Sobre la financiación extraordinaria de la Guerra de Sucesión

Abstract

The establishment of the Bourbon monarchy encountered one of its main hurdles in the critical situation of the royal treasury inherited from the reign of Charles II, with most of the assets engaged in the payment of public debt. One further obstacle was the start of the War of Succession, which brought about, on the one hand, a reduction in the treasury income and, on the other, a considerable increase in expenses intended to fund the creation of a large new army. To cope with such a situation, the monarchy had to resort to multiple extraordinary resources. This article deals with two of these resources: the income obtained from the sale of positions and honours, and an exceptional loan provided by the clergy in the spring of 1707. It also addresses the monarchy’s extraordinary revenue accounts between June 1705 and June 1707, which reveal the multiple resources employed to fund the war during that critical period.