Reapers' War
Reapers' War | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) | |||||||||
Battle of Montjuïc (1641) by Pandolfo Reschi | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Belligerents | |||||||||
Principality of Catalonia Kingdom of France | Habsburg Spain | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Pau Claris Jean Armand de Maillé-Brézé |
Marquis of Leganés |
The Reapers' War (Catalan: Guerra dels Segadors, Eastern Calatan: [ˈɡɛrə ðəls səɣəˈðos]; Spanish: Guerra de los Segadores), also known as the Catalan Revolt, was a conflict that affected the Principality of Catalonia between the years of 1640 and 1659. It had an enduring effect in the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), which ceded the County of Roussillon and the northern half of the County of Cerdanya to France (see French Cerdagne), splitting these northern Catalan territories off from the Principality of Catalonia and the Crown of Aragon, and thereby receding the borders of Spain to the Pyrenees.
Background
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2022) |
The war had its roots in the discomfort generated in Catalan society by the presence of the royal army (made mostly of mercenaries from different nationalities) during the
Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, the chief minister of Philip IV, had been trying to distribute more evenly the huge economic and military burden of the Spanish Empire. But his Union of Arms (Spanish: Union de Armas) policy raised hostilities and protests all across the states of the Monarchy of Spain. Resistance in Catalonia was especially strong; the Catalan Courts of 1626 and 1632 were never concluded, due to the opposition of the states against the economic and military measures of Olivares, many of which violated the Catalan constitutions.
In 1638, the
Catalan peasants, who were forced to quarter the royal army and reported events such as religious sacrileges,[1] destruction of personal properties and rape of women by the soldiers, responded in a series of local rebellions against their presence.
The revolt grew, until the
Conflict
At the same time, the Generalitat maintained contacts with France, in order to establish an alliance between the Principality of Catalonia and this country. By the pact of Ceret, French promised to help the Principality. In this way, the States-General presided by Pau Claris proclaimed the Catalan Republic under the protection of the French monarchy, on 17 January 1641, which lasted a week until 21 January 1641, when they declared the French king Louis XIII count of Barcelona.[6][7]
The threat of the French enemy establishing a powerful base south of the Pyrenees caused an immediate reaction from the Habsburg monarchy. The Habsburg government sent a large army of 26,000 men under
Despite this success, the peasant uprising was becoming uncontrollable in some places, progressively focusing on the Catalan nobility and Generalitat itself. In effect, the conflict was also a class war, with the peasants revolting both against the Habsburg monarchy and against their own ruling classes, which turned to France for support.[8] For the next decade the Catalans fought under French vassalage, taking the initiative after Montjuïc. Meanwhile, increasing French control of political and administrative affairs (maritime ports, taxes, key bureaucratic positions, etc.) and a firm military focus on the neighbouring Spanish kingdoms of Valencia and Aragon, in line with Richelieu's war against Spain, gradually undermined Catalan enthusiasm for the French.
A Franco-Catalan army under Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt moved south and gained several victories against the Spanish, but the sieges of Tarragona (1644), Lleida and Tortosa finally failed and the allies had to withdraw.
In the north of Catalonia in Roussillon, they were more successful. Perpignan was taken from the Spanish after a siege of 10 months, and the whole of Roussillon was under French control. Shortly after, Spanish relief armies were defeated at the Battle of Montmeló and Battle of Barcelona.
In 1652, a Spanish offensive
The war was concurrent with the Arauco War in Chile where the Spanish fought a coalition of native Mapuches. With the Arauco War being a lengthy and costly conflict, the Spanish crown ordered its authorities in Chile to sign a peace agreement with the Mapuche in order to concentrate the empire's resources in fighting the Catalans. This way the Mapuche obtained a peace treaty and a recognition on behalf of the crown in a case unique for any indigenous group in the Americas.[9]
Resolution
The conflict extended beyond the Peace of Westphalia, which concluded the Thirty Years' War in 1648 but remained part of the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) with the confrontation between two sovereigns and two Generalitats, one based in Barcelona, under the control of Spain and the other in Perpinyà (Perpignan), under the occupation of France. In 1652 the French authorities renounced Catalonia, but held control of Roussillon, thereby leading to the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659.[10]
Spanish troops being busy in Catalonia considerably helped Portugal, on the other side of the Iberian Peninsula, in successfully shaking off Spanish rule and winning its Restoration War at the same time.[citation needed]
See also
History of Catalonia | |
---|---|
27 BC – 476 AD |