Disamortization in Spain

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With disentailment refers to the transfer of goods of the Church, of institutions and communities in national property and auction to private. The most important disamortization measures took place in Spain during the 19th century.

Disastrous monastery and castle: The headquarters of the Order of the Knights of Santiago in Ucles (Cuenca)

Definition

Desamortización (dt .: unbinding ) is the opposite of amortización . This exists if a thing or a right is in the hands of a natural or legal person in such a way that its sale is prohibited or at least severely restricted. The corresponding property is called amortizada . Goods to which this designation applies are withdrawn from the economic cycle. Disamortization means that the goods are taken from the dead and reintegrated into the economic cycle . In Spain, disamortization is generally only used when it comes to property owned by institutions. The measures, some of which were initiated at the same time as the disamortization, such as the abolition of the Mayorazgos in 1798, 1820 and 1836 or the Señorias in 1811, 1820 and finally 1837, had similar goals, but were not part of disamortization in the narrower sense. In most cases it was in the disentailment not uncompensated expropriation . The original owners were mostly compensated with government bonds with 3% interest. In contrast to the secularization in Germany, the disamortization in Spain did not affect any ecclesiastical principalities and dominions . The goods confiscated as part of German secularization benefited the respective sovereign, who could sell them or keep them himself. During the Spanish dismortment, the goods were generally transferred to national property with the aim of subsequently privatizing them through public auction . This goal could not always be achieved; moreover, in contrast to secularization, disamortization also affected secular owners such as communities and educational institutions.

Goal of disamortization

The aim of the measures was to reduce the national debt . Another effect was the step in the direction of an agrarian reform , which was intended to distribute land ownership to a larger group of owners. The government wanted to promote the middle class on which it could rely in its policy. It was hoped that the new owners would use the agricultural land more intensively and thus increase the country's agricultural production. The next goal was stated that the situation should be improved for the owners, whose goods had been disaffected. Part of this line of argument was that the expropriated land generated a return of less than 3% because the Toten Hand property was less well managed than private owners could. The institutions affected by the disaster would have the advantage of generating a regular income of 3% of the value per year from the government securities given to them in return.

Objects of Disamortization

Church objects

When carrying out the disamortization, a distinction was made between two types of objects: on the one hand, the land and buildings that directly served church activities, nursing or education, etc., and on the other hand, land and buildings that were used for church activities, nursing and care to finance education. The latter were z. B. Properties that have been transferred by donors. The income from these goods should enable the performance of certain religious services in memory of the deceased donor ( memorials ), maintain altar rooms that were dedicated to the veneration of saints or finance the activities of brotherhoods. A large part of the property was supposed to guarantee the pastor's livelihood . So it was a matter of benefit or benefice in the original sense of the word. Some of these goods were supplied to the patronatos ( coming ) or capellanías ( vicaries ), where the owner did not have to worry about a soul. The income from the property of the military orders was due to the members, mostly honorary appointed by the king, without any further service. The charitable works such as orphanages, poor houses and hospitals were also supported by the proceeds obtained from goods owned by the Pious Works (obras pias). After the dissolution of the religious orders, their entire property was confiscated and, as far as possible, transferred to private property.

Worldly objects

The cities and also smaller communities had at the beginning of the 19th century z. In some cases substantial real estate holdings that were leased and the income from which covered large parts of the current expenses. It was also pastureland (dehesas) or forest areas (bosques) that could be used free of charge by the citizens. In order to set a good example, under Charles IV, some of the properties belonging to the crown were taken to disrepair . Similar to ecclesiastical benefices, there were goods whose proceeds were intended to support the Colegios Mayores of the universities.

Exceptions to the disamortization

Buildings and facilities that were intended for the public service or were designated by the government for this purpose were exempt from the disamortization. Buildings that were used directly for welfare or education at the time the laws or ordinances were passed were also excluded. The residential buildings of the bishops and parish priests with their adjacent orchards and vegetable gardens were also excluded. Forests and vacant land, which the government did not consider appropriate to sell, were also not subject to dismortment. Likewise the mercury mines, salt pans, castles that were inhabited by the royal family, the Alhambra in Granada and the Alcázar (Seville) .

Affected by the disamortization

Primarily religious institutions were affected by the disamortization: the secular clergy , the military orders, brotherhoods, pious foundations, parishes, religious clergy and monasteries. But secular institutions were also affected by the dismortment: the state, the Infanta Don Carlos , the communities, institutions of welfare and public education. While the decrees until the time of the reign of Ferdinand VII referred to the entire territory of the Spanish Crown, i.e. also to the Spanish possessions in America and Asia, the scope was later restricted to the peninsula, the adjacent islands and the Spanish possessions in Africa .

Implementation of the disamortization

Expropriation, offer and auction

The transfer of monastery property to national property was preceded by the dissolution of the monasteries. By law or decree, land and buildings, but also regularly recurring claims by the dead hand, were transferred to national property. The local authorities, usually the Ayuntamientos (city administrations and councilors), were tasked with recording all objects in question. In 1798, the properties to be auctioned were to be divided up as far as possible before the auction, so that the property was distributed among as many people as possible, which was an advantage in terms of land reform . Already in 1799 the division was no longer required before the auction, if the sale without division would accelerate the measures. The goal of quickly lowering the national debt therefore took precedence over the goal of land reform. It was therefore usually the entire property z. B. auctioned off as one lot to a pious foundation . The "Bienes Nacionales", ie the land and buildings that have passed into national ownership, were described in detail in the individual provinces in a Boletín Oficial de Ventas de Bienes Nacionales (a kind of official journal ). The information on the more valuable bees was also published in a supplement to the Gaceta de Madrid , the official gazette of the time . Bids for goods below a certain value could be submitted at the court seat of the property and in the provincial capital. The higher value goods could be auctioned at the court seat of the property, in the provincial capital and in Madrid. The previous owners were, but not always, entitled to a payment of 3% of the value per year (in some cases more) from the state.

Payment of goods

Payment could be made with coins . In most cases, however, government bonds could also be traded in. These government bonds , the market value of which were usually well below their nominal value , were traded in at their nominal value. An installment payment that could last for up to 14 years was common.

Individual stages of disamortization

The disamortization was carried out in Spain in different phases. In doing so, the relevant local laws and implementation regulations were often ignored. In the absence of interested parties, the goods could often not be privatized and remained in national ownership or were returned by the next government. In some cases, the laws or decrees were also revoked and the entire dismortment was reversed, often without compensation for the buyer. In the course of time there were always ordinances or laws that brought the same objects back into national ownership, even without a previous law having been revoked.

Disamortization under Charles III. ( Campomanes )

On April 2, 1767 by a decree of Charles III. the Societas Jesu ( Jesuits ) expelled from Spain (the order was dissolved on August 21, 1773 by Pope Clement XIV ). From 1769 the property of the Jesuits was auctioned in favor of the crown.

Disamortization under Charles IV ( Godoy )

A first decree was issued in February 1798. This decreed that the municipalities had to auction their buildings, which were currently rented, in favor of the state treasury. The municipalities received compensation in government bonds, which earned 3% interest per year.

In a royal decree of September 19, 1798, the property of secular hospitals, poor houses, old people's homes, foundling homes and brotherhoods, anniversaries, pious works and patrons was transferred to national ownership. The buildings that directly served the purpose of the facility were excluded from the measure. There was, in turn, compensation in government bonds, which earned 3% interest per year. The church representatives were asked to hand over property that was used to maintain vicariates or other church institutions to national property . They were also compensated with similar government papers. Another decree on the same date transferred the property and claims of the Colegios Mayores of the Universities of Salamanca , Valladolid and Alcalá de Henares into national property .

In 1800 it was ordered that all of the Crown's properties should also be auctioned. Exceptions were the buildings used by the royal family and the Alhambra of Granada and the Alcazar of Seville . In a letter dated June 14, 1805, Pope Pius VII approved the King of Spain to confiscate church property up to an income value of 200,000 gold ducats.

In September 1805 it was ordered that the claims and real estate of church hospitals, poor houses, old people's homes, orphanages and similar charitable organizations should be transferred to national property if they did not directly serve the purpose of the organizations.

In 1806, the Pope allowed the King to sell one seventh of the Church's land holdings in return for 3% interest on the value of the goods.

Disamortization under Ferdinand VII.

On April 12, 1808, Ferdinand VII ordered that all disamortization measures introduced so far should be continued.

Disamortization under Josef I.

By royal decree of June 9, 1809, the property of the religious orders, the dissolved military orders, the also dissolved Inquisition and the Spanish grandees who supported the uprising against the occupiers, became national property. On August 18, 1809, all monasteries were closed. A pension payment was provided for the members of the orders. All measures of the government of Joseph Bonaparte were declared ineffective on the return of Ferdinand VII . The buyers of the land were not reimbursed for their payments when they were reversed. Most of them had fled for fear of being punished for their collaboration with the French.

Disamortization under the Junta Suprema Central

On November 16, 1808, all measures initiated by the 1798 orders and covered by the Papal Breve were stopped by the Junta Suprema Central in the parts of the country in which it had influence. The Cortes of Cadiz demanded that half of the affected properties be sold to cover the national debt. The other half should go in small parts on the one hand to the people who - whether as soldiers or in some other way - contributed to winning the war against the occupiers, on the other hand to be handed over to landless citizens. The Cortes of Cadiz did not have time to implement their decisions. All the decisions of the Cortes of Cadiz concerning the disamortization and all measures of the Junta Suprema Central were declared ineffective on the return of Ferdinand VII.

Disamortization under Ferdinand VII.

With the decree of July 23, 1814, the measures that had been decided and implemented in the past six years were reversed. The Cortes decided on 1 October 1820, the resolution of various, separately listed religious orders . However, there were exceptions to ensure that various famous churches were supplied with worship services. On October 25, 1820, the Cortes Generales decided to transfer the property of the monasteries into state property. In 1823 Ferdinand VII suspended the implementation of the measures.

Desamortization under Isabella II (regent María Cristina de Borbón / Mendizábal )

A new wave of disamortization began on July 4, 1835, under the reign of María Cristina de Borbón and the then Finance Minister Juan Álvarez Mendizábal with the ban on the Jesuits . A decree of July 25, 1835 decreed the abolition of the monasteries of all orders that had fewer than twelve order members. In 1836 all monasteries and nunneries were abolished. The property of the colegios , higher religious training institutions and the military orders, was transferred to national property and should be auctioned. Nursing facilities listed individually were excluded from this measure.

In July 1837 the Cortes confirmed the decrees of the regent María Cristina de Borbón. On July 29, 1837, the dismortment was extended to the property of the parishes and dioceses . The buildings that were used directly for the services were excluded. However, the implementation of this decree did not begin until 1841.

Disamortization under Isabella II ( Espartero )

After Baldomero Espartero took over the reign, a decree came into effect on September 2, 1841, which transferred all land, buildings and recurring claims of the secular clergy and brotherhoods into national property and ordered the auctioning of the properties.

Disamortization under Isabella II ( Narváez )

After the fall of Regent Espartero , Isabella II was declared of legal age at the age of 13. Under the new Prime Minister Narváez in 1844 the sale of the goods of the secular clergy and the nunneries was stopped. In 1845 the goods that had not yet been auctioned were returned. In April 1846, the Queen issued an order that declared the sale of chapels null and void and ordered them to be reversed. The sale of the goods of the military orders continued. On March 16, 1851, a concordat was concluded between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Spain . The Church agreed to the disamortization measures taken so far. It lifted all church penalties against the buyers of church property and those charged with carrying out the measures. The Kingdom of Spain undertook to pay the maintenance of various ecclesiastical institutions from a special fund to be set up for this purpose . The agreements with the Pope were implemented by a corresponding royal order in May 1851.

Disamortization under Isabella II ( Madoz )

The most effective disamortization measures were carried out in 1855 under Finance Minister Pascual Madoz , because in this case the enforcement of the orders was strictly controlled. This disamortization, ordered by a general law of May 1, 1855, affected all rural and urban properties of the state, the clergy, the military orders, the brotherhoods, the pious foundations, the chapels, the "ex-Infante" Don Carlos , communities, charities and public education. Excepted from this were individually listed cases, which mostly concerned the buildings that were used directly for the purposes of the facilities or as official apartments for the employees there.

In April 1860, an agreement was signed between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Spain, in which the disamortization of 1855 was approved. The goods that had not yet been auctioned were to be returned, however, and the previous owners were to be given government bonds at a rate of 3% per annum.

Consequences of the disamortization

Social consequences

Since the Reconquista, large estates have predominated in southern Spain , with very few owners of smaller land. These small farmers or even landless farm workers did not have sufficient economic means to bid on even smaller areas, which again strengthened the large landowners. That was not the case in all cases in the north of the country. The smaller plots were more likely to be bought by residents in the vicinity, while the larger sizes were bought by wealthier people who generally lived in the cities at a greater distance from the property. Another problem arose from the privatization of property owned by the municipalities. Many farmers were threatened in their livelihood because they could no longer use the public meadows and forests. This encouraged emigration to the industrialized cities and emigration to America. This wave of emigration reached a new high at the end of the 19th century. While there were only limited opportunities to change the mostly long-term lease agreements before privatization, the lease agreements could be re-concluded without restriction after the transfer of ownership. The new owners often took advantage of this unrestrainedly.

Economic consequences

The various disamortization measures led to a certain recovery in public finances. The income from church goods that had passed into secular hands became taxable. So the state also had a long-term profit from the change of ownership. In fact, there was an increase in the area under cultivation. In addition, the variety of cultivated products has been increased by the new owners. In Andalusia z. B. the olive and the viticulture were expanded significantly. However, this process went hand in hand with the deforestation of forests, which in the long term led to regional desertification. The money that the bourgeoisie of other countries, especially England, invested in the emerging industrialization, used the Spanish bourgeoisie to buy land. Little domestic capital has been invested in the development of industry in Spain, and foreign investment has not made up for this lack of funds. Spain practically became an economic colony of other European countries.

Political Consequences

One of the goals of the dismortment was to strengthen the liberal relations and to create a new class of small and medium-sized landowners who stand behind these relations. This goal was certainly not achieved, as most of the disastrous land - especially in the south of the peninsula - was acquired by large landowners.

Cultural consequences

Although a large part of the books expanded the holdings of the university and public libraries, many pictures and books in the monasteries were sold at low prices and went abroad. Many buildings of historical value were lost due to demolition, other old religious buildings were misused. Often they were converted into public buildings (town halls, museums, barracks, hospitals). Other structures were demolished to create new roads or to widen existing ones. Monastery churches were converted into parish churches or were auctioned and passed into private ownership. The disamortization of the monasteries helped reshape the cities. In many large cities, in which the monastery buildings dominated the city architecture at the beginning of the 19th century, at the end of the century, through demolition and rededication, public open spaces, town halls and private buildings determined the appearance of the cities.

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Remarks

  1. ↑ A facility similar to the German family fideikommiss .
  2. ↑ comparable to German manorial rule
  3. ↑ Alcántara Order , Order of Calatrava , Santiagoorden , Order of Montesa and San Juan de Jerusalén
  4. ↑ cf. Commons
  5. ↑ Comparable to a student residence: The Colegios Mayores were residence halls - apartments - work rooms - seminar rooms in which students and professors lived together. The English college comes very close.
  6. ↑ cf. Afrancesado