Acceso usuarios
Josep Capdeferro Pla
In 1701–02 Philip V of Castile (IV of Catalonia) convened the cortes of Catalonia in Barcelona. The context was very delicate, not only for the Spanish Succession crisis. Many affairs were to be resolved in the aftermath of the War of Secession (1641–52). There had also been a period of more than 100 years without any political agreement between the province and the Hispanic monarchy. For the ecclesiastical, the military and the royal arms – where clergy, noblemen and citizens respectively gathered − it was not easy to reach consensus over many issues and bills. Regular parliamentary committees were therefore soon complemented or replaced by strategic ad hoc committees. When negotiations with the monarchy commenced, strong dissent between the estates’ regular representatives and the representatives of Philip V obliged both the estates and the king to elect more politically skilled delegates in order that the cortes would finally come to a satisfactory conclusion.
