Le Portugal au temps du comte-duc d'Olivares (1621-1640)

In 1580, with the support of a powerful army and the acquiescence of most of the Portuguese elite, Philip II of Spain became the king of Portugal. The immediate result was a dramatic increase in the territories under Spanish control. Not only were all kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula “united” under one ruler for the first time in centuries, but the Spanish monarchy now controlled territories all over the earth. Never before had one monarchy been so close to world domination. This promising union, however, ended 60 years later when, in December 1640, members of the Portuguese aristocracy led a rebellion that toppled the institutions representing Spanish ruler Philip IV and declared their independence. The reasons for this swift breakdown of the unified monarchy have never been clearly assessed and understood. Perhaps this historiographical deficiency results from the dominance of “nationalistic” approaches: for most Portuguese historians, 1640 meant the restoration of Portugal as a nation, while Spanish historians have viewed the episode as a lamentable rebellion of selfish Portuguese aristocrats against a monarch who was as Portuguese as he was Spanish. Some Spanish historians furthermore view Portugal’s independence as a historical mistake that utterly diminished the role of the Iberian kingdoms in world affairs.A new generation of Iberian historians has decided to analyze the period from new perspectives, privileging the study of documents and texts left behind by both sides. Le Portugal au temps du comte-duc d’Olivares is one of the best products of this historiographical revival. In it, Schaub skillfully analyzes an enormous number of primary sources to create a history that is, indeed, factual, but also institutional, cultural, and intellectual. The book focuses on a period essential to understanding 1640. Until the late 1610s, Spanish rulers behaved consistently toward their kingdoms and territories, following two guiding principles: to rule each kingdom according to its laws and institutions and to seek the collaboration of provincial and local elites. Things changed with the coming of King Philip IV (1621–65) and his prime minister, the count duke of Olivares (1621– 43). Confronting looming financial, military, and political crises and fearing the collapse of the monarchy, they initiated an ambitious program of reforms. The immediate objective was to extract new financial and military resources from all territories. But these reforms were also intended to enhance royal power and stabilize and strengthen the monarchy. The institutions and elites of the various kingdoms, on the other hand, viewed these reforms as a rupture of the pact between king and subjects and as a threat to their liberties and privileges. Schaub analyzes the impact of these measures on the institutional structure of Portugal and its empire and their effect on the attitudes of local and regional elites toward the union with the Spanish monarchy.The first section studies the ideological origins of the events leading to 1640, emphasizing the importance of religion (including the surge of millennial and messianic discourses on the Portuguese side), the development of a strong ideology of monarchical loyalty among Portuguese and Spaniards alike, and the surge of a “patriotic” ideology claiming that Portugal was an independent monarchy and empire. The second section focuses on the actions of royal officials in Portugal: Spanish viceroy Marguerite de Mantua and Portuguese officials loyal to Philip IV such as Diego Soares. The author also underlines the role of the monarchy’s fiscal projects in determining Spanish policies toward Portugal. The third section investigates Philip IV’s decision to introduce new Spanish institutions in Portugal and the confrontation between these institutions and those representing the kingdom of Portugal. Schaub demonstrates that jurisdictional and institutional conflicts played an important role in the events that culminated in the rebellion of 1640.With the publication of this book we finally have a clear map of the political, institutional, and ideological debates of the last two decades of the Spanish- Portuguese empire. Unlike previous attempts, this work approaches the period in its own, sometimes contradictory, terms. The author demonstrates that, for example, there were Portuguese who remained loyal to the Spanish king and the union of the monarchies after 1640, but also Spaniards who understood why the Portuguese rebelled and who saw in the Portuguese restoration a model for them to follow. This book will be of interest not only to those interested in the history of seventeenth-century Spain and Portugal but also to those interested in the history of early modern European empires and more particularly on the imperial realignments that took place as a result of the Portuguese “restoration.”

Ancient history · Aristocracy (class) · Art · Duchy · Economic history · Elite · Historiography · Humanities · Independence (probability theory) · Monarchy · Political science · Politics · Portuguese · Ruler · Historical Influence and Diplomacy · Historical Studies on Spain · History · History, Culture, and Diplomacy · Law · Philosophy

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