Un episodi de l'endeutament municipal català a l'edat moderna: la consulta del 16 d'octubre de 1729 de la Reial Audiència al Consell de Castella

Abstract

The Nueva Planta Decree raised many doubts in the Reial Audiència. The local issue, specially the indebtedness of the Catalan universities, wasn't an exception to this. Even though Philip V had made it clear, in a Royal Decree on 30th March 1718, that any issue related to the creation of censals was within his competence, the Reial Audiència needed, eleven years later, to ask for clarification, which means that they made an enquiry. The most interesting thing about the enquiry was that the Catalan authorities had to do an extended clarification regarding the management of the Catalan universities before the Nueva Planta Decree. At the same time, they defended their procedures, particularly concerning the local indebtedness since the 17th century; it dealt with the allowances of concòrdies between universities and creditors. It doesn't seem like the Council of Castile was invested in the issue, but it let a certain scope for action to the Reial Audiència; not because it believed in it, but because of the enormous indebtedness of most of the Catalan councils.