L'endeutament dels municipis catalans en l'edat moderna (segles XVII i XVIII)

Abstract

The municipal debt is as old as the local government bodies. These bodies had to get into debt from the beginning in order to afford multiple expenses, many of which were linked to royal needs, especially those related to war commitments. Once the debt generated during the late Middle Ages was paid off, at least partly, the municipalities had to face the consequences of the wars that took place in Catalan territory between mid XVII century and the beginning of the XVIII century. The Reapers' War and the conflicts that followed (1640-1659) hit the local finances hard and when everything seemed to get back into place, the War of the Spanish Succession (1705-1714) complicated things greatly. The implication of the Reial Audiència was especially important since it established a doctrine on the concòrdies that the municipalities signed with the creditors. These concòrdies helped overcome the situation despite the intransigence of many of the creditors. However, the solution was found in the economic impulse experienced by the principality during the XVIII century; the measures taken by the Council of Castile arrived when the debt of the councils was already reduced.