A History of Spain Part 18

[Sidenote: Vicissitudes of commerce.]

The same royal solicitude appeared, to a.s.sist and to r.e.t.a.r.d commerce.

Interior customs lines were to some extent done away with, notably on the frontier of Castile and Aragon proper. Shipbuilding was encouraged, but favors were shown to owners of large ships, wherefore the smaller ship traffic was damaged, at the same time that the larger boats were too big for the needs of the trade. A flourishing foreign commerce developed, nevertheless, but it was in the hands of the Jews and, after their expulsion, of foreigners of Italian, Germanic, and French extraction. Many laws were pa.s.sed subjecting foreigners to annoyances, lest they export precious metal or in other ways act contrary to the economic interests of the peninsula as they were then understood. It was in this period that the commerce of the Mediterranean cities of the kingdom of Aragon sank into a hopeless decline. Other factors than those of the false economic principles of the day were primarily responsible, such as the conquests of the Turks, which ended the eastern Mediterranean trade, and the Portuguese discovery of the sea-route to India, along with the Castilian voyages to America, which made the Atlantic Ocean the chief centre of sea-going traffic and closed the era of Mediterranean supremacy.

[Sidenote: Advance in wealth.]

Nevertheless, the net result of the period was a marked advance in material wealth,--in part, perhaps, because the false economic ideas of the Catholic Kings were shared by them with the other rulers of Europe, wherefore they did not prove so great a handicap to Spain, and, in part, because some of their measures were well calculated to prove beneficial.

At this time, too, the wealth of the Americas began to pour in, although the future was to hold far more in store.

[Sidenote: Extension of intellectual culture and the triumph of Humanism.]

Brief as was the span of years embraced by the reign of the Catholic Kings it was as notable a period in intellectual progress as in other respects, bringing Spain into the current of modern life. This was due primarily to the rapid extension of printing, which had appeared in the peninsula in the closing years of the preceding period, and which now came into such general use that the works of Spanish and cla.s.sical writers became available to all. Through private initiative many schools were founded which later became universities, although this activity was limited to Castile. Most notable of these inst.i.tutions was that of Alcala founded by Ximenez. This undertaking was due to the great cardinal's desire to establish a Humanist centre of learning, where Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and philology could be studied to the best advantage. The most learned Spanish Humanists a.s.sembled there, together with many foreigners, and works of note were produced, such as the famous polyglot Bible in Hebrew, Greek, Chaldean, and Latin, with accompanying grammars and vocabularies. Not a little of the advancement in intellectual manifestations was due to the encouragement of the Catholic Kings, especially Isabella. Books coming into Spain were exempted from duty; ordinances were made regulating university life, and ridding it of much of its turbulence and abuses; and the court set an example in showing favor to distinguished scholars, who were engaged as teachers of the royal children. The great n.o.bles imitated royalty, and invited foreign savants to Spain, among whom was the Italian, Peter Martyr of Anghiera, celebrated as the author of the first history of the Americas, the _De orbe novo_ (Concerning the new world). The most marked impulse to the spread of Humanist ideals came through Spaniards studying abroad, and these men returned to give Spain her leading names in intellectual production for the period. The greatest of them was Antonio de Nebrija, educated in Italy, a man of such encyclopedic attainments that he left works on theology, law, archaeology, history, natural science, geography, and geodesy, although particularly noteworthy as a Latin scholar. Cardinal Ximenez is deserving of a high place in the achievements of the era for his patronage of letters, for it was through his aid that some of the most valuable work of the period was accomplished. Education was a matter for the higher cla.s.ses only; people had not even begun to think, yet, of popular education.

[Sidenote: Progress in the sciences.]

Although the extension of intellectual culture and the triumph of Humanism were outstanding facts of the period, there were notable cultivators, too, of the sciences, moral, social, and natural, especially the last-named. Studies in geography, cosmography, and cartography received a great impulse through the discovery of America, and many scientific works along these lines were due to the scholars connected with the _Casa de Contratacion_ (House of Trade), or India House. Medical works were even more prominent, not a few of them on the subject of venereal disease. A number of these works were mutilated or condemned altogether by the Inquisition, in part because of their doctrines, but also because of the anatomical details which they contained, for they were considered immoral.

[Sidenote: Polite literature.]

[Sidenote: La Celestina.]

[Sidenote: History.]

[Sidenote: The theatre.]

In polite literature the leading characteristics were the complete victory of the Italian influence, the predominance of Castilian, the popularity of the romances, and the beginning of the Castilian theatre.

The Italian influence manifested itself both in the translation of Cla.s.sical and Italian Renaissance works and in an imitation of their models and forms. Castilian was employed, not only in Castile and Aragon proper, but even in the literary works of Portuguese, Catalans, Valencians, and not a few individuals (Spaniards in the main) at the court of Naples, although Catalan and Valencian poetry still had a vogue. The poetry of the era often exhibited tendencies of a medieval character,--for example, in its use of allegory. It is curious to note also the prevalence of two somewhat opposed types of subject-matter, religious and erotic; in the latter there was a vigorous school which often went to the extreme of license. The romances of love and chivalry gained even greater favor than in the preceding period. The _Amadis de Gaula_ (Amadis of Gaul) of Vasco de Lobeira was translated from the Portuguese by Garci Ordonez de Montalvo, and many other novels on the same model were written. One of these was _Las sergas de Esplandian_ (The deeds of Esplandian) by Ordonez de Montalvo himself, references in which to an "island California" as a land of fabulous wealth were to result in the naming of the present-day California, once believed to be just such an island. Much superior to the amatory or chivalric novels was a remarkable book which stood alone in its time, the _Tragicomedia de Calixto y Melibea_ (The tragi-comedy of Calixtus and Melibea), better known as _La Celestina_ (1499), from the name of one of the characters, believed to have been the work of Fernando de Rojas. In eloquent Spanish and with intense realism _La Celestina_ dealt with people in what might be called "the under-world." This was the first of the picaresque novels (so-called because they dealt with the life of _picaros_, or rogues), out of which was to develop the true Spanish novel. History, too, had a notable growth. The outstanding name was that of Hernando del Pulgar.

His _Cronica_ (Chronicle) and his _Claros varones de Espana_ (Ill.u.s.trious men of Spain), besides being well written, noteworthy for their characterizations of individuals, and influenced by cla.s.sical Latin authors, showed a distinct historical sense. The already mentioned _De orbe novo_ of Peter Martyr and the letters of Columbus were the chief contributions to the history of the new world. As to the theatre, while the religious mysteries continued to be played, popular representations in dialogue, some of them religious and others profane in subject-matter, began to be written and staged. The most notable writer was Juan del Enzina (1468-1534), who has been called the "father of Spanish comedy." His compositions were not represented publicly in a theatre, but only in private houses or on the occasions of royal or aristocratic feasts.

[Sidenote: Plateresque architecture.]

[Sidenote: Sculpture and the lesser arts.]

The transitional character of the age was nowhere more clear than in the various forms of art. The princ.i.p.al architectural style was a combination of late Gothic with early Renaissance features, which, because of its exuberantly decorative character, was called plateresque, for many of its forms resembled the work of _plateros_, or makers of plate. Structurally there was a mingling of the two above-named elements, with a superimposition of adornment marked by great profusion and richness,--such, for example, as in the facade of the convent of San Pablo of Valladolid. At the same time, edifices were still built which were more properly to be called Gothic, and there were yet others predominantly representative of the Renaissance, characterized by the restoration of the later cla.s.sical structural and decorative elements, such as the slightly pointed arch, intersecting vaults, columns, entablatures, pediments, and lavish ornamentation. Sculpture displayed the same manifestations, and became in a measure independent of architecture. Noteworthy survivals are the richly carved sepulchres of the era. Gold and silver work had an extraordinary development not only in articles of luxury but also in those for popular use, and as regards luxury the same was true of work in rich embroideries and textures.

[Sidenote: Advance in painting.]

[Sidenote: Music.]

The contest between the Flemish and Italian influences on Spanish painting resolved itself decidedly in favor of the latter, although a certain eclecticism, the germ of a national school, made itself apparent in the works of Spanish artists. Characteristics of a medieval type still persisted, such as faulty drawing, color lacking in energy and richness, a sad and sober ambient, and a disregard for everything in a painting except the human figures. Like sculpture, painting began to be dissociated from architecture, and was encouraged by the purchases of the wealthy. It was not yet the custom to hang paintings on the walls; they were kept in chests or otherwise under lock and key except when brought out for temporary display. Music, employed princ.i.p.ally in song as the accompaniment of verse, enjoyed a favor comparable with that of the plastic arts.

CHAPTER XXII

CHARLES I OF SPAIN, 1516-1556

[Sidenote: Historical setting of the era of the House of Austria.]

From the standpoint of European history the period of the House of Hapsburg, or Austria, covering nearly two centuries, when Spain was one of the great powers of the world, should be replete with the details of Spanish intervention in European affairs. The purposes of the present work will be served, however, by a comparatively brief treatment of this phase of Spanish history; indeed, the central idea underlying it reduces itself to this: Spain wasted her energies and expended her wealth in a fruitless attempt, first to become the dominant power in Europe, and later to maintain possessions in Italy and the Low Countries which were productive only of trouble; what she took from the Americas with the one hand, she squandered in Europe with the other. Internally there were changes which were to react on the Spanish colonial dominions, wherefore a correspondingly greater s.p.a.ce must be accorded peninsula history than directly to the wars in Europe. The greatest feature of the period was the conquest of the Americas, accomplished in part by the spectacular expeditions of the _conquistadores_, or conquerors, and in part by the slower advance of the Spanish settlers, pushing onward the frontier of profits. Not only was this the most notable achievement when considered from the American angle, but it was, also, when taken from the standpoint of Spain, and possibly, too, from that of Europe and the world.

[Sidenote: Vast empire of Charles I of Spain, the Emperor Charles V.]

The Italian venture of the Aragonese kings had yielded probably more of advantage than of harm down to the time of Ferdinand, and it may be that even he did not overstep the bounds of prudence in his ambitious designs. When his policies were continued, however, in the person of Charles I, better known by his imperial t.i.tle as the Emperor Charles V, the results were to prove more disastrous to Spain than beneficial. The circ.u.mstances were in fact different for the two monarchs, although their aims were much the same. Some writers have supposed that Ferdinand himself recognized the danger of a union of the Austrian, Burgundian, and Spanish dominions under one king, and they a.s.sert that he planned to make Charles' younger brother, Ferdinand, ruler of Spain and the Two Sicilies in case the former should be elected emperor. In his will, however, he respected the principle of primogeniture, and left all to Charles, eldest son of Philip the Handsome and Juana la Loca. Through his mother and Ferdinand, Charles inherited Castile, Aragon, and Navarre, the Castilian dominions in Africa and America (where the era of great conquests was just about to begin), the Roussillon and Cerdagne across the Pyrenees, and Sardinia, Sicily, and Naples in Italy; through his father he had already become possessed of the territories of the House of Burgundy, comprised of Flanders and Artois in northern France, Franche-Comte and Charolais in the east, Luxembourg, and the Low Countries. This was not all, for Charles was heir of the Emperor Maximilian, and in addition to inheriting the latter's Austrian dominions might hope to succeed to the imperial t.i.tle as ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. To be sure, the system of electing the emperors by the electoral princes still obtained, but the Germanic states of the empire were almost certain to prefer a powerful Hapsburg, with such dominions as Charles had, to any other candidate, if only to serve as a counterpoise to the ambitions of France. Nevertheless, the electors did not miss the opportunity to make a profit out of the situation, and encouraged the candidacy of Henry VIII of England and especially of Francis I of France as well as that of Charles, receiving bribes and favors from all. In the end, following the death of Maximilian in 1519, they decided in favor of Charles. He was now ruler, at least in name, of one of the most vast empires in the history of the world.

[Sidenote: Inherent weakness of his empire.]

The mere possession of such extensive domains inevitably led to an imperialistic policy to insure their retention. Each of the three princ.i.p.al elements therein, Spain, Burgundy, and the Austrian dominions, was ambitious in itself and especially hostile to France, and all of these aspirations and enmities were now combined in a single monarch.

Charles himself was desirous not only of conquest but also of becoming the most powerful prince in the world, thus a.s.suring the Hapsburg supremacy in Europe, and making himself the arbiter in European political affairs and the protector of Christianity; he may even have dreamed of a world monarchy, for if he did not aspire to such a state for himself he believed its attainment possible of realization. In the achievement of a less vast ideal, however, Charles was certain to experience many difficulties, and at some point or other was bound to encounter the hostility not only of France but also of the other states of Europe. If this were not enough there came along the unforeseen dilemma of the Reformation. Finally, his own dominions were none too strongly held together, one with another or within themselves. They were widely separated, some indeed entirely surrounded by French territory, leading to a multiplicity of problems of a military and a political nature. The imperial rank carried little real authority in Germany, and the Burgundian realms were not a great source of power. It appears, therefore, that the empire was more a matter of show than of strength, and that Spain, who already had a surfeit of responsibility, what with her conquests in Italy, Africa, and the Americas, must bear the burden for all. The reign of Charles would seem to be the parting of the ways for Spain. If she could have restricted herself to her purely Spanish inheritance, even with the incubus of her Italian possessions, she might have prolonged her existence as a great power indefinitely. A century ahead of England in colonial enterprise, she had such an opportunity as that which made the island of Britain one of the dominant factors in the world. Even as matters were, Spain was able to stand forth as a first rank nation for well over a century. Whatever might have happened if a different policy had been followed, it hardly admits of doubt that Spain's intervention in European affairs involved too great a strain on her resources, and proved a detriment politically and economically to the peninsula.

[Sidenote: Dissatisfaction over foreign favorites and increased taxation.]

Charles had been brought up in Flanders, and, it is said, was unable to speak Spanish when he first entered the peninsula as king of Spain. His official reign began in 1516, but it was not until his arrival in the following year that the full effect of his measures began to be felt.

Even before that time there was some inkling of what was to come in the appointments of foreigners, mostly Flemings, to political or ecclesiastical office in Castile. At length Charles reached Spain, surrounded by Flemish courtiers, who proceeded to supplant Spaniards not only in the favor but also in the patronage of the king. The new officials, more eager for personal profit than patriotic, began to sell privileges and the posts of lower grade to the highest bidders. Such practices could not fail to wound the feelings of Spaniards, besides which they contravened the laws, and many protests by individuals and towns were made, to which was joined the complaint of the _Cortes_ of Valladolid in 1518. To make matters worse Chievres, the favorite minister of the king, caused taxes to be raised. The amount of the _alcabala_ was increased, and the tax was made applicable to the hitherto privileged n.o.bility, much against their will. In like manner the opposition of the clergy was roused through a bull procured from the pope requiring ecclesiastical estates to pay a tenth of their income to the king during a period of three years. Furthermore it was commonly believed, no doubt with justice, that the Flemish office-holders were sending gold and other precious metals out of the country, despite the laws forbidding such export. Nevertheless the _Cortes_ of 1518 granted a generous subsidy to the king, but this was followed by new increases in royal taxation. Opposition to these practices now began to crystallize, with the n.o.bles of Toledo taking the lead in remonstrance against them.

[Sidenote: Charles' manipulation of the _Cortes_ in Galicia.]

The situation in Castile was complicated by the question of the imperial election. Between the death of Maximilian in January, 1519, and the election of Charles in June of the same year it was necessary to pay huge bribes to the electoral princes. Once chosen, Charles accepted the imperial honor, and prepared to go to Germany to be crowned, an event which called for yet more expenditures of a substantial nature. So, notwithstanding the grant of 1518, it was decided to call the _Cortes_ early in 1520 with a view to a fresh subsidy. Since all Castile was in a state of tumult it was deemed best that the meeting should take place at some point whence an escape from the country would be easy in case of need. Thus Santiago de Compostela in Galicia was selected, and it was there that the _Cortes_ eventually met, moving to the neighboring port of Coruna after the first few days' sessions. The call for the _Cortes_ provoked a storm of protest not only by Toledo but also by many other cities with which the first-named was in correspondence. Messengers were sent to the king to beg of him not to leave Spain, or, if he must do so, to place Spaniards in control of the affairs of state, and complaints were made against the practices already recounted and numerous others, such, for example, as the royal use of the t.i.tle "Majesty," an unwonted term in Spain. From the first, Charles turned a deaf ear, refusing to receive the messengers of the towns, or reproving them when he did give them audience, and he even went so far as to order the arrest of the Toledan leaders. The _Cortes_ at length met, and gave evidence of the widespread discontent in its demands upon the king. In accordance with their instructions most of the deputies were disinclined to take up the matter of a supply for the king until he should accede to their pet.i.tions. Under the royal eye, however, they gradually modified their demands, and when Charles took it upon himself to absolve them from the pledges they had given to their const.i.tuents they voted the subsidy without obtaining any tangible redress of grievances. The king did promise not to appoint any foreigners to Spanish benefices or political holdings during his absence, but broke his word forthwith when he named Cardinal Adrian, a foreigner, as his representative and governor during his absence. This done, Charles set out in the same year, 1520, for Germany.

[Sidenote: War of the _Comunidades_ in Castile.]

Meanwhile, a riot in Toledo, promoted by the n.o.bles whom Charles had ordered arrested, converted itself into a veritable revolt when the royal _corregidor_ was expelled from the city. This action was stated to have been taken in the name of the _Comunidad_, or community, of Toledo, and served to give a name to the uprising which now took place in all parts of Castile. Deputies to the _Cortes_ who had been faithless to their trust, some of whom had accepted bribes from the king, were roughly handled upon their return home, and city after city joined Toledo in proclaiming the _Comunidad_. In July, 1520, delegates of the rebellious communities met, and formed the _Junta_ of avila, which from that town and later from Tordesillas and Valladolid served as the executive body of the revolution. For a time the _Junta_ was practically the ruling body in the state; so complete was the overturn of royal authority that Cardinal Adrian and his advisers made no attempt to put down the rebellion. Time worked to the advantage of the king, however.

The revolt of Toledo had begun as a protest of the n.o.bles and clergy against the imposition of taxes against them. The program of the _Junta_ of avila went much further than that, going into the question of the grievances of the various social cla.s.ses. At length many of the _comuneros_ began to indulge in acts of violence and revenge against those by whom they regarded themselves as having been oppressed, and the movement changed from one of all the cla.s.ses, including the n.o.bles, against the royal infractions of law and privileges, to one of the popular element against the lords. Thus the middle cla.s.ses, who objected to the disorder of the times as harmful to business, and the n.o.bles, in self-defence, began to take sides with the king. City after city went over to Charles, and late in 1520 the government was strong enough to declare war on the communities still faithful to the _Junta_.

Dissension, treason, and incompetent leadership furthered the decline of the popular cause, and in 1521 the revolt was crushed at the battle of Villalar. Charles promised a general pardon, but when he came to Spain in 1522 he caused a great many to be put to death. Not until 1526 did he show a disposition to clemency. Moreover he retained his Flemish advisers.

[Sidenote: Social wars in Valencia and Majorca.]

During the period of the revolt of the _Comunidades_ in Castile even more bitter civil wars were going on in Valencia (1520-1522) and Majorca (1521-1523). The contest in Valencia was a social conflict from the start, of plebeians against the lords, whereas the Castilian conflict was fundamentally political. In Majorca the strife began over pressure for financial reforms, but developed into an attempt to eliminate the n.o.bility altogether. Both uprisings were independent of the Castilian revolt, although serving to aid the latter through the necessary diversion of troops. As in Castile, so in Valencia and Majorca, Charles took sides against the popular element, and put down the insurrections, displaying great severity toward the leaders.

[Sidenote: Charles' difficulties in Germany and war with France.]

While the civil wars were at their height Charles was having more than his share of trouble in other quarters. The princes of Germany compelled him to sign a doc.u.ment affirming their privileges, in which appeared many paragraphs similar to those of the Castilian pet.i.tions to the king, together with one requiring Charles to maintain the empire independently of the Spanish crown. The acceptance of these principles by the emperor is an evidence of the weakness of his authority in the subject states of Germany, for not only was he a believer in the divine origin of the imperial dignity, a doctrine which would have impelled him to establish his personal and absolute rule in all of his realms if possible, but he seems also to have intended to make Spain the political centre of his dominions, because she was, after all, his strongest element of support.

At the same time, a fresh difficulty appeared in Germany with the Lutheran outbreak of 1521. Charles himself favored reform in the church, but was opposed to any change in dogma. Before he could confront either the political or the religious problem in Germany, he found himself attacked on another quarter. Francis I of France had seized upon Charles' difficulties as affording him a rich opportunity to strike to advantage; so in 1521 he twice sent French armies into Spain through the western Pyrenees on the pretext of restoring the crown of Navarre to the Labrit family. With all these questions pressing for solution Charles was in an exceedingly unsatisfactory position. Thus early in the period lack of funds to prosecute European policies was chronic. Spain herself, even if there had been no civil wars, was not united internally like the compact French nation, and the other Hapsburg dominions could give but little help. Finally, Charles could not depend on the alliance of any other power, for his own realms were neighbors of all the others, and his designs were therefore generally suspected. Nevertheless, Charles brought to his many tasks an indomitable will, marked energy, a steadfast purpose, and an all-round ability which were to do much toward overcoming the obstacles that hindered him.

[Sidenote: Wars with France, the pope, the Italian states, and German princes.]

[Sidenote: The outcome.]

It is profitless, here, to relate the course of the wars with France and other European states. In the years 1521 to 1529, 1536 to 1538, and 1542 to 1544, France and Spain were at war, and at other times, down to the death of Francis I in 1547, the two countries enjoyed what was virtually no more than a truce. Meanwhile, Charles was usually in conflict with the popes, whose temporal dominions in central Italy were threatened by the growing power of Spain and the empire in the Italian peninsula.

Other states in Italy fought now on Charles' side, now against him, while the princes of Germany were an equally variable quant.i.ty. England favored each side in turn, but offered little effective aid to either.

As affecting the history of religion these wars gave Protestantism a chance to develop. Neither Charles nor Francis disdained the aid of Protestant princes, and the former had little opportunity to proceed against them on religious grounds. Francis even allied himself with the Moslem power of Turkey. On the whole, Charles was the victor in the wars, and could point to the occupation of Milan as a tangible evidence of his success,--about the only territorial change of consequence as a result of the many campaigns. Perhaps the most noteworthy fact as affecting the history of Spain and Spanish America was the financial drain occasioned by the fighting. Time and again lack of funds was mainly responsible for defeats or failures to follow up a victory. Spain and the Americas had to meet the bills, but, liberal as were their contributions, more were always needed.

[Sidenote: Wars with the Turks and the Moslems of northern Africa.]

The wars with Turkey had a special significance because of the ever impending peril from Moslem northern Africa. The pirates of the Berber, or Barbary, Coast, as the lands in northwestern Africa are often called, seemed to be more than ever audacious in the early years of the reign of Charles. Not only did they attack Spanish ships and even Spanish ports, but they also made numerous incursions inland in the peninsula. Aside from the loss in captives and in economic wealth that these visitations represented, they served to remind the authorities of the Moslem sympathies of Spanish Moriscos and of the ease with which a Moslem invasion might be effected. Furthermore the conquests of Isabella and Ximenez had created Castilian interests in northern Africa, of both a political and an economic character, which were in need of defence against the efforts of the tributary princes to free themselves by Turkish aid. The situation was aggravated by the achievements of a renegade Greek adventurer and pirate, known best by the sobriquet "Barbarossa." This daring corsair became so powerful that he was able to dethrone the king of Algiers and set up his own brother in his stead. On the death of the latter at the hands of the Spaniards in 1518, Barbarossa placed the kingdom of Algiers under the protection of the sultan of Turkey, became himself an admiral in the Turkish navy, and soon afterward conquered the kingdom of Tunis, whence during many years he menaced the Spanish dominions in Italy. Charles in person led an expedition in 1535 which was successful in dethroning Barbarossa and in restoring the former king to the throne, but an expedition of 1541, sent against Algiers, was a dismal failure. On yet another frontier, that of Hungary, Spanish troops were called upon to meet the Turks, and there they contributed to the checking of that people at a time when their military power threatened Europe. The problem of northern Africa, however, had been little affected by the efforts of Charles.

[Sidenote: Charles' failure to stamp out Protestantism.]