ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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Barcelona tax riot 1634

Synopsis
The "quint" was an old royal tax paid by the Catalan cities that had fallen into disuse. From 1611 onwards, the crown demanded that it be paid again, but many cities, such as Barcelona, refused, citing old privileges that exempted them and the poor state of their finances. In January 1634, under the government of Philip IV, the crown asked the municipality of Barcelona to hand over the city's accounting books to verify the amount they were obliged to pay, which they also refused to do. Faced with this situation, the viceroy of Catalonia, the Duke of Cardona, was ordered to seize the financial documents by force. The intervention was to take place on Friday 16 June at 2 pm. That day, the city lived in a climate of great tension. Shortly before 2 p.m., someone rang the town bells and a crowd of 30 people gathered in front of the town hall. Intimidated by the rioters, the royal officials withdrew, and the viceroy desisted. Nevertheless, he ordered the arrest of four members of the local government: Pere Joan Rossell, Jaume Pi, Rafael Matali and Pau Boquet.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 1 day. Name in sources: Motín de la Clau de Compte. Location: Barcelona Country (current): Spain. Monarchy: Spanish. Main participants: Local elites, Others. Number of participants: <50. Main reasons & motivations: Fiscal, Political. Leadership: Guerau de Peguera, Pere Joan Rossell, Jaume Pi, Rafael Matali, Pau Boquet. Relevance: medium.

Further reading
CORTEGUERA, Luis R. (1998). “Violence and Identity in 16th and 17th Century Barcelona”, Mediterranean Studies 7: 179-190. ELLIOTT, John H. (1963). The Revolt of the Catalans. A study in the Decline of Spain (1598-1640). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. SERRA i PUIG, Eva (1991). “1640: una revolució política. La implicació de les institucions”, in E. Serra i Puig, et al. (eds.), La revolució catalana de 1640. Barcelona: Crítica, pp. 3-65.
Cite this entry

(2023) "Barcelona tax riot 1634", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. (accessed on ).