Consejo
Consejo , Spanish "Council, advice; Ratsgremium", from Latin consililum , especially thebodiesknown as Consejo , "councils", which were established in the Habsburg-Spanish Empire , especially under Charles V (1500–1558) and Philip II . (1527–1598) represented the highest and central government and administrative authorities and related to departments , d. H. by regions or subject areas that ministries played. They were settled at the ruler's court, since 1561 with a permanent seat in the Alcázar Palace in Madrid .
The various councils
Group 1: total monarchy
Group 1: responsible for the entire monarchy or several parts of the empire
- Consejo de Estado , the " Council of State " ", the most important state authority, responsible for all parts of the empire, in which Charles V still took part personally, but with Philip II only in writing via the two secretaries of the council, the so-called secretaries of state ( Secretarios de Estado , the first European "state secretaries"), corresponded and one of whom was responsible for the northern part of the empire , the other for Italy.
- Consejo de Guerra , the "council of war", which especially since Philip II took over the military administration in the Spanish empires with the Balearic Islands , the Canary Islands and the North African possessions as well as the fleet management; the decision on war and peace, however, always rests with the State Council.
- Consejo de la Suprema y General Inquisición , the Inquisition Council, called the Suprema for short , controlled the regional inquisition tribunals and ruled in these proceedings in the last instance . It was therefore primarily a state body; the connection to the church was established through the filling of the council positions: since Philip II the Grand Inquisitor was also president of the Inquisition Council. The Suprema also published the Index of Forbidden Books , the Index librorum prohibitorum , since 1559 .
- Consejo de la Cruzada , the "Kreuzzugsrat" of the income from the papal members Crusade boy managed, since its approval in 1492 for the liberation of Granada from Muslim domination , a major source of income of the crown; In return, the buyers were granted a discount from the penalties for sin ( indulgence trade ).
Group 2: Partial
Group 2: responsible for the affairs of individual crowns
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Consejo Real de Castilla , the “Council of Castile ”, which not only manages the actual Castile, but also its inland areas, namely the kingdoms of León , Galicia , the Basque provinces, the Canary Islands and the conquered empires of Toledo , Jaen and Seville and Granada was responsible. The overseas territories of the Crown of Castile, on the other hand, were assigned centrally to the Consejo de Indias .
- Consejo de Cámara de Castilla , a " Supreme Court " or a special council subordinate to the Consejo Real de Castilla , consisting of a few members of the Council of Castile, which had to rule on royal inquiries and appointments.
- Consejo de Indias , the "India Council", which was responsible for the administration of the entire overseas empire, especially Spanish America with its viceroyalty kingdoms New Spain , Peru , New Granada and Rio de la Plata as well as the Philippines .
- Consejo de Aragón , the "Council of Aragón ", to which the three sub-kingdoms Aragón, Catalonia and Valencia were subordinate, as well as the Balearic Islands and Sardinia .
- Consejo de Italia , the “Council for Italy ”, set up under Philip II.
- Consejo de Flandes , the “Council for Flanders ”, set up under Philip II.
- Consejo de Portugal , the "Council for Portugal ", which was linked to Spain in personal union from 1580 to 1640 .
Group 3: Special Topics
Group 3: responsible for individual sub-areas
- Consejo de Hacienda , the “council for the possessions”, which controlled the finances of Castile
- Consejo de Navarra , the "Council for Navarre ", which was responsible for the government and administration of the Pyrenees , which had been divided into a French ( Lower Navarre ) and a Spanish ( Upper Navarra ) kingdom since 1512
- Consejo de Órdenes , the "Order Council" for the three (knight) orders of Santiago , Calatrava and Alcántara in Castile
The central administration council system and the territorial constitutions
In addition to this central council system in Madrid with its lawyers , notaries , secretaries and procurators who represented the interests of the individual regional authorities (such as the cities, the estates ), the individual constitutions, administrations and political bodies ( Cortes , “ Assemblies of estates ”) in the respective territorial empires and regional authorities with their own responsibilities and powers.
Below the central administration of the Consejos there were only the city councils under the supervision of royal corregidores , a local administrative and judicial person.
literature
- Walther L. Bernecker , Horst Pietschmann : History of Spain. From early modern times to the present. 4th, revised and updated edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne 2005, ISBN 3-17-018766-X .