies of the kingdom.

After that, the nobles and nobles openly went over to the camp of the enemies of the movement. Only an insignificant group of nobles remained in the Junta, the main role in it began to be played by the middle strata of the townspeople. Taking advantage of the enmity between the nobility and the cities, the troops of the Cardinal Governor went on the offensive and defeated the troops of Juan de Padilla in the battle of Villalare (1522)... The leaders of the movement were captured and beheaded.

In October 1522 Charles V returned to the country at the head of a detachment of mercenaries, but by this time the movement had already been suppressed.

Economic development of Spain in the 16th century.

The most populous part of Spain was Castile, where 3/4 of the population of the Iberian Peninsula lived. The bulk of the Castilian peasants were personally free. They kept the land of spiritual and secular feudal lords in hereditary use, paying a monetary qualification for them.

The socio-economic system of Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia differed sharply from that of Castile. Here in the XVI century. the most cruel forms of feudal dependence remained. The feudal lords inherited the property of the peasants, interfered with their personal lives, could subject them to corporal punishment and even put them to death.

The Moriscos, the descendants of the Moors who were forcibly converted to Christianity, were especially in a difficult situation in Spain. They were taxed heavily and were constantly under the supervision of the Inquisition. Contrary to this, hardworking Moriscos have long cultivated such valuable crops as olives, rice, grapes, sugar cane, and a silk tree. In the south, they created a perfect irrigation system, thanks to which the Moriscos received high yields of grain, vegetables and fruits.

For many centuries, an important branch of agriculture in Castile was the distillation of sheep. The largest part of the sheep flocks belonged to a privileged noble corporation - Location, enjoyed the special patronage of the royal power.

Twice a year, in spring and autumn, thousands of sheep were driven from north to south of the peninsula along the canyads - wide roads laid through cultivated fields, vineyards, olive groves. Moving across the country, tens of thousands of sheep caused enormous damage to agriculture. On pain of severe punishment, the peasants were forbidden to fence their fields from the passing herds.

The place was achieved at the beginning of the 16th century, the confirmation of all the previous privileges of this corporation, which caused significant damage to agriculture.

The tax system in Spain also hampered the development of capitalist elements in the country's economy. The most hated tax was the alqabala - a 10% tax on every trade; in addition, there was still a huge number of permanent and extraordinary taxes, the amount of which increased all the time during the 16th century, taking up to 50% of the income of the peasant and artisan. The plight of the peasants was aggravated by all kinds of state duties (transportation of goods for the royal court and the army, waiting for the soldiers, supplying food for the army, etc.).

Spain was the first country to experience the impact of the price revolution. This was a consequence of the large amount of gold and other jewelry that came to Spain from the colonies. During the 16th century, prices increased 3.5-4 times. In Spain, it has become more profitable to sell than to buy. Already in the first quarter of the 16th century. there was an increase in prices for basic necessities, and above all for bread. However, the system of taxes (maximum prices for grain), established in 1503, artificially kept prices for bread low, while other products were rapidly becoming more expensive. The consequence of this was a reduction in grain crops and a sharp drop in grain production in the middle of the 16th century. Since the 1930s, most regions of the country have been importing bread from abroad, from France and Sicily. Imported bread was not subject to the law on taxes and was sold 2-2.5 times more expensive than the grain produced by Spanish peasants.

The conquest of the colonies and the unprecedented expansion of colonial trade contributed to the rise of handicraft production in the cities of Spain and the emergence of certain elements of manufacturing production, especially in cloth making. In its main centers - Segovia, Toledo, Seville, Cuenque- manufactories arose.

Spanish silk fabrics, famous for their high quality, brightness and color stability. The main centers of silk production were Seville, Toledo, Cordoba, Granada and Valencia... Expensive silk fabrics were little consumed in Spain and were mainly exported, as well as brocade, velvet, gloves, and hats produced in the southern cities. At the same time, coarse cheap woolen and linen fabrics were imported to Spain from the Netherlands and England.

Another old economic center of Spain was the Toledo region. The city itself was famous for the manufacture of cloth, silk fabrics, the manufacture of weapons and leather processing.

In 1503, Seville established a monopoly on trade with the colonies and created the "Seville Chamber of Commerce", which controlled the export of goods from Spain to the colonies and the import of goods from the New World, mainly consisting of bars of gold and silver. All goods intended for export and import were carefully registered by officials and taxed in favor of the treasury.

Wine and olive oil became the main Spanish exports to America. Investing money in colonial trade gave very large benefits (profits were much higher here than in other industries). A significant part of merchants and artisans moved to Seville from other regions of Spain, primarily from the north. The population of Seville grew rapidly: from 1530 to 1594 it doubled. The number of banks and merchant companies increased. At the same time, this meant the actual deprivation of other areas of the opportunity to trade with the colonies, since, due to the lack of water and convenient land routes, transporting goods to Seville from the north was very expensive. The monopoly of Seville provided the treasury with huge revenues, but it had a detrimental effect on the economic situation in other parts of the country. The role of the northern regions, which had convenient exits to Atlantic Ocean, was reduced only to the protection of flotillas heading for the colonies, which led their economy to decline at the end of the 16th century.

Despite the economic upsurge in the first half of the 16th century, Spain remained as a whole an agrarian country with an underdeveloped internal market, and some regions were economically isolated locally.

Political system.

During the reign Charles V (1516-1555) and Philip II (1555-1598) there was a strengthening of the central power, but the Spanish state was politically a motley conglomerate of disunited territories.

Already in the first quarter of the 16th century, the role of the Cortes was reduced exclusively to voting new taxes and loans to the king. More and more often, only representatives of cities were invited to their meetings. From 1538 the nobility and clergy were not officially represented in the Cortes. At the same time, in connection with the mass resettlement of the nobles to the cities, a fierce struggle broke out between the burghers and the nobility for participation in city self-government. As a result, the nobles secured the right to occupy half of all positions in municipal bodies. In some cities, for example in Madrid, Salamanca, Zamora, Seville, a nobleman must have been at the head of the city council; the city horse militia was also formed from the nobility. Increasingly, in the Cortes, nobles acted as representatives of the cities. True, the nobles often sold their municipal offices to wealthy townspeople, many of whom were not even residents of these places, or rented them out.

The further decline of the Cortes was accompanied in the middle of the 17th century. depriving them of the right to vote taxes, which was transferred to the city councils, after which the Cortes ceased to convene.

In the XVI - early XVII century. large cities largely retained their medieval appearance. These were city communes, where the city patriciate and nobles were in power. Many city dwellers, who had rather high incomes, bought "hidalgia" for money, which exempted them from paying taxes.

The beginning of the decline of Spain in the second half of the 16th century.

Charles V spent his life on campaigns and almost never visited Spain. Wars with the Turks who attacked the Spanish power from the south and the possessions of the Austrian Habsburgs from the southeast, wars with France because of the dominance in Europe and especially in Italy, wars with their own subjects - Protestant princes in Germany - occupied his entire reign. The grandiose plan to create a world Catholic empire collapsed, despite Charles's numerous military and foreign policy successes. In 1555 Charles V renounced the throne and handed over Spain, along with the Netherlands, colonies and Italian possessions to his son Philip II (1555-1598).

Philip was not any significant person. Little educated, limited, petty and greedy, extremely stubborn in pursuing his goals, the new king was deeply convinced of the unshakability of his power and those principles on which this power rested - Catholicism and absolutism. Sullen and silent, this clerk on the throne has spent his entire life locked up in his chambers. It seemed to him that the papers and instructions were enough to know everything and to dispose of everything. Like a spider in a dark corner, he spun the invisible threads of his politics. But these threads were torn by the touch of the fresh wind of a turbulent and restless time: his armies were often beaten, his fleets went to the bottom, and he sadly admitted that "a heretical spirit promotes trade and prosperity." This did not prevent him from declaring: "I prefer not to have subjects at all than to have heretics as such."

Feudal-Catholic reaction was raging in the country, the highest judicial power for religious affairs was concentrated in the hands of the Inquisition.

Leaving the old residences of the Spanish kings of Toledo and Valladolid, Philip II established his capital in the small town of Madrid, on the desolate and barren Castilian plateau. Not far from Madrid, a grandiose monastery, which was at the same time a palace-burial vault, arose - El Escorial. Harsh measures were taken against the Moriscos, many of whom continued to profess the faith of their fathers in secret. The Inquisition came down on them with particular ferocity, forcing them to abandon their old customs and language. At the beginning of his reign, Philip II issued a series of laws that intensified the persecution. Driven to despair, the Moriscos revolted in 1568 under the slogan of preserving the Caliphate. Only with great difficulty did the government succeed in suppressing the uprising in 1571. In the cities and villages of the Moriscos, the entire male population was exterminated, women and children were sold into slavery. The surviving Moriscos were driven to the barren regions of Castile, doomed to starvation and vagrancy. The Castilian authorities mercilessly persecuted the Moriscos, the Inquisition mass burned "apostates from the true faith."

Violent oppression of peasants and general deterioration economic situation the country caused repeated peasant uprisings, of which the strongest was the uprising in Aragon in 1585. The policy of shameless plunder of the Netherlands and a sharp increase in religious and political persecution led in the 60s of the XVI century. to the uprising in the Netherlands, which grew into a bourgeois revolution and a war of liberation against Spain.

The economic decline of Spain in the second half of the XVI-XVII centuries.

In the middle of the XVI - XVII centuries. Spain entered a period of prolonged economic decline, which swept first agriculture, then industry and trade. Speaking about the reasons for the decline of agriculture and the ruin of the peasants, the sources invariably emphasize three of them: the severity of taxes, the existence of maximum prices for bread and the abuse of Mesta. The country was experiencing an acute shortage of food, which further inflated prices.

A significant part of the noble possessions enjoyed the right of primacy, they were inherited only by the eldest son and were inalienable, that is, they could not be mortgaged and sold for debts. The ecclesiastical lands and possessions of the spiritual-knightly orders were also inalienable. In the XVI century. the right of enthronement extended to the possessions of the burghers. The existence of prerogatives removed from circulation a significant part of the land, which made it difficult for the development of capitalist tendencies in agriculture.

At a time when agricultural decline and crops declined throughout the country, industries associated with colonial trade flourished. The country imported a significant portion of the grain it consumes from abroad. In the midst of the Dutch Revolution and the religious wars in France, due to the cessation of the import of grain, a real famine began in many regions of Spain. Philip II was forced to admit even Dutch merchants who brought bread from the Baltic ports into the country.

At the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century. economic decline affected all sectors of the country's economy. Most of the precious metals brought from the New World fell into the hands of the nobles, in connection with which the latter lost interest in the economic development of their country. This determined the decline not only in agriculture, but also in industry, and primarily in the production of fabrics.

By the end of the century, amid a progressive decline in agriculture and industry, only colonial trade, which was still monopolized by Seville... Its highest rise belongs to the last decade of the 16th century. and by the first decade of the 17th century. However, since Spanish merchants traded mainly in foreign-made goods, the gold and silver that came from America hardly lingered in Spain. Everything went to other countries in payment for goods that were supplied by Spain itself and its colonies, and also spent on the maintenance of troops. Spanish iron smelted on charcoal was supplanted in the European market by cheaper Swedish, English and Lorraine iron, in the manufacture of which coal was used. Spain began to import metal products and weapons from Italy and German cities.

Northern cities were deprived of the right to trade with the colonies; their ships were entrusted only with the protection of caravans heading to the colonies and back, which led to a decline in shipbuilding, especially after the revolt of the Netherlands and a sharp decline in trade in the Baltic Sea. The death of the "Invincible Armada" (1588), which included many ships from the northern regions, dealt a heavy blow. The population of Spain increasingly rushed to the south of the country and emigrated to the colonies.

The state of the Spanish nobility seemed to do everything in order to upset the trade and industry of their country. Colossal sums were spent on military enterprises and the army, taxes increased, the state debt grew uncontrollably.

Even under Charles V, the Spanish monarchy made large loans from foreign bankers, the Fuggers. At the end of the 16th century, more than half of the treasury expenditures were the payment of interest on the state debt. Philip II several times declared state bankruptcy, bankrupting his creditors, the government lost credit and in order to receive new amounts of debt it had to provide the Genoese, German and other bankers with the right to collect taxes from certain regions and other sources of income, which further increased the leakage of precious metals from Spain ...

The huge funds received from the robbery of the colonies were not used to create capitalist forms of economy, but went to the unproductive consumption of the feudal class. In the middle of the century, 70% of all treasury revenues fell from the metropolis and 30% came from the colonies. By 1584, the ratio had changed: income from the metropolis amounted to 30%, and from the colonies - 70%. America's gold, flowing through Spain, became the most important lever of initial accumulation in other countries (and primarily in the Netherlands) and significantly accelerated the development of the capitalist system there in the bowels of feudal society.

If the bourgeoisie not only failed to gain strength, but was completely ruined by the middle of the 17th century, then the Spanish nobility, having received new sources of income, strengthened economically and politically.

As the commercial and industrial activity of cities declined, internal exchange declined, communication between the inhabitants of different provinces weakened, and trade routes became empty. The weakening of economic ties exposed the old feudal features of each region, the medieval separatism of the cities and provinces of the country was revived.

Under the prevailing conditions in Spain, a single National language, still remained separate ethnic groups: Catalans, Galicians and Basques spoke their own languages, other than the Castilian dialect, which formed the basis of the literary Spanish. Unlike other European states, the absolute monarchy in Spain did not play a progressive role and was unable to ensure true centralization.

Foreign policy of Philip II.

The decline soon showed itself in the foreign policy of Spain. Even before accession to the Spanish throne, Philip II was married to the English queen Mary Tudor. Charles V, who arranged this marriage, dreamed not only of restoring Catholicism in England, but also, by joining the forces of Spain and England, to continue the policy of creating a worldwide Catholic monarchy. In 1558, Mary died, and Philip's marriage proposal to the new Queen Elizabeth was rejected for political reasons. England not without reason saw Spain as its most dangerous rival at sea. Taking advantage of the revolution and the war of independence in the Netherlands, England strove in every possible way to secure her interests here to the detriment of the Spanish, not stopping before open armed intervention. English corsairs and admirals plundered Spanish ships returning from America with a cargo of precious metals, and blocked the trade of the northern cities of Spain.

After the death of the last representative of the reigning dynasty of Portugal in 1581, the Portuguese Cortes proclaimed Philip II their king. Together with Portugal, the Portuguese colonies in the East and West Indies came under Spanish rule. Supported by new resources, Philip II began to support Catholic circles in England, intriguing against Queen Elizabeth and nominating instead of her to the throne a Catholic - Queen Mary Stuart of Scotland. But in 1587 the conspiracy against Elizabeth was exposed, and Mary was beheaded. England sent a squadron to Cadiz under the command of Admiral Drake, who, breaking into the port, destroyed the Spanish ships (1587). This event was the beginning of an open struggle between Spain and England. Spain began to equip a huge squadron to fight England. The "invincible armada" - as the Spanish squadron was called - sailed from A Coruña to the shores of England at the end of June 1588. This enterprise ended in disaster. The death of the "Invincible Armada" was a terrible blow to the prestige of Spain and undermined its sea power.

Failure did not prevent Spain from committing another political mistake - intervening in the civil war that was raging in France. This intervention did not lead to an increase in Spanish influence in France, nor to any other positive results for Spain. With the victory of Henry IV of Bourbon in the war, the Spanish case was finally lost.

Towards the end of his reign, Philip II had to admit that almost all of his extensive plans had collapsed, and the sea power of Spain was broken. The northern provinces of the Netherlands were detached from Spain. The state treasury was empty. The country was going through a severe economic decline.

Spain at the beginning of the 17th century

With accession to the throne Philip III (1598-1621) begins the long agony of the once mighty Spanish state. The poor and disadvantaged country was ruled by the king's favorite, the Duke of Lerma. The Madrid court amazed its contemporaries with its splendor and extravagance. Treasury revenues were declining, fewer and fewer galleons loaded with precious metals came from the American colonies, but this cargo often fell prey to British and Dutch pirates or fell into the hands of bankers and usurers who lent money to the Spanish treasury at huge interest rates.

Expulsion of the Moriscos.

In 1609 an edict was issued according to which the Moriscos were to be expelled from the country. For several days, on pain of death, they had to board ships and go to Berberia (North Africa), having with them only what they could carry in their arms. On the way to the ports, many refugees were robbed and killed. In the mountainous regions, the Moriscos put up resistance, which hastened the tragic denouement. By 1610 over 100 thousand people had been evicted from Valencia. The Moriscos of Aragon, Murcia, Andalusia and other provinces suffered the same fate. In total, about 300 thousand people were expelled. Many became victims of the Inquisition and died at the time of exile.

Another blow was dealt to Spain and its productive forces, accelerating its further economic decline.

Foreign policy of Spain in the first half of the 17th century.

Despite the poverty and desolation of the country, the Spanish monarchy retained its legacy of pretensions to play a leading role in European affairs. The collapse of all plans of conquest of Philip II did not sober up his successor. When Philip III came to the throne, the war in Europe was still ongoing. England acted in alliance with Holland against the Habsburgs. Holland defended its independence from the Spanish monarchy with arms in hand.

The Spanish governors in the Southern Netherlands did not have sufficient military forces and tried to make peace with England and Holland, but this attempt was thwarted due to the excessive claims of the Spanish side.

In 1603, Queen Elizabeth I of England died. Her successor, James I Stuart, drastically changed England's foreign policy. Spanish diplomacy succeeded in pulling the English king into the orbit of Spanish foreign policy. But that didn't help either. In the war with Holland, Spain could not achieve decisive success. The commander-in-chief of the Spanish army, the energetic and talented commander Spinola, could not achieve anything in the conditions of complete depletion of the treasury. The most tragic thing for the Spanish government was that the Dutch intercepted Spanish ships from the Azores and fought the war with Spanish funds. Spain was forced to conclude a truce with Holland for a period of 12 years.

After accession to the throne Philip IV (1621-1665) Spain was still ruled by the favorites; the only new thing was that Lerma was replaced by the energetic Count Olivares. However, he could not change anything - the forces of Spain were already exhausted. The reign of Philip IV marked the final decline in Spain's international prestige. In 1635, when France directly intervened in the course of the Thirty Years, Spanish troops suffered frequent defeats. In 1638, Richelieu decided to strike at Spain on its own territory: French troops captured Roussillon and then invaded the northern provinces of Spain.

Deposition of Portugal.

After Portugal entered the Spanish monarchy, its old liberties were left intact: Philip II tried not to irritate his new subjects. The situation turned for the worse under his successors, when Portugal became the object of the same ruthless exploitation as other possessions of the Spanish monarchy. Spain was unable to keep the Portuguese colonies, which passed into the hands of Holland. Cadiz took over the trade of Lisbon, and the Castilian tax system was introduced in Portugal. The deep discontent that was growing in wide circles of Portuguese society became evident in 1637; this first uprising was quickly suppressed. However, the idea of ​​postponing Portugal and declaring its independence did not disappear. One of the descendants of the previous dynasty was nominated as a candidate for the throne. December 1, 1640, having seized the palace in Lisbon, the conspirators arrested the Spanish governor and proclaimed king Joan IV of Braganza.

Deep economic decline of Spain at the end of the XVI-XVII centuries. led to the collapse of her political hegemony in Europe. Defeated on land and at sea, almost completely deprived of its army and navy, Spain was excluded from the ranks of the great European powers.

However, by the beginning of modern times, Spain still retained vast territorial possessions in Europe and huge colonies. She owned the Duchy of Milan, Naples, Sardinia, Sicily, and the Southern Netherlands. It also owned the Canary Islands, the Philippine Islands and the Caroline Islands and significant territories in South America.

In the middle of the 17th century. the Spanish throne remained in the hands of the Habsburgs. If at the beginning of the XVII century. the outer shell of the former powerful state was still preserved, then in the reign of K arla II (1665-1700) decay and decline swept all spheres of the Spanish state. The degradation of the Spanish monarchy was reflected in the personality of Charles II himself. He was physically and mentally underdeveloped, and never learned to write correctly. Unable to rule the state on his own, he was a plaything in the hands of his favorites - the Spanish grandees and foreign adventurers.

In the second half of the 17th century. Spain lost its independence and in international politics having become dependent on France and Austria. This was due to the dynastic ties of the Spanish court. One of the sisters of Charles II was married to Louis XIV, the second to the heir to the Austrian throne, Leopold I. The consequence of this was a fierce struggle between the Austrian and French groups at the Spanish court, all the more so because of the childlessness of Charles II, the question of the future heir to the throne was acute. In the end, the French party won, and Charles II bequeathed the throne to his nephew in the French line, who in 1700 was crowned under the name Philip V (1700-1746)... The transfer of the Spanish throne to the Bourbons caused a sharp exacerbation of the contradictions between the Austrian Empire and France, which grew into a common European the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714).

The territory of Spain became the arena of hostilities for the rival powers. The war further exacerbated the internal crisis of the Spanish state. Catalonia, Aragon and Valencia sided with the Austrian archduke, hoping with his help to preserve their ancient privileges. According to the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Philip V was recognized as king of Spain on condition that he renounced his rights to the French throne. Spain lost a significant part of its possessions in Europe: Northern Italy went to Austria, Menorca and Gibraltar to England, Sicily to Savoy.

After the Utrecht Peace Treaty, Spain was drawn into the mainstream of French politics for a long time. Throughout the XVIII century. she more than once participated on the side of France in major European wars (the war for the Austrian succession, the war for the Polish succession, the Seven Years' War). However, the Bourbons were unable to return Spain to its former position in Europe.

In the first decades of the 18th century. a long decline is gradually giving way to an upsurge in the country's economic development. This was largely facilitated by the fact that from 1713 to 1808 Spain did not wage wars on its territory. The population of the country increased significantly: from 7.5 million in 1700 to 10.4 million in 1787 and 12 million in 1808.

From the middle of the 18th century. there was a gradual restoration of Spanish industry, there was an increase in the urban population (although in general it did not even reach 10%): by the beginning of the 19th century. Madrid had 160 thousand inhabitants, Barcelona, ​​Valencia and Seville - 100 thousand each. The rest of the cities were small, no more than 10-20 thousand inhabitants. The upsurge in industry was manifested primarily in the restoration of manufactory production. The production of cotton fabrics developed especially rapidly in the most economically developed region of Catalonia. In 30 years the population of Barcelona has tripled (1759-1789). The rise of metallurgy in Asturias was noted, the number of workers employed in it almost doubled.

However, guild craft still prevailed in most cities. Its most developed centers were Galicia, Valencia and Castile. The country continued to maintain a significant economic isolation of individual provinces, the formation of the internal market proceeded extremely slowly.

In the XVIII century. Spain continued to be a backward agrarian country. Feudal relations prevailed in the village. More than half of all land in the country belonged to secular feudal lords and the church. Agrarian relations in various areas were distinguished by great originality.

In the north, in Galicia, Vizcaya and the Basque Country, the small farming of the peasant censors (eredad) prevailed. In Castile, along with this form of agrarian relations, lease was spread on the basis of ladyship and labor on the landlord's household. In the south, Andalusia was dominated by plantation farming, employing seasonal day laborers. In the XVIII century. in many districts, subsistence and labor services were replaced by cash rent. The peasant paid the monetary qualification to the seigneur, taxes to the state (including the alcabala) and banalities.

Most of the noble estates were inalienable estates. Majorities were inherited by the eldest son, could not be split up, they could not be sold and pledged. The preservation of the system of entitlements had a detrimental effect on the economic development of the country and hindered the development of capitalism. A significant part of the land was withdrawn from economic use; in Castile, where there were especially many entrances, only one-third of the land suitable for agriculture was cultivated. Great damage to agriculture was still caused by the annual movements of herds of Mestia (a privileged organization of large pastoralists-nobles). As in the 16th century, herds of merino through sown fields, vineyards, olive groves.

The social structure of the country remained archaic. As before, the dominant position belonged to the nobility, which retained numerous privileges. Unlike other European countries in Spain in the XVII-XVIII centuries. the titled nobility increased in number and strengthened its economic position. This was the result of the exploitation of the colonies, the proceeds of which went mainly into the hands of the higher nobility, accumulating in the form of treasures. The owners of the estates belonged to the higher nobility; most of them were not engaged in any economic activity. Only in the south, in Andalusia and Extremadura, did large landowners - the nobles - run an entrepreneurial economy and used hired labor. Many of them participated in the colonial trade through intermediaries.

At the other pole there was a huge mass of half-impoverished hidalgo, who had nothing but a title of nobility and "purity of blood." Many of them lived in cities, where until the middle of the century they enjoyed the privilege of holding half of the municipal posts, which were often their only source of income.

In Spain, like in no other country, the influence of the Church was great, which was the most faithful follower of the Pope and the bearer of the Catholic reaction in Europe. Until the beginning of the 19th century. the Inquisition was raging in the country. The economic positions of the church were also strong: it owned up to 1/3 of all lands, a noticeable part of the population was made up of monks and church ministers.

The third estate (95% of the population) included representatives of various strata - from poor peasants and day laborers to merchants and financiers. Its peculiarity in Spain was the low proportion of the bourgeoisie, which was associated with the long-term economic decline of the country. The wealthy people from the third estate sought to buy hidalgia (noble title) so as not to pay taxes. Having received the nobility, they, as a rule, stopped economic activity, since it was considered incompatible with hidalgia.

In the first half of the 18th century. reached the most complete development of the absolute monarchy in Spain. After the Utrecht Peace, self-government and medieval liberties of Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia were abolished. Only Navarra retained the remnants of autonomy. The main trend of this period was the centralization of the state. A reform of the executive authorities was carried out and local government, following the example of France, intendantships were created. The Cortes finally lost their real meaning, turning into a purely ceremonial organ. After 1713, they met only 3 times during the entire 18th century.

Reign time Charles III (1759-1788) went down in the history of Spain as a period of reforms of "enlightened absolutism", the purpose of which was to strengthen the absolute monarchy and expand its social base.

Spanish Enlightenment. Reforms of "enlightened absolutism".

The Pyrenees did not save Spain from the invasion of philosophy of the 18th century. However, due to the dominance of the Catholic Church and the Inquisition, the Spanish enlighteners had to completely abstract themselves from religious, philosophical, and often political issues. Therefore, the Enlightenment received the most vivid reflection in economic literature, aesthetics, historical science, art, pedagogy. The development of the ideas of the Enlightenment in Spain coincided with the coming to power in the country of the French Bourbon dynasty. In Spain, the views of Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau spread. The defense of the advanced views of the French Enlightenment was characteristic of the Spanish enlighteners. The negative side of this was an excessive admiration for everything French, a nihilistic attitude to national traditions and achievements of national culture, even to the enormous achievements of Spanish literature and art of the Renaissance.

An outstanding thinker stands at the origin of the Spanish Enlightenment Benito Feijo (1676-1764), Benedictine monk, professor at the University of Oviedo. At the beginning of the 18th century, when the influence of scholasticism was still strong in Spain, Feijo proclaimed reason and experience as the highest criteria of truth. Acting as an ardent preacher of the advanced European science of his time, he was at the same time alien to some of the weaknesses of the Spanish Enlightenment, advocated the preservation of progressive traditions in the national culture, and highly appreciated its achievements. Feijo strongly condemned class and religious prejudices, advocated universal education for the people.

Feijo was the founder of a whole trend in the Spanish Enlightenment, which can be defined as ideological. The most influential supporters of the second direction - economic - were the "ministers-educators": Campomanes, Count Aranda, Count Floridablanca. Speaking for overcoming the country's backwardness, for the spread of education, they proceeded from the fact that only an economically strong and prosperous state could solve these problems, and pinned their hopes on an "enlightened monarchy." Many of their writings and projects are written from the standpoint of physiocrats.

A special place in the Spanish Enlightenment is occupied by an outstanding scientist, writer, public and statesman G aspar Melchor de Jovellanos y Ramirez (1744-1811)... Like many of his contemporaries, he saw the key to solving the country's problems in creating a thriving economy. His most significant work was the "Report on the Agrarian Law" (1795). Written from the standpoint of physiocrats, the "Agrarian Law" was directed against large landowners' landownership, and above all against the entrants. It also contained a demand for the elimination of the privileges of Mestia, deamortization (abolition of the inalienability) of church lands, and the strengthening of small peasant farming as the most important conditions for the development of industry and trade. The implementation of these measures would create favorable conditions for the capitalist development of the country.

In his historical and philosophical concepts, Jovellanos was close to Feijo. Being an ardent defender of the progressive traditions of Spanish culture, creating his projects, he thought primarily about improving the situation of the people. We can say that Jovellanos combined in his activities the best aspects of both directions of the Spanish Enlightenment. Despite his advanced age, Jovellanos took part in the Spanish revolution of 1808-1814, entered the Central Revolutionary Government.

In the activities of the Spanish enlighteners, a significant place was occupied by the struggle for the development of public education and the establishment of secular education in the country. However, the Spanish Enlightenment was of an elitist character; it was typical for it to have a weak dissemination of its ideas among the representatives of the third estate.

In the 60-80s of the XVIII century. (under Charles III) Campomanes and his associates, occupying senior government positions, carried out a number of reforms that contributed to the revitalization of the Spanish economy, which opened up certain opportunities for the development of capitalist relations. These include the reform carried out by Campomanes and Floridablanca. It limited the primacy of land tenure, the rights of Mestia, abolished medieval restrictions on trade and introduced free trade in grain, abolished the monopolies of Seville and Cadiz on the conduct of colonial trade; colonial government reform significantly increased treasury revenues. An important measure carried out by Count Aranda was the decree on the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain and its colonies; all of their possessions were confiscated. The law of 1783 was of great importance, which declared all types of activity honorable and eliminated the prohibition of nobles to participate in trade and economic activities.

The lack of a broad social base for bourgeois transformations was the reason for the failure of many projects, and then the removal from power and the expulsion of progressive figures. Reactionary tendencies especially intensified with the beginning of the bourgeois revolution in France, which pushed the ruling circles of Spain to the right.

Spain and the French Revolution.

Entering Napoleonic troops. The Pyrenees failed to protect Spain from the influence of the French Revolution. Her ideas found a response in the advanced circles of Spanish society, and French revolutionary literature became widespread. In the south and south-west of Spain, in Catalonia, there were peasant uprisings demanding the abolition of feudal duties and unbearable taxes. Among the rebels, there were calls to follow the example of France.

The ruling classes were frightened by the revolution in neighboring France. The planned reforms were abandoned, the French border was closed. French immigrant aristocrats found shelter in Spain.

The rule of the weak-willed and limited Charles IV (1788-1808) was an unusually dark and colorless period in the history of Spain. The entire administration of the country passed into the hands of the Queen's favorite, Guards Officer Manuel Godoy. His rise to power in 1792 was associated with the events in revolutionary France - the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the republic. These events were followed by an intensification of reaction in Spain; The ministers-educators Count Aranda and Floridablanca, known for their pro-French sympathies, were removed from power.

The first years of reign Godoy (1792-1795) received in the name of "the enlightened absolutism of Godoy". At the same time, hiding behind slogans of education, the first minister intensified the struggle against the penetration of revolutionary ideas into Spain. His policies were a reaction to the successes of the French revolution. The regime he established was aimed at cutting off all ties with revolutionary France, censorship raged, strict control over universities was introduced, and a wave of repressions swept against supporters of the French Enlightenment and those who sympathized with the French revolutionaries. This course was reflected in foreign policy: in 1793 Spain joined the coalition of European powers against revolutionary France.

However, the Spanish troops were soon defeated, the French army entered the country. The counter-revolutionary coup of 9 Thermidor saved Spain from complete defeat. The Basel Peace Treaty signed in 1795 led the country to national humiliation: Spain fell under the influence of France and entered into a military alliance with her, the condition of which was entry into the war against England, and then participation in the wars waged by France during the Directory and Consulate period. These wars turned into new defeats for Spain. In 1805, after the defeat of the Franco-Spanish squadron in the battle of Trafalgar, Spain lost almost its entire fleet.

The Spanish aristocracy, a large royal family, including Crown Prince Ferdinand VII, who hated his father and Godoy, were far from understanding the depth of the crisis that the country was going through. Economic hardship increased dramatically at the beginning of the 19th century. due to a number of lean years, epidemics, natural disasters. Despite the difficult financial situation in Spain, Napoleon (in addition to military assistance) strictly demanded from her the payment of annual subsidies for the needs of the French army. Participation in the continental blockade, which deprived it of its traditional markets for agricultural products, caused enormous damage to the country's economy. The loss of the navy took a heavy toll on colonial trade and contributed to the growth of British smuggling in the American colonies of Spain.

In 1807, French troops were sent to Spain. Napoleon demanded that she sign a pact on joint military operations against Portugal, which was supported by England. For several weeks the Portuguese army was slaved, and the king of Portugal fled to Brazil with his court.

Having occupied a number of important strategic points in Spain, the French army, despite the protests of the Spanish government, was in no hurry to leave the country. This circumstance contributed to the growth of dissatisfaction with the rule of Godoy. While the presence of French troops in the country caused fear and confusion among the ruling elite, ready to compromise with Napoleon, for the masses this was a signal for action.

The beginning of the first bourgeois revolution in Spain.

On March 17, 1808, crowds of people attacked the Godoy palace in the royal country residence of Aranjuese. The hated favorite managed to escape, but Charles IV had to abdicate in favor of Ferdinand VII. Having learned about the events in Spain, Napoleon decided to use them for his own purposes. Having lured Ferdinand VII and then Charles IV by fraud into the French border town of Bayonne, Napoleon forced them to abdicate in favor of his brother Joseph Bonaparte.

By order of Napoleon, a deputation of representatives of the Spanish nobility, clergy, officials and merchants was sent to Bayonne. They formed the so-called Bayonne Cortes, which drafted the Spanish constitution. Power passed to Joseph Bonaparte, and some reforms were announced. These reforms were of a very moderate nature, although for backward Spain they were a well-known step forward: the most burdensome feudal duties were eliminated, restrictions on economic activity were removed, internal customs were destroyed, uniform legislation was introduced, public legal proceedings were abolished, and torture was abolished. At the same time, the Inquisition was not completely abolished, the proclaimed electoral rights were, in fact, a fiction. The Spaniards did not accept a constitution imposed by foreign invaders. They responded to the French intervention with an all-out guerrilla war. "... Napoleon, who - like all people of his time - considered Spain a lifeless corpse, was very unpleasantly amazed, convinced that if the Spanish state is dead, then Spanish society is full of life, and in every part of it beat over the edge of the force of resistance"

Immediately after the entry of the French into Madrid, an uprising broke out there: on May 2, 1808, the inhabitants of the city entered into an unequal battle with an army of 25,000 under the command of Marshal Murat. For more than a day there were battles on the streets of the city, the uprising was drowned in blood. After that, uprisings began in other parts of Spain: Asturias, Galicia, Catalonia. Heroic pages were added to the struggle for the country's independence by the defenders of the capital of Aragon, Zaragoza, which the French in 1808 were unable to take and were forced to lift the siege.

In July 1808, the French army was surrounded by Spanish partisans and surrendered near the city of Baylen. Joseph Bonaparte and his government were hastily evacuated from Madrid to Catalonia. The victory at Baylen was the signal for an uprising in Portugal, where British troops landed at that time. The French were forced to leave Portugal.

In November 1808, Napoleon moved his regular troops beyond the Pyrenees and himself led the invasion of a 200,000-strong French army. Moving to the capital of Spain, Napoleonic troops used the "scorched earth" tactics. But the partisan movement at this time shook the whole country. The people's war - guerrilla - was massive. The Spaniards acted in small guerrilla units, paralyzing the French regular army, which was accustomed to fighting by all the rules of the art of war. Many events of this unequal struggle have gone down in history. Among them is the heroic defense of Zaragoza, in which the entire population took part, including women and children. The second siege of the city lasted from December 1808 to February 1809. The French had to storm every house; bullets, stones flew from the rooftops, boiling water poured into them. Residents set fire to houses to close the path to the enemy. Only an epidemic helped the French to take the city, and it was completely destroyed.

But the national liberation struggle was characterized by a certain limitation: the Spaniards believed in a "good" monarch, and often on the banners of the patriots was inscribed a call for the reinstatement of King Ferdinand VII on the throne.

This also left an imprint on the bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1808-1812, which was initiated by the partisan war against Napoleon.

In the course of the unfolding war against the invaders, local authorities arose - provincial juntas. They put into practice some revolutionary measures without prior arrangement: taxes on large property, contributions from monasteries and clergy, restriction of the feudal rights of lords, etc.

There was no unity in the liberation movement. Along with the "liberals" who put forward the demands of bourgeois transformations, there was a group of "Fernandists" who were supporters of the preservation of the feudal-absolutist order after the expulsion of the French and the return to the throne of Ferdinand VII.

In September 1808, as a result of the revolution, a new government of the country was created - the Central Junta, which consisted of 35 people. They were representatives upper strata society - aristocracy, clergy, high officials and officers. Until recently, many of them were ready to come to terms with the rule of Joseph Bonaparte, but as the revolutionary movement of the masses grew, and especially after the defeat of the French at Baylen, they hastened to join the liberation movement against Napoleon.

The activities of the Central Junta reflected the contradictions that existed in the patriotic camp.

Its right wing was headed by the eighty-year-old Earl of Floridablanca, known for his reformist activities at the end of the 18th century. Being in the past a supporter of liberal reforms, he subsequently "straightened" significantly. Having risen at the head of the Central junta, he strove to limit the struggle to the war with the French, to prevent anti-feudal transformations. Acting as a defender of absolute monarchy, Floridablanca focused its activities primarily on the suppression of revolutionary uprisings of the masses.

The second, more radical trend was headed by the outstanding Spanish educator Gaspar Melchor Hovelianos, who put forward a program of bourgeois transformations, including agrarian ones.

To solve the problems facing the country, the Central Junta had to "... combine the solution of pressing issues and tasks of national defense with the transformation of Spanish society and with the emancipation of the national spirit ..."

In fact, the leadership of the Central Junta directed all its energy to tear the liberation movement away from the revolution. Precisely because the Central Junta was unable to fulfill its revolutionary mission, it was unable to defend the country from the French occupation.

Napoleon's army captured most of Spain, including Seville, where the Central Junta sat, which was forced to move to Cadiz, the last city not occupied by the French. However, the invaders failed to extinguish the flame guerrilla warfare... Relatively small but numerous detachments of peasants maintained close ties with the population; they were distinguished by great mobility, made bold forays, quickly moved to new areas, sometimes breaking up into small groups, then reuniting. In 1809-1810. this tactic prevailed and allowed the guerrilla guerrillas to keep entire provinces occupied by the French under their control.

Constitution of 1812

In September 1810, new unicameral cortes were convened in the city of Cadiz. The overwhelming majority of the members of the Cortes were priests, lawyers, high officials and officers. They included many figures and progressive intelligentsia who contributed to the development of the constitution adopted in 1812. It is important to note that the constitution was based on the principles of popular sovereignty and separation of powers. The monarch's prerogatives were limited to unicameral cortes, which were convened on the basis of a fairly broad electoral right. Men from 25 years old took part in the voting, with the exception of domestic servants and persons deprived of their rights by the court.

The Cortes belonged to the highest legislative power in the country. The king retained only the right of a suspensive veto: if a bill was rejected by the monarch, it was returned to the Cortes for discussion and, if confirmed at two subsequent sessions, finally entered into force. The king nevertheless retained considerable power: he appointed senior government officials and senior officers, declared war with the approval of the Cortes, and made peace. Following the constitution, the Cortes adopted a number of anti-feudal and anti-church decrees: feudal duties were abolished and feudal forms of lease were abolished, church tithes and other payments in favor of the church were abolished, and a sale of part of church, monastic and royal estates was announced. At the same time, communal property was liquidated and the sale of communal lands began.

A number of measures taken by the Cortes were aimed at accelerating the development of capitalism in the country. The slave trade was banned, restrictions on economic activity were abolished, and a progressive income tax on capital was introduced.

At the time of the adoption of the constitution of 1812, the situation of the French occupation forces in the country became more complicated. In connection with the beginning of Napoleon's campaign of conquest in Russia in 1812, a significant part of the army in Spain was sent there. Taking advantage of this, the Spanish troops in 1812 inflicted a series of crushing defeats on the French, and they were forced to first withdraw their troops across the Ebro River, and then, in November 1813, completely leave the territory of Spain.

However, Napoleon made another attempt to keep the country in his hands. He entered into negotiations with Ferdinand VII, who was in captivity in France, and invited him to return to Spain and restore his rights to the throne. Ferdinand VII accepted this offer, pledging to maintain friendly relations with France. However, the Cortes gathered in Madrid refused to recognize Ferdinand as king until he swore allegiance to the constitution of 1812.

A struggle began between the Cortes and Ferdinand VII, who, returning to Spain, gathered around him supporters of the restoration of absolutism. Taking on the role of head of state, Ferdinand issued a manifesto declaring the constitution of 1812 invalid and all the decrees of the Cortes annulled. The Cortes were dissolved, and the liberal ministers who were part of the government they created were arrested. In May 1814 Ferdinand VII arrived in Madrid and announced the final restoration of the absolute monarchy.

The first Spanish revolution was unfinished. After the return to the country of Ferdinand VII in Spain, the absolute monarchy was restored, followed by reprisals against active participants in the revolution, the Inquisition was completely restored again, the monastic, church and large secular land property was returned to the former owners.

Bourgeois revolution in Spain 1820-1823

Preconditions for the revolution.

The restoration of the old order in 1814 exacerbated the socio-economic and political contradictions within Spanish society. The development of the capitalist system required the implementation of bourgeois transformations.

In the first decades of the XIX century. the number of cotton, silk, cloth, iron-making factories increased. Catalonia became the largest manufacturing center. In Barcelona, ​​there were companies that employed up to 600-800 people. Workers employed in factories worked both in the master's workshops and at home. Manufacturing took root in the countryside as well: in Catalonia and Valencia, many landless peasants worked as laborers in summer and worked in cloth factories in winter.

Colonial trade played an important role in the Spanish economy. The interests of merchants and shipowners of Cadiz, Barcelona and other port cities were inextricably linked with it. Colonies in Latin America served as a sales market for the Spanish textile industry.

The development of capitalist relations in industry faced a number of obstacles. Internal customs duties, alcabala (medieval tax on trade transactions), state monopolies remained in Spain; numerous workshops continued to exist in the cities.

Feudal relations prevailed in the Spanish countryside. More than 2/3 of the cultivated land was in the hands of the nobility and the church. The system of entitlements guaranteed the preservation of the monopoly of the feudal lords on land. Numerous feudal duties, taxes and church tithes were a heavy burden on peasant farms. Holders paid land dues in cash or in kind; the feudal lords continued to enjoy banal rights and other seignorial privileges. About half of the Spanish villages were under the jurisdiction of secular lords and the church.

The rise in prices for bread and other products in the 18th century. helped to draw the nobility into internal and colonial trade. In the northern regions of Spain, where various forms of feudal tenure and semi-feudal lease were widespread, this process led to an increase in the onslaught of the lords on the peasants. The nobles tried to increase the existing duties and introduce new ones, to shorten the terms of holding, which led to the gradual transformation of holders into tenants. Cases of seizure of communal lands by seniors have become more frequent. The situation was different in Andalusia, Extremadura, New Castile - areas of large noble land tenure. Here, the involvement of the nobles in trade caused a reduction in the traditional small-peasant lease and the expansion of the seigneurs' own economy, based on the use of the labor of farm laborers and land-poor peasants. The penetration of capitalist relations into agriculture accelerated the stratification of the countryside: the number of landless and landless peasants increased, and a wealthy peasant elite stood out.

The wealthy merchants and entrepreneurs, wishing to consolidate their position, acquired allotments of ruined peasants and communal lands. Many bourgeois took on feudal duties and church tithes at the mercy. The growth of bourgeois landownership and the introduction of the bourgeoisie into the exploitation of the peasantry brought the upper strata of the bourgeoisie closer to that part of the nobility that was most closely associated with trade. Therefore, the Spanish bourgeoisie, objectively interested in the elimination of feudalism, at the same time gravitated towards a compromise with the nobility.

The feudal-absolutist order, restored in 1814, aroused sharp discontent among wide circles of the bourgeoisie, the liberal nobility, the military, and the intelligentsia. The economic weakness of the Spanish bourgeoisie, its lack of experience in political struggle led to the fact that a special role in the revolutionary movement in the first decades of the 19th century. the army began to play. The active participation of the military in the struggle against the French invaders, the interaction of the army with partisan detachments contributed to its democratization and the penetration of liberal ideas into it. Patriotic officers began to realize the need for profound changes in the life of the country. The advanced part of the army came out with demands that reflected the political interests of the bourgeoisie.

In 1814-1819. in the army and in many large cities - Cadiz, A Coruña, Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Granada - secret societies of the Masonic type arose. The conspirators - officers, lawyers, traders, entrepreneurs - set themselves the goal of preparing the pronunciamiento - a coup d'état by the army - and establishing a constitutional monarchy. In 1814-1819. there have been several attempts at similar performances. The largest of them took place in September 1815 in Galicia, where about a thousand soldiers took part in the uprising under the leadership of X. Diaz Porlier, a hero of the anti-Napoleonic war. Absolutism cruelly dealt with the organizers of the uprising, officers and merchants of A Coruña. However, repression could not end the revolutionary movement.

The beginning of the revolution. The impetus for the beginning of the second bourgeois revolution in Spain was the war for the independence of the Spanish colonies in Latin America. This difficult and unsuccessful war for Spain led to the final discrediting of absolutism and the growth of liberal opposition. The training center for the new pronunciamiento was Cadiz, in the vicinity of which troops were stationed, intended to be sent to Latin America.

On January 1, 1820, an uprising in the army began near Cadiz, led by Lieutenant Colonel Rafael Riego. Soon the troops under the command of A. Quiroga joined the Riego detachment. The goal of the rebels was to restore the constitution of 1812.

The revolutionary troops tried to take Cadiz, but this attempt ended in failure. Seeking to enlist the support of the population, Riego insisted on a raid across Andalusia. Riego's detachment was on the heels of the Royalist troops; by the end of the raid, only 20 people remained from the two thousandth detachment. But the news of the uprising and campaign of Riego shook the whole country. In late February - early March 1820, riots began in the largest cities of Spain.

On March 6-7, people took to the streets of Madrid. Under these conditions, Ferdinand VII was forced to announce the restoration of the constitution of 1812, the convocation of the Cortes, the abolition of the Inquisition. The king appointed a new government consisting of moderate liberals - "moderados".

The outbreak of the revolution drew wide circles of the urban population into political life. In the spring of 1820, numerous "Patriotic Societies" were created everywhere, supporting bourgeois reforms. Entrepreneurs and merchants, intellectuals, military men, and artisans took part in the activities of the Patriotic Societies, which eventually turned into political clubs. In total, during the years of the revolution, there were more than 250 "Patriotic Societies", which played an important role in the political struggle. At the same time, detachments of the national militia were formed in the cities, which took upon themselves the struggle against counter-revolutionary forces. The troops that raised the uprising in the south of the country in January 1820 became part of the so-called observation army, called upon to defend the gains of the revolution; it was headed by R. Riego.

The predominant influence in the "observation army", in the national militia and in the "Patriotic Societies" was enjoyed by the left wing of the liberals - the "enthusiastic" ("exaltados"). Among the leaders of the "Exaltados" were many participants in the heroic uprising in January 1820 - R. Riego, A. Quiroga, E. San Miguel. The Exaltados demanded a decisive struggle against the supporters of absolutism and the consistent implementation of the principles of the 1812 constitution, the expansion of the activities of the Patriotic Societies, and the strengthening of the national militia. In 1820-1822. The Exaltados enjoyed the support of a wide range of urban populations.

The revolution found a response in the countryside as well. The Cortes received complaints from the lords against the peasants who had stopped paying their duties; in some areas, peasants refused to pay taxes. In the fall of 1820, in the province of Avila, peasants tried to divide the lands of the Duke of Medinaceli, one of the largest Spanish fe-

odalov. The unrest in the countryside brought the agrarian question to the forefront of the political struggle.

Bourgeois transformations 1820-1821

The moderate liberals who came to power in March 1820 relied on the support of the liberal nobility and the top of the bourgeoisie. Moderados won the elections to the Cortes, which opened in Madrid in June 1820.

The social and economic policy of "moderados" favored the development of industry and trade: the guild system was abolished, internal customs duties, monopolies on salt and tobacco were abolished, and freedom of trade was proclaimed. In the fall of 1820, the Cortes decided to liquidate religious orders and close part of the monasteries. Their property became the property of the state and was subject to sale. Priorities were abolished - henceforth the nobles could freely dispose of their land property. Many impoverished hidalgo began to sell their land. Agrarian legislation "moderados" created the possibility of redistributing land ownership in favor of the bourgeoisie.

The solution to the issue of feudal duties turned out to be more difficult. Moderados sought a compromise with the nobility; at the same time, unrest in the countryside forced the bourgeois revolutionaries to meet the demands of the peasants. In June 1821, the Cortes passed a law abolishing seigneurial rights. The law abolished the juridical and administrative power of the lords, banalities and other lord privileges. Land duties were retained if the lord could documentarily prove that the land cultivated by the peasants was his private property. However, Ferdinand VII, around whom the forces of feudal reaction rallied, refused to approve a law abolishing seigniorial rights, using the suspensive veto granted to the king by the constitution of 1812.

Fearing to come into conflict with the nobility, the "moderados" did not dare to violate the royal veto. The law on the abolition of senior rights remained on paper.

"Moderados" sought to prevent the deepening of the revolution and therefore opposed the intervention of the popular masses in the political struggle. Already in August 1820, the government disbanded the "observation army", in October it restricted the freedom of speech, press and assembly. These measures led to the weakening of the revolutionary camp, which played into the hands of the royalists. In the years 1820-1821. they organized numerous conspiracies to restore absolutism.

Exaltados coming to power.

The popular masses' dissatisfaction with the government's policy and its indecision in the fight against counter-revolution led to the discrediting of the "moderados". The influence of the "exaltados", on the contrary, has increased. The people pinned their hopes on them for the continuation of revolutionary transformations. At the end of 1820, a radical wing, called the Komuneros, separated from the Exaltados. The participants in this movement considered themselves to be the successors of the struggle that they waged against the strengthening of the royal power of the "comuneros" of the 16th century.

The mainstay of the Komuneros movement was the urban lower classes. Sharply criticizing the moderate liberals, the "komuneros" demanded that the state apparatus be cleansed of adherents of absolutism, and that democratic freedoms and the "army of observation" be restored.

But the movement of the urban lower classes during the years of the second bourgeois revolution was characterized by serious weaknesses. First, among the "komuneros" monarchist illusions persisted, despite the fact that the king and his entourage were a stronghold of the reactionary forces. Secondly, the Komuneros movement was cut off from the peasantry, who constituted the majority of the country's population. Although one of the leaders of the "Comuneros" - Romero Alpuente spoke in the Cortes demanding the elimination of all the servants of the peasants, this movement as a whole did not fight in defense of the interests of the peasants.

At the beginning of 1822, the Exaltados won the elections to the Cortes. R. Riego was elected chairman of the Cortes. In June 1822, the Cortes passed a law on wastelands and royal lands: half of this land was supposed to be sold, and the other - to be distributed between anti-Napoleonic war veterans and landless peasants. In this way, the "exaltados" tried to alleviate the position of the most disadvantaged part of the peasants, without violating the fundamental interests of the nobility.

The shift to the left in the country's political life provoked fierce resistance from the royalists. In late June - early July 1822, clashes broke out in Madrid between the royal guard and the national militia. On the night of July 6-7, the guards tried to seize the capital, but the national militia, with the support of the population, defeated the counter-revolutionaries. The moderados government, seeking reconciliation with the royalists, was forced to resign.

In August 1822, the Exaltados government came to power, headed by E. San Miguel. The new government took a more active part in the struggle against the counter-revolution. At the end of 1822, the troops of General Mina - the legendary leader of the anti-Napoleonic guerrilla - defeated the counter-revolutionary gangs created by the royalists in the mountainous regions of Catalonia. While suppressing counterrevolutionary actions, the "exaltados" at the same time did nothing to deepen the revolution. E. San Miguel's government actually continued the agrarian policy of moderate liberals. Liberal nobility and the top of the bourgeoisie in 1820-1821 achieved their goals and were not interested in the further development of the revolution. The absence of radical socio-economic and political transformations has deprived the "exaltados" of the support of the popular masses; the "Comuneros" movement began to oppose the government.

Counter-revolutionary intervention and restoration of absolutism. Events 1820-1822 showed that Spanish reaction could not independently suppress the revolutionary movement. Therefore, the Verona Congress of the Holy Alliance, which met in October 1822, decided to organize an intervention. In April 1823, French troops crossed the Spanish border. The disillusionment of the peasant masses in the policies of the liberal governments, the rapid increase in taxes, as well as the counter-revolutionary agitation of the clergy led to the fact that the peasants did not rise up to fight the interventionists.

In May 1823, when a significant part of the country was already in the hands of the interventionists, the "Exaltados" decided to enter into force a law abolishing seigniorial rights. However, this belated step could no longer change the attitude of the peasants to the bourgeois revolution. The government and the Cortes were forced to leave Madrid and move to Seville and then to Cadiz. Despite the heroic resistance of the army of General Mina in Catalonia and the troops of Riego in Andalusia, in September 1823 almost all of Spain was at the mercy of the counter-revolutionary forces.

On October 1, 1823, Ferdinand VII signed a decree repealing all laws passed by the Cortes in 1820-1823. In Spain, absolutism was re-established, the lands taken from her were returned to the church. The government began to persecute the participants in the revolution. In November 1823 R. Riego was executed. The camarilla's hatred of the revolutionary movement reached the point that in 1830 the king ordered the closure of all universities, seeing them as a source of liberal ideas.

The attempts of Spanish absolutism to restore its power in Latin America were in vain. By early 1826, Spain had lost all colonies in Latin America, with the exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico.

The bourgeois revolution of 1820-1823 was defeated. The bourgeois transformations of the liberals revived the feudal reaction against them both in Spain itself and abroad. At the same time, the agrarian policy of the liberals alienated the peasants from the bourgeois revolution. Deprived of support from the masses, the bloc of the liberal nobility and the top of the bourgeoisie could not repel the onslaught of the feudal-absolutist forces.

Nevertheless, the revolution of 1820-1823. shook the foundations of the old order, preparing the ground for the further development of the revolutionary movement. The events of the Spanish Revolution had a great influence on the revolutionary processes in Portugal, Naples and Piedmont.

The victory of the feudal-absolutist forces in 1823 turned out to be fragile. The reactionary regime of Ferdinand VII could not stop the progressive development of capitalism. The industrial revolution that began in the 1930s and 1940s exacerbated the contradictions between the needs for the development of capitalist relations and the preservation of the “old order”. The loss of most of the colonies in Latin America hit the interests of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie. The Spanish bourgeoisie, having lost its colonial markets, began to fight more actively against feudal vestiges that hindered the development of entrepreneurship and trade in Spain itself.

In 1823-1833. in Spain, secret societies reappear, aiming at the overthrow of absolutism. Repeated attempts to accomplish this task ended in failure due to the weak connection of the conspirators with the population. And yet, despite the constant persecution of the liberals, the influence of the opponents of absolutism among the bourgeoisie continued to grow.

At the same time, in the second half of the 1920s, the forces of extreme reaction intensified in Spain. They accused Ferdinand VII of "weakness", demanded to increase the terror against the liberals and strengthen the position of the church. The most reactionary part of the nobility and clergy rallied around Ferdinand VII's brother, Carlos.

Third bourgeois revolution (1834- 1843)

Ferdinand VII died in 1833. His young daughter was proclaimed heir Isabel Regent - Queen Dowager Maria Christina... Simultaneously with the claim to the Spanish throne, Carlos made. His supporters (they began to be called Carlists) unleashed a civil war at the end of 1833. At first, the Carlists managed to win over to their side a part of the rural population of the Basque Country, Navarre, Catalonia, using the religiosity of the peasants, as well as their dissatisfaction with the strengthening of centralism and the elimination of the old local liberties - "fueros". The words "God and fueros!" Became the motto of the Carlists. Maria Cristina was forced to seek support among the liberal nobility and the bourgeoisie. Thus, the dynastic conflict turned into an open struggle between the feudal reaction and the liberals.

In January 1834, a government of moderate liberals - "moderados" was formed. Spain entered the period of the third bourgeois revolution (1834- 1843) .

Bourgeois transformations and political struggle in 1834-1840. Having come to power, the "moderados" embarked on reforms that would meet the interests of the top bourgeoisie and the liberal nobility. The government canceled workshops and declared free trade. Considering the constitution of 1812 too radical, the "moderados" developed the "Royal Statute" in 1834. In Spain, bicameral Cortes were created, which had only deliberative functions. A high property qualification was established for voters: of the 12 million population of Spain, 16 thousand people received the right to vote.

The limited nature of the measures of the liberal government and its indecision in the fight against karlism aroused sharp discontent among the petty bourgeoisie and the urban lower classes. By the middle of 1835, unrest seized the largest cities - Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Zaragoza; in the south of the country, power passed into the hands of the revolutionary juntas, which demanded the restoration of the constitution of 1812, the destruction of monasteries, and the defeat of karlism.

The scale of the revolutionary movement forced the "moderados" in September 1835 to give way to the left liberals, who later came to be called "progressives" (the "progressists" replaced the "exaltados" on the left flank of the liberal movement). In 1835-1837. "Progressist" governments have carried out important socio-economic transformations. The central place among them was occupied by the solution of the agrarian question. "Progressives" abolished the entitlements, destroyed the church tithe. Church lands were confiscated and their sale started; lands were sold at auction, most of them passed into the hands of the bourgeoisie and the bourgeois nobility. The bourgeois who bought the noble and church lands increased the rent, and often drove the peasants from the land, replacing them with large tenants. The growth of big bourgeois landownership strengthened the alliance between the bourgeoisie and the liberal nobility and pitted the bourgeoisie against the peasants. "Progressives" also passed a law that abolished seigniorial privileges, banalities and personal obligations. Land obligations persisted and were viewed as a kind of rent; this led to the gradual loss of ownership rights by the peasants and the transformation of the former owners into tenants, and the former lords into sovereign owners of the land. The agrarian policy of the third bourgeois revolution, which generally met the interests of large landowners, gave impetus to the development of capitalist relations in agriculture in Spain along the "Prussian" path.

In August 1836, the garrison of the royal estate of La Granja revolted, the soldiers forced Maria Cristina to sign a decree restoring the constitution of 1812.However, the bourgeoisie and the liberal nobility feared that the introduction of universal suffrage and the limitation of royal power in an atmosphere of revolutionary upsurge could turn against the ruling bloc ... Therefore, already in 1837, the liberals developed a new constitution, more conservative than the constitution of 1812. The property qualification allowed only 2.2% of the country's population to participate in elections. The Constitution of 1837 was a compromise between "moderados" and "progressives", who united in the struggle against the movement of the popular masses, on the one hand, and against karlism, on the other.

In the mid-30s, karlism posed a formidable danger. Carlist troops made deep raids across Spain. However, by the end of 1837, a turning point occurred in the war, due to the internal crisis of karlism. Karlism found no supporters in the cities; among the peasants of the Basque Country, Catalonia and Navarre, who initially supported the applicant, there was growing disillusionment with carlism and the desire to end the war. In the summer of 1839, part of the Carlist troops laid down their arms; by the middle of 1840, the last Carlist detachments had been defeated.

The end of the Carlist War meant the defeat of the feudal-absolutist reaction.

The dictatorship of Espartero.

With the end of the Carlist War, the threat of the restoration of the old order was removed, which led to an exacerbation of the contradictions between the "moderados" and "progressives". Their confrontation resulted in a protracted political crisis, which ended in October 1840 with the abdication of Maria Christina. Power passed into the hands of one of the leaders of the "progressives" - General B. Espartero, who in 1841 was proclaimed regent. In 1840-1841. Espartero enjoyed the support of the masses, who saw in him a hero of the war against carlism, a defender and continuer of the revolution. But Espartero did not carry out radical socio-economic and political transformations, his policies alienated the peasants and the urban masses from him. The preparation of a trade treaty with England, which opened Spanish markets to English textiles, led to a conflict between the industrial bourgeoisie and the government. Finally, the prohibition of the Barcelona textile workers' association deprived the Espartero dictatorship of the support of artisans and workers.

By the beginning of 1843, a bloc of heterogeneous political forces had formed, striving to end the rule of Espartero. In the summer of 1843, the Espartero dictatorship was overthrown, and by the end of 1843, power in the country again passed into the hands of the "moderados".

Results of the third bourgeois revolution.

The third bourgeois revolution in Spain, in contrast to the first two, which suffered defeat, ended with a compromise between the old landowning aristocracy and the bloc of the liberal nobility and the top of the bourgeoisie. Majorities, seigneurial rights of the nobility, guilds, abolished during the third bourgeois revolution, were not restored. At the same time, the church lands that had not yet been sold were returned to the church. A compromise was also reached in the political sphere: a relative balance was established between the "absolutists", who enjoyed the patronage of the royal power, and the "moderados". In 1845, a new constitution came into force, drawn up in the form of amendments to the constitution of 1837 (the property qualification was increased, the powers of the Cortes were curtailed, and the rights of royal power were increased).

In general, by the middle of the XIX century. great changes have taken place in Spanish society. Three bourgeois revolutions eliminated some of the feudal vestiges and created opportunities (albeit limited) for the development of capitalist relations in industry and agriculture. At the same time, a number of tasks of the bourgeois revolution were not solved, which paved the way for subsequent bourgeois revolutions.

Fourth bourgeois revolution (1854-1856).

Economic development of Spain 50s - early 70s of the XIX century.

In the middle of the XIX century. in Spain, the industrial revolution unfolded, which began in the 30s. The first industry to switch to machine production was the cotton industry in Catalonia. By the beginning of the 60s, hand spinning wheels were completely replaced from production. In the 1930s, the first steam machines were installed in the textile factories of Barcelona. Following the cotton industry, machines began to be used in the production of silk and woolen fabrics.

In the middle of the XIX century. the restructuring of ferrous metallurgy began: the process of puddling was introduced, the use of coal and coke expanded. The reconstruction of metallurgy led to the rapid development of this industry in Asturias, which had large deposits of coal, and in the Basque Country, rich in iron ore. The production of coal, iron ore and non-ferrous metals grew rapidly, and foreign capital began to play an important role in this. In 1848, the first in Spain railway line Barcelona - Mataro was opened. By the end of the 60s, railways connected Madrid with major cities countries, their length was about 5 thousand km.

However, the beginning of the industrial revolution did not eliminate Spain's lag behind the advanced capitalist countries. Most of the machinery and equipment for Spanish industry was imported from abroad. Foreign capital dominated railway construction and played a large role in the mining industry. The country was dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises. Spain's industrial backwardness was primarily due to the persistence of feudal remnants in agriculture, which hindered the development of the internal market. Industry also suffered from a lack of capital, since under the conditions of Spain, the bourgeoisie preferred to invest it in the purchase of church lands sold during the revolutions, in government loans.

The transition to factory production was accompanied by the ruin of artisans, increased unemployment, worsening working and living conditions for workers. The working day of Asturian metallurgists, for example, reached 12-14 hours. The formation of the industrial proletariat gave impetus to the development of the labor movement. In the early 1940s, Catalan workers went on a series of strikes demanding higher wages. Despite the persecution by the authorities, the first professional organizations of workers arose, and "mutual aid funds" were created. Various socialist ideas (Fourier, Cabet, Proudhon) spread among workers and artisans.

Population growth (from the end of the 18th century to 1860, the population of Spain increased by about one and a half times, reaching 15.6 million people) and the development of cities increased the demand for agricultural products. The sown area expanded, the gross harvest of grain, grapes and olives increased. The emergence of railways contributed to the growth of agricultural marketability and the development of its specialization. At the same time, the new agricultural technology was introduced in Spain very slowly, which was due to the socio-economic relations in the Spanish countryside.

The third bourgeois revolution not only did not solve the problem of latifundism and peasant land shortages, but, on the contrary, aggravated it. In the southern and central regions of the country, small peasant rentals were supplanted by the large landowners' own farms, based on the use of day laborers. In Catalonia, Galicia, Asturias, Old Castile, the process of gradual transformation of peasant-holders into tenants continued. The restructuring of agriculture in a capitalist way proceeded slowly and was accompanied by landlessness and impoverishment of the peasant masses, the transformation of peasants into farm laborers with allotments and disenfranchised tenants.

The further development of capitalism, which took place under conditions of incomplete bourgeois transformations, exacerbated all social contradictions in the early 1950s. The industrial revolution led to the ruin of the mass of artisans, lower wages of workers, intensification of the labor of factory workers, and an increase in the number of unemployed. General outrage was caused by the increase in taxes. The growth of capitalism strengthened the economic positions of the bourgeoisie, which no longer met the conditions of a compromise established as a result of the third bourgeois revolution. In bourgeois circles, there was growing dissatisfaction with corruption and the budget deficit, which threatened the payment of interest on government loans; alarming was the revival of the reaction, which was hatching plans to restore the entitlements, revise the constitution of 1845. In these conditions, not only the "progressives", the largest opposition force in 1843-1854, opposed the government, but also the "moderados". The army again came to the fore in political life.

The beginning of the revolution.

In June 1854, a group of opposition-minded generals led by O "Donnel, called for the overthrow of the government. In an effort to enlist the support of the population, the military demanded the removal of the camarilla, strict observance of the laws, lower taxes, the creation of a national militia. An uprising in the army gave impetus to the revolutionary movement in the cities. In July 1854 popular uprisings broke out in Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Malaga, Valencia, artisans and workers took an active part in them. Revolutionary juntas, led by "progressives", arose on the ground. pressure from popular protests at the end of July, a government was formed headed by the leader of the "progressives" - Espartero, the post of Minister of War was taken by O "Donnel, representing the" moderados ".

The development of the revolution, the activities of the Espartero government - O "Donnelly

In an attempt to cut the budget deficit, the government decided to confiscate and sell church lands. Lands that were in the hands of peasant communities were also confiscated and put on sale. Almost all of the sold land passed into the hands of the bourgeoisie, officials, the bourgeois nobility, which further strengthened the alliance between the nobles and the top of the bourgeoisie. The sale of communal lands, begun in 1855, continued until late XIX v. It caused enormous damage to peasant farms, depriving them of pastures and forest land, and accelerated the process of stratification of the peasantry. The massive ruin of the peasants provided the latifundia with cheap labor, which were being rebuilt in a capitalist manner. The agrarian policy of the fourth bourgeois revolution aroused sharp discontent in the countryside. In the summer of 1856, a peasant movement developed in Old Castile, which was brutally suppressed.

The Espartero-O'Donnel government reestablished the national militia and convened the Cortes. In 1855-1856, laws were passed encouraging railroad construction, the creation of new businesses and banks. Government policies encouraged the growth of entrepreneurial initiative and the attraction of foreign capital.

During the revolution, the workers' movement intensified. Its center was Catalonia, the largest industrial region in the country. In the middle of 1854, a working organization called the Union of Classes was created in Barcelona (classes meant workers of various professions), which aimed to fight for higher wages and shorter working hours. Under her leadership, a number of strikes were held, the workers achieved an increase in wages.

At the beginning of 1855, the factory owners went on the offensive: massive lockouts began. In the spring of 1855, the authorities on false accusations brought to trial the leader of the labor movement, H. Barcelo; he was executed. On July 2, 1855, workers from several factories went on strike in the vicinity of Barcelona; by July 5, all businesses in Barcelona and its industrial belt had stopped. The strikers sought the right to form associations, establish a 10-hour working day, and improve working conditions. Faced with a general strike in Barcelona, ​​the government resorted to carrot and stick tactics: troops were brought into the workers 'quarters of Barcelona on July 9, while Espartero promised to allow all workers' organizations and limit the working day of children and adolescents. After the strike ended, the government broke its promises.

The defeat of the fourth revolution, the results.

As the workers 'and peasants' movement developed, the big bourgeoisie and the liberal nobility moved into the camp of the counter-revolution. The suppression of the revolutionary struggle was undertaken by the Minister of War O "Donnel. On July 14, 1856, he provoked the resignation of Espartero and dismissed the Cortes. This step caused an outburst of indignation in Madrid: workers, artisans, small traders raised an uprising. At first it was supported by the bourgeois For three days, the people waged an armed struggle against the army. The uprising was suppressed on July 16. After defeating the revolutionary forces, the O'Donnel government suspended the sale of church lands and disbanded the national militia.

Revolution of 1854-1856 ended with a new compromise between the nobility and the big bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie was able to increase its land holdings by robbing the peasant community. The deterioration of the situation of the peasants led to the growth of peasant uprisings. The largest of these was the uprising that broke out in Andalusia in June 1861, led by the Republicans. About 10 thousand armed peasants tried to seize and divide the estates of the latifundists. The government ruthlessly suppressed peasant revolts.

The compromise between the nobility and the big bourgeoisie was reflected in political life as well. The 1845 constitution was retained. After the revolution of 1854-1856. two blocs arose: the Conservatives and the Liberal Union. The Conservatives, led by General Narvaes, represented the interests of the large noble landowners. The liberal alliance relied on the support of the bourgeois nobility and the top of the bourgeoisie; its leader was General O "Donnel. In 1856-1868 the government of O" Donnel was in power three times and the government of Narvaez replaced it three times.

Fifth bourgeois revolution (1868-1874)

The progressive development of capitalism increased the economic influence of the bourgeoisie, which more and more resolutely claimed political power. By the end of 1867 - beginning of 1868, a bloc of bourgeois parties had formed, which included the Liberal Union, "progressives", and republican groups. The leaders of the bloc staked on a military coup.

In September 1868 a squadron revolted in Cadiz. The organizers of the pronunciamiento promised to convene constituent cortes and introduce universal suffrage. The uprising in Cadiz caused a wide response: in Madrid and Barcelona, ​​the people took over the arsenals; the creation of detachments of "freedom volunteers" began everywhere. Queen Isabella fled Spain.

The new government included representatives of the "progressives" and the Liberal Union, power passed into the hands of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie and the bourgeois nobility. Under pressure from the popular masses, the government restored universal suffrage and bourgeois democratic freedoms. In the late 60s - early 70s, the government implemented measures to stimulate the development of trade and industry. The financial system was streamlined, a new customs tariff was adopted, and the concession of Spain's mining resources began. The authorities confiscated the remaining church property and began to sell it off.

The elections to the Constituent Cortes, held in January 1869, were won by the monarchist parties - the "Progressists" and the Liberal Union. At the same time, 70 out of 320 seats were won by Republicans. By June 1869, the drafting of a new constitution was completed. Spain was proclaimed a constitutional monarchy, a bicameral parliament was formed on the basis of universal suffrage for men. The 1869 Constitution enshrined the basic bourgeois-democratic freedoms, including the freedom of conscience.

The preservation of the monarchy was opposed by broad circles of the petty and middle bourgeoisie, the intelligentsia, and the workers. In the summer and autumn of 1869, massive republican demonstrations took place in large cities. In Catalonia, Valencia and Aragon, the movement reached such proportions that the government could suppress it only with the help of the army. After defeating the Republicans, the Progressives and the Liberal Union began their search for a king for Spain. After a long struggle, in which the governments of several European countries joined, at the end of 1870 the son of the Italian king was proclaimed king of Spain - Amadeo of Savoy.

The dynastic complications were used by the most reactionary part of the nobility and clergy, who again rallied around the Carlist pretender. The Basque Country and Navarre became the backbone of karlism, the population of which connected hopes for the restoration of the old local liberties - "fueros" with karlism. In 1872, the Carlists unleashed a civil war in the north of the country.

First republic in Spain.

By the beginning of 1873, the position of the ruling bloc had become extremely unstable. Despite the repression, the republican movement expanded, the influence of the sections of the First International grew. The north of the country was engulfed in the Carlist War. The deepening political crisis forced King Amadeo to abdicate. Under the pressure of the masses of the Cortes 11 February 1873 proclaimed Spain a republic.

In June 1873, a prominent figure in the republican movement, a supporter of the ideas of petty-bourgeois utopian socialism, stood at the head of the government. Francisco Pi y Margal... The Pi-i-Margal government planned to carry out a number of democratic reforms, including changing the conditions for the sale of church land in favor of the peasants, abolishing slavery in the colonies, and limiting the working day of children and adolescents. The Cortes drafted a republican federalist constitution that provided extensive self-government to all areas of Spain. The reforms proposed by Pi y Margall represented a program for the deepening of the bourgeois-democratic revolution; the implementation of this program would lead to an improvement in the situation of the working people.

However, the projects developed by Pi-i-Margal were not implemented due to the aggravation of contradictions within the republican camp. The group of "irreconcilable", relying on the middle and small provincial bourgeoisie, demanded the immediate division of the country into many small autonomous cantons. In July 1873, the "irreconcilable", using the revolutionary sentiments of the masses, raised uprisings in the cities of Andalusia and Valencia. The Bakunists, seeing in the struggle against the government of Pi-i-Mar-gall the way to the destruction of the state, supported the "irreconcilable". Thus, they drew part of the proletariat into a movement alien to the interests of the workers. By mid-July 1873 the southern regions of Spain were in the hands of the "irreconcilable"; in the north, meanwhile, the Carlist war continued.

The uprisings raised by the "irreconcilable" and Bakuninists forced the government of Pi-i-Margal to resign. The moderate bourgeois republicans who replaced him suppressed the uprisings in the south of the country and brutally dealt with both the "irreconcilable" and the workers' movement.

The Spanish bourgeoisie, frightened by the sweep of the revolutionary movement, went over to counter-revolutionary positions. The army became the strike force of the counter-revolution. On January 3, 1874, the military, having dispersed the Cortes, carried out a coup d'etat. The new government began preparations for the restoration of the monarchy. In December 1874, Isabella's son was proclaimed king - Alphonse XII. Thus ended the fifth bourgeois revolution. In 1876, the Carlist War ended with the defeat of the Carlists.

Results of the bourgeois revolutions of 1808-1874

The cycle of bourgeois revolutions that shook Spain in 1808-1874 destroyed many feudal remnants that stood in the way of the development of capitalism. The close connection of the bourgeoisie with large landownership, its fear of the peasant movement led to the absence of an alliance between the bourgeoisie and the peasantry; this prompted bourgeois revolutionaries to seek support in the army. In the XIX century. the Spanish army, together with the noble-bourgeois bloc, fought against feudalism and at the same time suppressed the movement of the masses, striving to deepen the bourgeois revolution.

Revolution of the XIX century abolished the entitlements, senior jurisdiction, but they not only did not destroy the large noble land tenure, but, on the contrary, strengthened it. The peasant-holders were deprived of the ownership rights to their land, the owners of which were recognized as the former lords. All this created the preconditions for the development of capitalism in agriculture along the "Prussian" path. This path (with the preservation of feudal remnants in the countryside until the 30s of the XX century) led to the slow pace of economic development, massive impoverishment and ruin of peasant farms and the cruel exploitation of farm laborers and land-poor peasants by large landowners.

The preservation of the noble land tenure led to the fact that the leading role in the political life of the country after five bourgeois revolutions continued to be played by the large landowners - the nobles. The commercial and industrial bourgeoisie did not achieve full political power and acted in the political arena only as a junior partner of the nobility. Thus, the bourgeois revolution in Spain remained incomplete.

In Spanish historiography, a peculiar idea of ​​the Spanish Middle Ages has developed. Since the time of the Italian humanists of the Renaissance, the tradition has been established to count the invasions of the barbarians and the fall of Rome in 410 AD. the starting point of the transition from the ancient era to the Middle Ages, and the Middle Ages itself was seen as a gradual approach to the Renaissance (15-16 centuries), when interest in the culture of the ancient world reawakened. When studying the history of Spain, particular importance was attached not only to the crusades against Muslims (Reconquista), which lasted for several centuries, but also the very fact of the long coexistence of Christianity, Islam and Judaism on the Iberian Peninsula. Thus, the Middle Ages in this region begin with the moment of the Muslim invasion in 711 and end with the capture by Christians of the last stronghold of Islam, the Emirate of Granada, the expulsion of Jews from Spain and the discovery of the New World by Columbus in 1492 (when all these events took place).

Visigothic period.

After the Visigoth invasion of Italy in 410, the Romans used them to restore order in Spain. In 468, their king Eirich settled his followers in northern Spain. In 475, he even promulgated the earliest written code of laws (Eirich's code) in the states formed by the Germanic tribes. In 477, the Roman emperor Zeno officially recognized the transfer of all Spain to the rule of Eirich. The Visigoths adopted Arianism, which was denounced as heresy at the Council of Nicaea in 325, and created a caste of aristocrats. Their cruel treatment of the local population, mainly Catholics in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, caused the intervention of the Byzantine troops of the Eastern Roman Empire, which remained in the southeastern regions of Spain until the 7th century.

King Athanagild (reigned 554–567) made Toledo the capital and conquered Seville from the Byzantines. His successor, Leovigild (568–586), occupied Cordoba in 572, reformed the laws in favor of the Catholics of the south and tried to replace the elective monarchy of the Visigoths with a hereditary one. King Recared (586-601) announced his renunciation of Arianism and conversion to Catholicism and convened a council at which he persuaded the Arian bishops to follow his example and recognize Catholicism as the state religion. After his death, there was an Arian reaction, but with the accession to the throne of Sisebut (612-621), Catholicism regained the status of a state religion.

Svintila (621-631), the first Visigothic king to rule all of Spain, was enthroned by Bishop Isidore of Seville. Under him, the city of Toledo became the seat of the Catholic Church. Rekeswint (653–672), around 654, promulgated the famous Liber Judicorum code of laws. This outstanding document of the Visigothic period overturned the existing legal distinctions between the Visigoths and local peoples. After the death of Reckeswint, the struggle between the pretenders to the throne intensified under the conditions of an elective monarchy. At the same time, the power of the king was noticeably weakened, and continuous palace conspiracies and revolts did not stop until the collapse of the Visigothic state in 711.

Arab domination and the beginning of the Reconquista.

The victory of the Arabs at the Battle of the Guadalete River in southern Spain on July 19, 711 and the death of the last Visigoth king, Roderich, two years later at the Battle of Segouela, sealed the fate of the Visigothic kingdom. The Arabs began to call the lands they had seized Al-Andaluz. Until 756, they were ruled by a governor who was formally subordinate to the Damascus caliph. In the same year, Abdarrahman I founded an independent emirate, and in 929 Abdarrahman III assumed the title of caliph. This caliphate, centered in Cordoba, existed until the beginning of the 11th century. After 1031, the Cordoba Caliphate disintegrated into many small states (emirates).

To a certain extent, the unity of the Caliphate has always been illusory. The vast distances and difficulties of communication were compounded by racial and tribal conflicts. Extremely hostile relations developed between the politically dominant Arab minority and the Berbers, who constituted the majority of the Muslim population. This antagonism was further exacerbated by the fact that the best lands went to the Arabs. The situation was aggravated by the presence of layers of Muladi and Mozarabs - the local population, to one degree or another, experienced Muslim influence.

Muslims actually failed to establish dominance in the far north of the Iberian Peninsula. In 718, a detachment of Christian warriors led by the legendary Visigothic leader Pelayo defeated the Muslim army in the mountain valley of Covadonga. Gradually advancing towards the Duero River, the Christians occupied free lands that the Muslims did not claim. At that time, the border region of Castile was formed (territoriumcastelle - in translation "land of castles"); it is pertinent to note that even at the end of the 8th century. Muslim chroniclers called it Al-Qila (castles). On the early stages Christian political formations of two types arose in the reconquest, differing in geographic location. The core of the western type was the kingdom of Asturias, which, after the transfer of the court to Leon in the 10th century. became known as the Kingdom of Leon. The County of Castile became an independent kingdom in 1035. Two years later, Castile united with the Kingdom of Leon and thus acquired a leading political role, and with it the priority rights to lands conquered from Muslims.

In the more eastern regions, there were Christian states - the kingdom of Navarre, the county of Aragon, which became a kingdom in 1035, and various counties associated with the kingdom of the Franks. Initially, some of these counties were the embodiment of the Catalan ethno-linguistic community, the central place among them was the County of Barcelona. Then there was the County of Catalonia, which had access to the Mediterranean Sea and was engaged in a lively maritime trade, in particular in slaves. In 1137 Catalonia joined the kingdom of Aragon. This is a state in the 13th century. In 1085 Alfonso VI, king of León and Castile, seized Toledo, and the border with the Muslim world moved from the Duero to the Tajo. In 1094, the Castilian national hero Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, known as Cid, entered Valencia. However, these major achievements were not so much the result of the zeal of the crusaders as the result of the weakness and disunity of the rulers of the taif (emirates on the territory of the Cordoba Caliphate). During the Reconquista, it happened that Christians united with Muslim rulers or, having received a large bribe from the latter (parias), were hired to protect them from the crusaders.

In this sense, the fate of Sid is indicative. He was born approx. 1040 in Bivar (near Burgos). In 1079, King Alphonse VI sent him to Seville to collect tribute from the Muslim ruler. However, shortly thereafter, he did not get along with Alphonse and was expelled. In eastern Spain, he embarked on the path of an adventurer, and it was then that he received the name Sid (derived from the Arabic "seid", that is, "lord"). Sid served such Muslim rulers as the emir of Saragossa al-Moktadir, and the rulers of Christian states. From 1094, Sid began to rule Valencia. He died in 1099. Castilian epic Song of my Side, written ca. 1140, dates back to earlier oral traditions and reliably conveys many historical events. The song is not a chronicle of the Crusades. Although Sid fights with Muslims, in this epic villains are not depicted at all, but the Christian princes of Carrion, courtiers of Alfonso VI, while Sid's Muslim friend and ally, Abengalvon, surpasses them in nobility.

Completion of the Reconquista.

Muslim emirs were faced with a choice: either to constantly pay tribute to Christians, or to turn to co-religionists in North Africa for help. In the end, the emir of Seville al-Mutamid turned to the Almoravids for help, who created a powerful state in North Africa. Alfonso VI managed to hold onto Toledo, but his army was defeated at Salak (1086); and in 1102, three years after Sid's death, Valencia fell.

The Almoravids removed the typhus rulers from power and at first were able to unite Al-Andaluz. But their power weakened in the 1140s, and by the end of the 12th century. they were ousted by the Almohads - the Moors from the Moroccan Atlas. After the Almohads suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the Christians at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), their power was shaken.

By this time, the mentality of the crusaders was formed, as evidenced by life path Alphonse I the Warrior, who ruled Aragon and Navarre from 1102 to 1134. During his reign, when memories of the first crusade were still fresh, most of the Ebro valley was conquered from the Moors, and the French crusaders invaded Spain and took such important cities like Zaragoza (1118), Tarazona (1110) and Calatayud (1120). Although Alphonse was never able to fulfill his dream of a march to Jerusalem, he lived to see the time when the spiritual knightly order of the Templars was established in Aragon, and soon the orders of Alcantara, Calatrava and Santiago began their activities in other parts of Spain. These powerful orders rendered great assistance in the fight against the Almohads, holding strategically important points and establishing economy in a number of border areas. Christians made significant progress and undermined the political power of Muslims in almost the entire Iberian Peninsula. King of Aragon Jaime I (reigned 1213-1276) conquered the Balearic Islands, and in 1238 Valencia. In 1236, the king of Castile and Leon Ferdinand III took Cordoba, Murcia surrendered to the Castilians in 1243, and in 1247 Ferdinand captured Seville. Only the Muslim Emirate of Granada, which existed until 1492, retained its independence. The Reconquista owed its successes not only to the military actions of Christians. An important role was also played by the willingness of Christians to negotiate with Muslims and grant them the right to live in Christian states, preserving their faith, language and customs. For example, in Valencia, the northern territories were almost completely cleared of Muslims, the central and southern regions, except for the city of Valencia itself, were inhabited mainly by Mudejars (Muslims who were allowed to stay). But in Andalusia, after a major Muslim uprising in 1264, the policy of the Castilians completely changed, and almost all Muslims were evicted.

Late Middle Ages

In the 14-15 centuries. Spain was torn apart by internal conflicts and civil wars. From 1350 to 1389, there was a long struggle for power in the kingdom of Castile. It began with the confrontation between Pedro the Cruel (reigned from 1350 to 1369) and an alliance of nobles led by his illegitimate half-brother Enrique of Trastamar. Both sides sought to find foreign support, in particular from France and England, which were embroiled in the Hundred Years War.

In 1365, Enrique of Trastamar, expelled from the country, with the support of French and English mercenaries, captured Castile and the next year proclaimed himself King Enrique II. Pedro fled to Bayonne (France) and, having received help from the British, reclaimed the country by defeating Enrique's troops in the battle of Najera (1367). After that, the French king Charles V helped Enrique regain the throne. Pedro's troops were defeated on the plains of Montel in 1369, and he himself died in single combat with his half-brother.

But the threat to the existence of the Trastamar dynasty did not disappear. In 1371, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, married Pedro's eldest daughter and claimed the Castilian throne. Portugal was involved in the dispute. The heiress to the throne married Juan I of Castile (reigned 1379-1390). Juan's subsequent invasion of Portugal ended in a humiliating defeat at the Battle of Aljubarrota (1385). The campaign against Castile undertaken by Lancaster in 1386 was unsuccessful. Later, the Castilians bought off his claims to the throne, and both sides agreed to a marriage between Catarina of Lancaster, daughter of Gaunt, and the son of Juan I, the future Castilian king Enrique III (reigned 1390-1406).

After the death of Enrique III, the throne was succeeded by the minor son Juan II, but in 1406-1412 the state was actually ruled by Ferdinand, the younger brother of Enrique III, who was appointed co-regent. In addition, Ferdinand managed to defend his rights to the throne in Aragon after the death of the childless Martin I there in 1395; he ruled there in 1412-1416, constantly interfering in the affairs of Castile and pursuing the interests of his family. His son Alphonse V of Aragon (reigned 1416-1458), who also inherited the Sicilian throne, was primarily interested in affairs in Italy. The second son Juan II was absorbed in affairs in Castile, although in 1425 he became king of Navarre, and after the death of his brother in 1458 he inherited the throne in Sicily and Aragon. The third son, Enrique, became Master of the Order of Santiago.

In Castile, these "princes of Aragon" were opposed by lvaro de Luna, the influential favorite of Juan II. The Aragonese party was defeated in the decisive battle of Olmedo in 1445, but Luna himself fell out of favor and was executed in 1453. The reign of the next Castilian king, Enrique IV (1454-1474), led to anarchy. Enrique, who had no children from his first marriage, divorced and entered into a second marriage. For six years, the queen remained sterile, as the rumor accused her husband, who received the nickname "Powerless". When the queen had a daughter, named Juana, in common people and rumors spread among the nobility that her father was not Enrique, but his favorite Beltran de la Cueva. Therefore, Juana received the contemptuous nickname "Beltraneja" (the offspring of Beltran). Under pressure from the opposition-minded nobility, the king signed a declaration in which he recognized his brother Alphonse as heir to the throne, but declared this declaration invalid. Then representatives of the nobility gathered in Avila (1465), deposed Enrique and proclaimed Alfonso king. Many cities sided with Enrique, and a civil war began, which continued after the sudden death of Alphonse in 1468. As a condition for ending the rebellion, the nobility demanded that Enrique appoint his half-sister Isabella as heir to the throne. Enrique agreed to this. In 1469 Isabella married the Infanta of Aragon Fernando (who will go down in history as the Spanish king Ferdinand). After the death of Enrique IV in 1474, Isabella was declared queen of Castile, and Ferdinand, after the death of his father Juan II in 1479, took the throne of Aragon. So the unification of the largest kingdoms of Spain took place. In 1492 the last stronghold of the Moors on the Iberian Peninsula fell - the Emirate of Granada. In the same year, Columbus, with the support of Isabella, made his first expedition to the New World. In 1512, the kingdom of Navarre was included in Castile.

The Mediterranean acquisitions of Aragon had important consequences for the whole of Spain. First, the Balearic Islands, Corsica and Sardinia came under the control of Aragon, then Sicily. During the reign of Alfonso V (1416-1458), southern Italy was conquered. To govern the newly acquired lands, kings appointed governors or procuradores. Back at the end of the 14th century. such governors (or viceroys) appeared in Sardinia, Sicily and Mallorca. A similar management structure was reproduced in Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia due to the fact that Alphonse V was absent from Italy for a long time.

The power of monarchs and royal officials was limited to the Cortes (parliaments). Unlike Castile, where the Cortes were relatively weak, in Aragon, in order to make decisions on all important bills and financial issues, it was necessary to obtain the consent of the Cortes. Between meetings of the Cortes, the royal officials were supervised by standing committees. To supervise the activities of the Cortes at the end of the 13th century. city ​​delegations were created. In 1359, a General Deputation was formed in Catalonia, whose main powers were to collect taxes and spend money. Similar institutions were created in Aragon (1412) and Valencia (1419).

The Cortes, being by no means democratic bodies, represented and defended the interests of the wealthy strata of the population in cities and rural areas. If in Castile the Cortes were an obedient instrument of absolute monarchy, especially during the reign of Juan II, then in the kingdom of Aragon and Catalonia, which was part of it, a different concept of power was implemented. She proceeded from the fact that political power is initially established by free people by concluding an agreement between the powers that be with the people, which stipulates the rights and obligations of both parties. Accordingly, any violation of the agreement by the royal authority is considered a manifestation of tyranny.

Such an agreement between the monarchy and the peasantry existed during the uprisings of the so-called. Remens (serfs) in the 15th century. Demonstrations in Catalonia were directed against the tightening of duties and enslavement of the peasants, especially intensified in the middle of the 15th century. and became the reason for the civil war of 1462-1472 between the Catalan General Deputation, which supported the landowners, and the monarchy, which stood up for the peasants. In 1455, Alphonse V abolished some feudal duties, but only after the next rise of the peasant movement, Ferdinand V in 1486 signed the so-called. "Guadalupe maxim" on the abolition of serfdom, including the most serious feudal obligations.

The situation of the Jews. In the 12-13 centuries. Christians were tolerant of Jewish and Islamic culture. But by the end of the 13th century. and throughout the 14th century. their peaceful coexistence was disrupted. The growing tide of anti-Semitism peaked with the massacre of Jews in 1391.

Although in the 13th century. Jews constituted less than 2% of the population of Spain, they played an important role in the material and spiritual life of society. Nevertheless, the Jews lived separately from the Christian population, in their own communities with synagogues and kosher shops. Segregation was facilitated by the Christian authorities, who ordered the allocation of special quarters to Jews in cities - alhama. For example, in the city of Jerez de la Frontera, the Jewish quarter was separated by a wall with a gate.

Jewish communities were given considerable autonomy in managing their own affairs. Among the Jews, as well as among the Christian townspeople, wealthy families gradually emerged, gaining great influence. Despite political, social and economic constraints, Jewish scholars have made a great contribution to the development of Spanish society and culture. Thanks to their excellent knowledge of foreign languages, they carried out diplomatic assignments of both Christians and Muslims. Jews played a key role in the dissemination of the achievements of Greek and Arab scholars in Spain and other Western European countries.

Nevertheless, in the late 14th - early 15th centuries. Jews were severely persecuted. Many were forcibly converted to Christianity, becoming converso. However, the converso often remained in urban Jewish communities and continued to pursue traditional Jewish activities. The situation was complicated by the fact that many converso, having grown rich, penetrated into the environment of the oligarchies of cities such as Burgos, Toledo, Seville and Cordoba, and also occupied important posts in the royal administration.

In 1478, the Spanish Inquisition was established, led by Thomas de Torquemada. First of all, she drew attention to Jews and Muslims who adopted the Christian faith. They were tortured to obtain a "confession" of heresy, after which they were usually executed by burning. In 1492 all unbaptized Jews were expelled from Spain: almost 200 thousand people emigrated to North Africa, Turkey, and the Balkans. Most Muslims, under threat of exile, converted to Christianity.

During the next Visigothic palace coup, one of the conspirators' groups turned to their African neighbors for help (711), help came immediately making colossal changes in world history. The Moorish Arab-Berber corps under the command of Tariq ibn Ziyad, later called the Moors, having safely crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, put an end to the three hundred year rule of the Visigoths. Under the onslaught of the Arabs, who, without much bloodshed, occupied province after province, advancing deeper and deeper into the Iberian Peninsula.

By the middle of the eighth century, most of modern Spain and Portugal had come under the control of the Damascus Caliphate. The newly created Arab state was named Al Andalus, it was ruled by the governor of Damascus until 756, until Abdurrahman I proclaimed it a separate caliphate with a capital.

The era of Arab rule over the Spanish territories cannot be called unambiguously aggressive. During the existence of the Moorish state, the cultural development of medieval Spain, divided by two different religions, proceeded in different ways. Its northern part, which remained under the control of the Visigoths, developed according to the European scenario, while the southern one occupied by the Arabs received a significant impetus for development from the influence of advanced eastern science, trade, crafts, and architecture.

The Moorish style of architectural structures can still be traced in the appearance of the ancient urban areas of the southern provinces. Muslims were tolerant of representatives of other religious concessions without provoking interethnic enmity, thus preserving state order. In a short time, the Roman irrigation systems destroyed by the barbarians were recreated, quality education was developed again, trade flourished, science and crafts developed.

The greatest prosperity of the Cordoba caliphate was observed during the reign of Abdurrahman III, who proclaimed himself the caliph of the new caliphate (923), opposing himself to the Damascus caliphate, its rulers, the Abbasid dynasty. The state had 12,000 settlements with the largest cities, Toledo, the capital had more than half a million inhabitants. The University of Cordoba was the finest educational institution in the then known world, with a library of 400,000 handwritten scrolls.

The time of the disintegration of the Cordoba Caliphate, the beginning of the 11th century, was marked by the reign of Hishame II, the son of the great Abdurahman III, who turned out to be a weak ruler unable, after the death of the vizier Mansur, who actually ruled the country, to independently maintain autocracy. The Caliphate disintegrated, power was divided between many small kingdoms - typhoons.

The first victory of the Moors on the Guadalete River, now the territory of the modern province, Andalusia, on July 19, 711, then two years later, the death of the last Visigoth king Roderich, sealed the fate of the Visigoth kingdom.

However, the very rapid advance of the Moors, the rapid conquest of almost all of Spain, the difficulties of communication between the troops created by huge territories, internecine conflicts, political disagreements between the Arab minority and the Berbers, all these factors significantly weakened the degree of Muslim influence in the occupied lands. In fact, the unity of the Caliphate has always been only the desired illusion of its rulers.

In essence, a reconquista is an ongoing 700 - year struggle, begun by the Visigoths with their African invaders, the beginning of which is considered the first serious defeat suffered by the Arab troops in 718 from the Christian army under the leadership of the Visigothic commander Pelayo, in the Covadonga valley in northern Spain. Thus, Christians gradually occupied lands that Muslims could not adequately defend, as a result, the warring parties, by the end of the VIII century, formed the border region - Castilla.

The initial period of the 10th century reconquest can be geographically designated by two centers of the liberation struggle; western from the kingdom of Leon, eastern kingdoms of Navarre and Aragon. Two years later, thanks to the unification of the two kingdoms of Quistilla and Leon, a powerful western stronghold of confrontation was formed at the same time as a major political force, and the united kingdom received the priority right to annex the lands conquered from the Moors. Towards the end of the tenth century, the troops of Castilla, led by King Alfonso VI, captured Toledo, moving the border with the Caliphate to the rivers Duero and Tajo.

According to a similar scenario, military events developed from the eastern part of Christian Spain, the result of the unification of the kingdoms of Navarre, Aragon, the counties of the Catalan ethno-linguistic community was the formation of the County of Catalonia, which by the end of the XIII century freed vast territories that now belong to modern Murcia, as well as the Balearic Islands, from Arab rule.

Such major victories were due not only to the art of weapons of the crusaders, but also to the frequent consequence of disorganization, disunity, and weakness of small Muslim typhoons.
It should be noted that very often Christian mercenaries, for various reasons, more often simply for a decent reward directed their weapons against the crusaders who were bringing death to Muslims.
One of these mercenaries was the national hero of Spain, sung by the folk epic, Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, better known as Sid, from the Arabic "seid" - a lord, the crown of his career was the post of ruler of Valencia in 1094.

Unwilling to pay tribute to Christians, the Arab emirs asked for help from the Almoravids, who created a powerful North African state (the modern kingdom of Morocco). Thus, a second wave of Muslims swept the Iberian Peninsula. The Almoravids removed the former rulers from typhoid rule, restoring unified power in the entire state of Al Andalus, significantly pushing back the crusaders in the northeast, capturing Valencia. However, after a severe defeat from the Christian army at Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), their power was seriously weakened.

The Catholic Church also waged a powerful ideological war against Islam, strengthening the mentality of the crusaders, for example, the first spiritual knightly order of the Templars was established by the king of Aragon, then such orders as Alcantara, Calatrava, Santiago began their activity in other regions of Spain. These powerful spiritual organizations rendered great assistance in the fight against the Almohads, holding strategically important points, improving everyday life, raising the economy of the recently conquered border areas.

The XIII century put the final point of the end of Muslim rule on the territory of the Iberian Peninsula, cities such as Taragona (1110), Zaragoza (1118), Calatayud (1120), Valencia (1238), Cordoba (1238), (1247) were liberated. There was only one invincible city, the last stronghold of the Muslims - which was left under the continuous onslaught of King Ferdinand II of Castile (January 1492). The result of long negotiations was an agreement according to which the troops of Emir Mohammed XII leaving the city were granted an unhindered retreat to the shores of North Africa.

For most of the former Muslim possessions, the indigenous Spanish population was loyal to the Arabs, not preventing them from staying to live in their former places, preserving their faith, only in the Muslim uprising of 1264, which resulted in a massive expulsion of the Arab population, was brutally suppressed.

By the end of the reconquest, real political power in the country was divided between the kingdoms of Castilla and Aragon. Both kingdoms were raging with internecine conflicts.

The middle of the fourteenth century was marked by a confrontation between Pedro the Cruel and his half-brother Enrique of Trastamara. The British were then waging a century-long war with the French. Pedro the Cruel ruled the kingdom of Castilla (1350 - 1369), until the exiled Enrique, with the support of the French king Charles V, seized power by proclaiming himself King Enrique II (1369), defeating Pedro's army on the plains of Montel. However, the conspiracies did not stop there, the Duke of Lancaster, having married the eldest daughter Pedro, made claims to the Castilian throne.

After the death of Enrique, until the age of majority of Crown Prince Juan II, the country was actually ruled by his younger brother, Ferdinand. Aragon, led by his king Alfonso V, expanded his influence over the Mediterranean, going further after the seizure of the Bolear Islands, conquered Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, then took possession of significant lands in southern Italy (1416-1458).

As the territories increased, the kings of both states had to change the management system by creating supervisory bodies over the numerous governors, the number of which was constantly increasing. The power of monarchs and royal officials was limited to the Cortes (parliaments). To oversee the activities of the Cortes, city delegations were additionally created.

The Cortes, being by no means democratic bodies, represented the interests of the wealthy strata of the population. If the Cortes of Castilla were the obedient instrument of the monarch, especially during the reign of Juan II, then Aragon and Catalonia adhered to a different concept of power. She proceeded from the fact that political power was initially established by free people by concluding an agreement between the powers that be with the people, which limited the rights and obligations of both parties. Accordingly, any violation of the agreement by the royal authority was considered a manifestation of tyranny (1412-1419).

The reign of the next Castilian king, Enrique IV the Powerless (1454–1474), created anarchy. Under pressure from the opposition-minded nobility, he signed a declaration, which he recognized as king of his brother Alphonse (1465). However, many cities supported Enrique, a civil war began, which continued after the sudden death of Alphonse (1468). As a condition for ending the rebellion, the nobility put forward a demand from Enrique to appoint his half-sister Isabella as the heir to the throne. Enrique agreed, Isabella married the Infanta of Aragon, Fernando (1469) (hereinafter known as the Spanish king Ferdinand).

After the death of Enrique IV (1474), Isabella was declared queen of Castile, and Ferdinand, after the death of his father Juan II (1479), took the throne of Aragon. This is how the two largest kingdoms united, creating a state.

The protests of the peasants of Catalonia were directed against the tightening of land taxes, especially intensified by the middle of the 15th century, becoming the reason for a new civil war (1462 - 1472) between the Catalan parliamentary elite who supported the landowners and the monarchy that stood up for the peasants. Alphonse V abolished some feudal obligations (1455), and after another peasant revolt, Ferdinand V signed (1486) the so-called "Guadalupe maxim", effectively abolishing serfdom, as well as many feudal obligations.

The “Catholic kings” Ferdinand and Isabella, under the influence of the clergy, approved an ecclesiastical court - the Inquisition (1478), designed to protect the purity of the Catholic faith. The persecution of Jews, Muslims, and later Protestants began. Anyone could be declared a heretic. Hundreds of thousands of people suspected of heresy went through torture and ended their lives at the stake. They also persecuted the Marisks or Maranos - Christians, previously converted descendants of the Moors, converted Jews. A lot of Jews migrated from Spain to the territory of the Netherlands, then belonging to the Spanish kingdom.

The management of the highest offices became entirely the privilege of the king; the higher clergy were also subordinate to the monarch; Ferdinand was elected Grand Master of the three orders of knighthood, making them an effective tool of the crown; the inquisition helped the government control the nobility while effectively ruling the people. The administration was reorganized, royal revenues were increased, part of them went to encourage the development of sciences, to maintain the arts.

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Iberian Peninsula in the XIV-XV centuries. In the middle of the XIII century. The reconquista stopped for a long time. The Mauritanian possessions - the Emirate of Granada - sought to maintain peace with their northern neighbors, especially after 1340, when, at the Battle of Salado, Christian forces defeated Granada and its North African allies. This battle ended the Berber military aid to al-Andalus. The borders between Castile and Aragon were constantly changing during the internecine wars. Throughout the entire period, Aragon carried out a systematic expansion in the Mediterranean: he subdued the Balearic Islands (at the end of the 13th - first half of the 14th century there was an independent state - the Kingdom of Mallorca), established itself in Sicily (1282) and in the Kingdom of Naples (1442), conquered the island Sardinia. Castile, at the beginning of the 15th century. annexed the Canary Islands, and Portugal in 1415 seized the city of Ceuta in North Africa and began its colonial expansion in the Atlantic. After the marriage of the heirs of the Castilian and Aragonese thrones - the Infanta Isabella and Prince Ferdinand - in 1479 the unification of these kingdoms took place. Navarre, which did not play a significant role on the peninsula, at the end of the 15th century. was divided between Aragon and France. In 1492, the troops of Castile and Aragon took Granada and thus completed the Reconquista. Thus, by the end of the century, both the reconquest and the unification of the territory of Spain into a single state ended.

Socio-economic development. From the middle of the XIII century. in the economies of Spain and Portugal, crisis phenomena are increasing, associated with the solution of the main tasks of the Reconquista. The Christian conquest caused a massive outflow of the Mauritanian population to Granada and North Africa; often Muslims were expelled from the country by order of the royal power. This could not but undermine the highly developed agriculture of Andalusia, the craft of large cities. Extremely unfavorable consequences for the peninsula, as well as for the rest of Europe, had a plague epidemic in the middle of the 14th century, which in some areas (for example, in Catalonia) carried away more than half of the population. The social conditions for the development of the peasant economy and handicraft production worsened. The weakening of the colonization process allowed the feudal lords of the northern regions of the peninsula to toughen the exploitation of the peasantry. This was especially evident in Catalonia and Aragon. At the end of the XIII - the first half of the XIV century, when the process of liquidation of the servage was going on in neighboring France, here, on the contrary, the legislative registration of personal dependence took place. Remens (such a collective name was borne by the Catalan serfs) had to pay specific servile duties, which was designated as "bad customs"; they were subject to the court of the lord, who was even entitled to death sentences; the ability of the peasant to leave the feudal lord was severely limited. Unfavorable changes also occurred in the situation of the peasants of the Kingdom of Castile. In Asturias, Galicia, Leon, the duties of the solariegos increased, the rights of the begetria were curtailed; in the central and southern regions of the peninsula, the rates of in-kind and monetary land payments are sharply increasing. The commercial sheep breeding of large lords, churches and orders began to pose a serious threat to the peasant economy. At the beginning of the XIV century. in Spain, a breed of long-haired merino sheep was bred, whose wool was in wide demand in Italy, England and Flanders. This contributed to an increase in the share of cattle breeding in the country's economy, the advance of feudal lords to communal lands in order to expand pastures. The massive export of raw materials abroad led to its rise in price in domestic markets, to the weakening of the position of the local textile craft. Somewhat different conditions developed in Portugal, where grain farming was successfully developing around port cities specializing in the export of agricultural products. At the same time, the property differentiation of the peasantry increased, the number of land-poor holders who lived on feudal hiring increased, and wages to hired workers in Portugal (as well as in Spain) were limited by law.

The attack on the rights of the peasants, naturally, met with their resistance. In the XV century. there are a number of uprisings in Galicia and Old Castile. The peasant movement reached its greatest scope in the second half of the 15th century. in the Balearic Islands (uprisings in 1450 and 1463) and in Catalonia. Already in the 50s of the XV century. the Catalan Remens demanded the right to redeem themselves from personal dependence, and from 1462 they rose to an armed struggle, but the troops of the Cortes easily dispersed the peasant detachments. In 1482, the peasants revolted again under the leadership of Pedro de la Sala. The success of the uprising was favored by the acute political struggle between the king and the rebellious nobility. The scope of the movement forced the ruling class to make concessions. In 1486, "bad customs" were abolished and the redemption of remens was allowed for a fairly high price.

The dominant class and the internal political struggle. In the XIV-XV centuries. in Castile and Portugal, the opportunity for wealthy peasants and townspeople to acquire nobility has largely disappeared. Even earlier, at the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries, the groups of rural and urban caballeros were eroded as special class groups; their impoverished part becomes part of the small peasantry and underprivileged townspeople, and the top joins the ranks of the hidalgos and breaks with production activities. From that time on, both legislation and class morality considered labor (especially in craft and trade) incompatible with a noble status. At the same time, the hidalgos continued to live not only in the village, but also in the city, forming an influential part of its population, controlling municipal institutions. Another characteristic feature of this period is the strengthening of the isolation of the upper layer of the feudal class - the aristocracy (ricosombres, grandees). This was facilitated by the introduction to Castile at the end of the 13th century. entitlement, that is, the indivisibility of the estates of noble lords during inheritance, as well as deliberately created restrictions on the acquisition of a title for hidalgos. Finally, at the end of the XIII-XV centuries. the struggle within the ruling class is noticeably sharpening. The suspension of the Reconquista led to a decrease in the income of the nobility; acute discontent of both feudal lords and cities was caused by the centralizing aspirations of kings; various groups of the nobility vied for political influence, for the right to appropriate crown lands and income. All this created fertile ground for an acute and protracted internecine struggle in all Christian states of the Iberian Peninsula. XIV-XV centuries were a time of real feudal anarchy, when the royal power, only balancing between the warring "unias", "brotherhoods" and "leagues" of grandees with the help of bribery and terror, could maintain control over the situation. The unification of Castile and Aragon made it possible to somewhat stabilize the situation in Spain. The complexity of the alignment of political forces within the country, the presence of numerous militant nobility are among the reasons that prompted the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs in the 15th-16th centuries. encourage external expansion, in particular colonial conquests.

Church and heresies. The role of the Catholic Church in medieval Spain was especially great, because the Reconquista went under the slogans of the struggle of Christianity against Islam. The Church not only waged the preaching of the religious war, but also directly participated in it. Many bishops had their own armed formations, personally participated in battles and campaigns; a great role in the Reconquista was played by the spiritual and knightly orders. The church also exerted a significant influence on the policy of royal power: the head (primate) of the Spanish church, Archbishop of Toledo, other prominent prelates (archbishops of Santiago, Cartagena, Barcelona) were influential members of the royal councils, chancellors of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon.

The Church in Spain made great efforts to convert Muslims to Christianity in the conquered territories. Religious intolerance became especially noticeable in the 14th-15th centuries. The forcibly baptized Moors (Moriscos) often secretly performed the rituals of Islam. The Mosarabian Christian Church, which existed in al-Andalus, developed some of its rites and peculiarities in the interpretation of Scripture, which were not recognized by the papacy and clergy of Castile and Aragon. All this gave rise to the strengthening in the 15th century. the fight against heresies and the establishment in 1481 of a special church tribunal - the Inquisition. In 1483, the Spanish Inquisition was led by Torquemada, who, with the support of Ferdinand and Isabella (called the Catholic kings), carried out massive persecution of the Moors, Moriscos and heretics.