14-15 Octubre 2013. Malta. Segundo Coloquio Internacional Hispano-Maltés de Historia / Semana de Historia 2013 de la Malta Historical Society Gijón Granados, Juan de Á., (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) The Order of Malta in the Kingdom of Spain during the Eighteenth Century. The aim of this paper is to highlight the continued presence in Spain of the Order of Malta with the advent of the Bourbon dynasty, and look especially at the issues which arose and the solutions proposed during the eighteenth century, ending with an assessment of the appropriation of the assets of the institution at the end of the century. In the eighteenth century the territories of the Order extended across the whole of Europe and although the assets of the Order of St. John were extensive in Spain itself they were administratively considered as one with those of Portugal. From Iberia to Eastern Europe the institution’s economic activities boomed and this led some monarchies to cast covetous eyes on its properties. In 1690 the Knights of St John had more than 600 properties in Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal with a value of more than 900,000 ducats, which produced an annual income of more than ten million reales. It was, as a consequence, not surprising given the pressing financial needs of ever-more sophisticated European political systems that taking advantage of the invasion of Malta by Napoleon a hundred years later these incomes were taken over by all the monarchs who ruled in the realms where the Order had lands. An eighteenth-century manuscript written by Fray Nicolas Belando Jesus, setting out the history of the Order states that in the eighteenth century charity was the main purpose of the corporation, referring to the welfare role it had always had and at present retains as an NGO. Within this context there was a renewed concern with health care issues in the territories of the Order in Spain and a desperate attempt to keep up the old-established hospitals in the Order’s villages. Setting aside its welfare role the institution had also accumulated considerable wealth, part of which ended up at the bottom of the sea during the course of the struggle between the French and British to seize the much-coveted prize of Malta in the early nineteenth century. The wealth of the Order of St. John in Europe eventually suffered a similar fate to that which overtook the Knights Templar in the early fourteenth century. Their income and property were targeted by European kings in the aftermath of the invasion by Napoleon’s army of the island of Malta, seat of government of the Order and of the Grand Master. In Spain the Commanders of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem were obliged to undertake four caravanas (six month campaigns at sea on the galleys of the Order to clear out Turkish and Moorish pirates), to have resided in Malta for five years and to not have debts outstanding with the institution. To move from one Commandery to another the knights had to prove that they had improved their previous Commandery in the time it had been in their trust. In the Crown of Aragon an inspection of the property, set down in a document called cabreo , was carried out every 25 years, and it was akin to a logbook of the lands of the manor. The Grand Master of the Order of the Knights entrusted the commanderies to the knights, usually retaining the income from it for two years as it passed from one knight to another, as did the other military orders in Spain. The Grand Master could entrust a commandery for five years, extending this period every five years and perceived an income called annatas magistrales. He also received the mortuorio which was the income from the commandery from the day of death of the incumbent until 1 May next. From this date until the year after a commandery was considered vacant and the movable property that belonged to the dead knight, the expolio, became property of the institution. Hospitaller Knights who were responsible for a property of the Order rendered a service to the Order and were not supposed to profit financially from the manor, as happened in the Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcantara and Montesa. This was the big difference between the Hospitaller Knight Commanders and those of the Spanish military orders who retained what was left from the income of the property they administered once all dues had been paid. CV Juan de Á. Gijón Granados (Madrid, 1971). PhD in History from the Complutense University of Madrid (2008) with the thesis entitled "The House of Bourbon and the Military Orders during the Eighteenth Century" under the supervision of Professor María Victoria López-Cordón Cortezo, which was awarded a unanimous "Excellent Cum Laude" at its reading on 6/11/2008, has been a Visiting Professor (1/02/2006-31/07/2006) at the Institute of History (CSIC) and over the last 15 years has been teaching high school in Madrid. He has been awarded grants from different institutions mostly to research the military orders. He is a member of the Associação dos Amigos da Torre do Tombo (Portugal), of the Spanish Foundation of Modern History and the Spanish Association of Friends of the Castles. He is the author and/or contributor of a wide range of articles, collective works and some monographs including The House of Bourbon and the Military Orders during the Eighteenth Century (1700-1809), E-Print, UCM, Madrid, 2009 and Reform of the Military Orders in the Enlightenment (1700-1809). The Royal Commnderies of the House of Bourbon, Red Circle, El Ejido (Almería), 2011.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 17:42:44 +0000
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