Domestic Policy:Philip IV

 

  DOMESTIC POLICY OF PHILIP IV

Philip had inherited a great empire from his father, which was world renowned, but many of his toughest challenges as king would stem from domestic issues.

Philip had inherited a great empire from his father, who was world renowned, but many of his toughest challenges as king would stem from domestic issues.

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Spain at the beginning of the 17th century was a set of possessions: the kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Valencia and Portugal, the autonomous provinces of Catalonia and Andalusia, in the wider provinces of Naples and the Netherlands. 

Each political party had different taxes, privileges, and military arrangements, the level of taxes in many provinces was lower than in Castile, but the privileged position of the Castilian nobility was a contentious issue for the less favored provinces

In the early years of his reign, influenced by his royal favourite, Olivares, Felipe focused on efforts to reform the more chaotic aspects of this system. Frustrated by the system of royal councils, Philip supported the establishment of Olivares juntas, small committees designed to circumvent the more formal system and quickly enact policies. Although successful, these meetings excluded many of the traditional greats and caused resentment.

o   UNION OF ARMS

One of these reforms was the Union of Arms, wich proposed that all the kingdoms rules by the Spanish monarchy provide soldiers and funds to cover the cost of the European wars. In the Crown of Aragón, the cortes opposed this idea and the proposal failied.