Date: 2022
Type: Thesis
The vertebrae of the Leviathan : municipal debt and state formation in the eighteenth-century Crown of Aragon
Florence : European University Institute, 2022, EUI, HEC, PhD Thesis
ENA SANJUÁN, Íñigo, The vertebrae of the Leviathan : municipal debt and state formation in the eighteenth-century Crown of Aragon, Florence : European University Institute, 2022, EUI, HEC, PhD Thesis - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/74919
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
Why and how did modern states emerge in Southwestern Europe? These are the main questions that this thesis answers by examining the debt of six municipalities of the Crown of Aragon during the 18th century through a multiscale, transversal, and comparative approach. The ancient practices which constituted the Aragonese polity appeared in the mid-fourteenth century and survived at least until the mid-eighteenth century partially thanks to the debt of the municipalities. Towns and kingdoms were in many cases ruled by assemblies of creditors by virtue of debt restructuring agreements. Debt accounts for the long survival of the Aragonese polity, but also for its sclerosis. The financial situation of the debtholders, mostly ecclesiastical institutions, prevented rulers from defaulting on municipal debt and adopting drastic measures against the Church, as they feared a financial meltdown. The emergence of the modern state was an intricate process which started by 1750, mainly due to the collapse of the ancient mechanisms. The modern state appeared as a set of practices devised and implemented by a myriad of actors who tried to recompose social and political life. State formation was first and foremost a local process in which municipal debt proved crucial too. The examination of local dynamics reveals that modern states in Southwestern Europe followed similar paths during the early phases of their formation.
Additional information:
Defence date: 28 September 2022; Examining Board: Prof. Pieter Judson (European University Institute); Prof. Tamar Herzog (Harvard University); Prof. Christopher Storrs (University of Dundee); Prof. Regina Grafe (European University Institute)
Cadmus permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/74919
Full-text via DOI: 10.2870/338509
Series/Number: EUI; HEC; PhD Thesis
Publisher: European University Institute
LC Subject Heading: Aragon (Spain) -- Economic conditions -- 18th century; Aragon (Spain) -- Politics and government -- 18th century; Aragon (Spain) -- History -- 18th century