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New Plant Decree of the Court of the Principality of Catalonia.

Date
1716
Archive
Archive of the Crown of Aragon
Document type
Textual
Reference code
ES.08019.ACA//ACA,COLECCIONES,Reserva,1
Link to the online document
Description

The New Plant Decree, promulgated in January 1716 by Felipe V de Borbó, meant the end of the political institutions of the Principality of Catalonia, such as the Courts, the Generalitat and the Council of Cent. This decree, which followed the Catalan defeat in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), established a centralized government model inspired by the Castilian system, with the implementation of the Audiencia as the highest judicial and administrative body. The document symbolizes the loss of Catalonia’s institutional and legal sovereignty and the beginning of a new stage of Bourbon centralization. Its impact was profound and lasting, affecting the territorial organization, the use of the language and the own culture. The New Plant Decree is a key piece for understanding the transformation of the political structure of Catalonia and its relationship with the Spanish monarchy, and constitutes a fundamental witness of the configuration of the modern centralized State in Europe.