Decretos de Nueva Planta: Centralizing Spain Under Philip V

The Decretos de Nueva Planta: Centralizing Spain

Following the War of the Spanish Succession, traditional regional policies and institutions across the Crown of Aragon were replaced by the Spanish administration through a series of royal provisions. These were collectively known as the Decrees of Nueva Planta. Named to provide a 'new organizational structure' (nueva planta), these decrees fundamentally reshaped local agencies and courts, notably establishing the Audiencia-Corona.

Valencia: Abolition of Privileges

During the War of the Spanish Succession, once Aragon and Valencia seemed subdued, Philip V issued a first decree on June 29, 1707. This decree justified, citing the rebellion of his subjects, the abolition of their privileges and the consequent introduction of Castilian law.

The move was poorly received in Valencia. Valencians reminded the king, denying any rebellion, while they branded the Castilian laws, which Philip V deemed 'laudable and plausible,' as 'destructive.' Their protests proved futile. Valencian law, both public and private, was finally repealed.

Aragon: Partial Restoration of Law

In Aragon, the situation was less radical, and the kingdom fared better as more rigorous measures were halted. As Jesus Morales pointed out, the 1707 decree was too terse for the complexity of the legal framework it intended to abolish. Consequently, it produced only partial effects, being largely ignored or disputed. To prevent its repeal, Philip V, as analyzed by the professor, elevated the decree's status. After several alternatives, the decree of April 3, 1711, partially restored the abolished legal system, stipulating that Aragon's civil law would continue to apply. It also introduced the figure of a Captain-General with full political power and organized the Audiencia under the Castilian model. Aragon thus recovered its private law.

The decree of April 3 was followed by another on June 27 and various other provisions, which together constitute what might be called a re-engineering of political rehabilitation.

Catalonia: The 1716 Decree and Language

The War of the Spanish Succession had not yet concluded, lasting until 1713. Nor did the issuance of decrees cease, with most appearing as developed and mature material. Under these new circumstances, the decree of January 15, 1716, for Catalonia, is of particular significance. It allowed certain individuals loyal to Philip V, who had fled to Castile during the conflict, to return and join the reform.

That provision, the Nueva Planta of the Royal Court of the Principality of Catalonia, enacted at that time and made public the next day, established the Captain-General as the king's representative. It also led to the creation of a court whose structure had been widely discussed within the supreme bodies of the Council of Castile. As in Aragon, the validity of Catalan private law was respected.

The Lingering Language Question

Language, in short, emerged as a contentious issue. Although the Council of Castile had recommended a series of measures to restrict the use of Catalan to the king, the 1716 decree only stipulated that cases before the Audiencia be substantiated in Castilian. However, some instructions to the authorities went further. Magistrates were specifically warned that year to seek to 'introduce the Spanish language, for which purpose the orders will be most temperate and simulated in order to note the effect without care being noticed.' Such measures would revive an issue that persists to our time.

Mallorca, Menorca, and Sardinia

Following the same criteria – maintaining private law while abolishing political, administrative, and judicial structures – the decree of November 28, 1715, supplemented by others in subsequent years, introduced the Nueva Planta in Mallorca. However, as Piña explains, this provision legally certified the demise of institutions that had long remained lifeless and ineffective.

It was believed that the 1715 decree was adopted in Menorca in 1781 upon the island's reconquest. However, as Piña himself has shown, a royal order of 1782 allowed the maintenance of its former law and institutions. To this list of traditionally known rules, we can add another decree of November 24, 1717, for Sardinia, which reproduced the Catalan model.