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Catalonia under the protection of King Louis XIII of France

Date
1641
Archive
Municipal Archive of Barcelona
Document type
Textual
Reference code
CAT-AHCB-AHCB1-002-1G-32
Link to the online document
Description

The manuscript contains the copy of five documents (1641-1642) relating to the protection granted by the King of France Louis XIII over the Principality of Catalonia and the counties of Rosselló and Cerdanya, during the Catalan revolt known as the War of the Reapers. The document is a key piece to understanding the maneuvers towards secession with respect to the Castilian crown made by the Catalan political bodies. Military aid was sought from the French crown, which was so necessary to counter the attacks of Philip IV’s army.
It includes the agreements of the Council of Hundred (following the proposal agreed by the Catalan deputies) to request the protection of the French king; the acceptance of Lluís XIII, new count of Barcelona; the sending of a special procurator to proceed with the oath of the pacts adjusted between the Catalan and French parties; and, finally, the authorization granted to the city of Barcelona by the new French lieutenant and captain general to mint a certain type of coin. The copying of this last document is interrupted.
The manuscript, on parchment, has great aesthetic value. Written in humanistic librarian font, it contains on the cover three golden shields (that of the French king, which incorporates the Catalan bars next to the fleurs-de-lis, that of Catalonia and that of Barcelona) within a large golden border.