Finance (1) Flashcards

1
Q

What two things meant that the Crown’s financial position became even weaker when Charles became king (even though it was weak when he came to the throne)?

A
  • the greed of the Burgundian followers

- the expense of the imperial election

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2
Q

Why was the ceremonial cost of the court so much greater in Charles’ reign than under Ferdinand and Isabella?

A
  • Charles made the court more Burgundian
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3
Q

When Charles introduced the Order of the Golden Fleece into Spain, why did this demand more income?

A
  • Charles needed to meet the salaries of many new positions and buy jewels and works of art
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4
Q

What were all parts of Charles’ empire expected to be and do regarding money?

A
  • self-supporting

- give support to the general needs of the empire

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5
Q

Give a few examples of how different parts of the empire contributed to different elements of the reign

A
  • Castile mainly paid for the imperial coronation
  • the Netherlands made a major contribution to the wars with France towards the end of the reign
  • in 1532, the empire paid when defending Vienna from the Turks
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6
Q

However, what were parts of the empire reluctant often reluctant to do? Give an example of the Netherlands

A
  • to give money for anything other than the needs of that country, only Castilian money was really used for general use
  • 1539: tax revolt in Ghent, warning to Charles that they resented paying for conquests
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7
Q

Why did Castile contribute the most income to Charles from Spain?

A
  • there was little resistance from the Cortes to higher taxation
  • but also, the majority of taxes were indirect so could be collected without consulting the Cortes
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8
Q

What was agreed in 1534 that meant custom duties became a more significant source of income than the alcabala?

A
  • it was agreed that the alcabala should be a fixed sum and inflation in the economy meant that it’s value gradually fell (became only 1/4 of income)
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9
Q

How did Charles manage to establish the Crown’s right to recieve the servicio?

A
  • it was a result of the defeat of the comuneros

+ the increase in royal power in town so that the Crown could influence the selection of representatives to the Cortes

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10
Q

Due to the fact that tax was mainly falling on the lower and middle classes of Castile (as the upper-class nobility were exempt), what did Charles have to do?

A
  • borrow money through the sale of juros
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11
Q

Excluding Castile, how many more sources of income did the Spanish Crown have? Name them

A

3: Aragon, the Church, the New World

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12
Q

Why wasn’t Aragon a very valuable source of income?

A
  • the constitution meant little could be raised in taxes

- by Charles’ reign, Aragon wasn’t economically valuable to give much financial help

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13
Q

Although Aragon wasn’t a very valuable source of income, what did they give?

A
  • from the 6 general Cortes at Monzon, Charles received no more than 500,000 ducats for each 5 year period
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14
Q

Theoretically, the Church didn’t pay taxes, so how did it actually give a lot of money?

A
  • the Pope allowed Charles to receive a proportion of all income of the Spanish Church
  • the cruzada was another source
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15
Q

In 1523, who confirmed that the military orders were under the Crown’s ownership forever?

A
  • Pope Adrian VI (Adrian of Utrecht)
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16
Q

Unfortunately, why didn’t the income from the military orders go to the Crown?

A
  • Charles used the money to pay back the banking houses such as the Fuggers for the money for the imperial election
17
Q

What was a more obscure source of income from the Church?

A
  • the income of sees between the death of one bishop and the appointment of another
18
Q

From the 1530s onwards, why did the New World become an even more valuable asset?

A
  • there were silver mines discovered in Bolivia
19
Q

Income from the New World seemed to be the solution to Spain’s financial problems, give an example of one of the high sums of income

A

1534 - 1540: approximately 324,000 ducats per year

20
Q

What elements of the revenue from the New World were the Crown entitled to?

A
  • taxes
  • custom duties
  • Indian tribute
  • 1/5 of all precious metals
  • the seizure of contraband and private bullion (amounted to another 3.5 million)
21
Q

Although there was a lot of income from the New World, why wasn’t it enough to solve all of Charles’ financial problems?

A
  • even without any repayment of loans
  • 1 million ducats per year was needed for ordinary revenue
  • and there were the expenses of Charles’ foreign policy
22
Q

Give two examples of other measures used to raise income in 1552

A
  • the sales of public offices

- sale of certificates of nobility

23
Q

How did the sale of certificates of nobility actually backfire?

A
  • it further decreased the size of the tax-paying population and increased the burden on taxpayers (ended up with approximately 13% of the population had noble status)
24
Q

What was the only way that Charles could have improved his financial situation?

A
  • to cease fighting expensive wars
25
Q

In 1534, what was Charles’ net income and expenditure?

A
  • income = 420,000 ducats

- expenditure = 1,000,000 ducats

26
Q

What was a method used by Charles to gain more money?

How did Charles use juros in this circumstance?

A
  • would seize more than 1/5th of bullion

- would give juros in return

27
Q

Over his reign, how much did Charles borrow? How did he agree this?

A

39,000,000 ducats

- agreed asientos with bankers etc, prepared by Council of Finance (stipulated terms, timings etc)

28
Q

By 1543, how much of Charles’ ordinary revenues go to paying annuites?

A

65%