ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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Mataró riots 1640

Synopsis
On 26 May 1640, two weeks after the destruction of the village of Santa Coloma de Farners by the Spanish tercios, two groups of reapers (around 500 men) burst into the coastal city of Mataró, where many of the soldiers fleeing the peasant insurrection were staying. After rebuking and threatening those neighbours who had agreed to billet the royal soldiers, the mutineers rang the bells to mobilise the population. Faced with the outbreak of violence in the city, ministers such as judge Acaci de Ripoll hid in convents and churches. Despite the difficulties, the local authorities tried to protect the soldiers by providing them boats so that they could leave the city. Many of them, as well as some of the authorities, were wounded as a result of gunfire from the the mutineering peasants. Furthermore, in addition to the riots in Mataró, many of the soldiers fleeing the peasant insurrection arrived in disarray in nearby towns, such as Arenys de Mar, where they were also met with hostility from sailors and fishermen who, aware of the abuses they had perpetrated and the repression ordered by the viceroy of Catalonia, joined the reapers' revolt.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 1 day. Name in sources: Motines de Mataró. Location: Mataró Country (current): Spain. Monarchy: Spanish. Main participants: Others, Peasants. Number of participants: >500. Main reasons & motivations: Anti-seigneurial, Fiscal, Political. Leadership: Unknown. Relevance: low.

Further reading
ELLIOTT, John H. (1963). The Revolt of the Catalans. A study in the Decline of Spain (1598-1640). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. SIMON i TARRÉS, Antoni (2019). 1640. Barcelona: Rafael Dalmau editor. TORRES SANS, Xavier (2006). La Guerra dels Segadors. Vic: Eumo.
Cite this entry

Gracia-Arnau, Ivan (2023). "Mataró riots 1640", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. http://atlas.cidehusdigital.uevora.pt/revolt/catalan-revolt-1640/mataro-riots-1640/ (accessed on 18 Fevereiro 2023).