The Time of King Philip V’s Fellows in Eighteenth Century Spain: The Rise and Decline of the Flemish «nation» in the Bourbon Army

Abstract

This work studies the reasons of the preservation of the Flemish nation’s privileges in the Spanish Bourbon army during more than a hundred years after the dismemberment of the Spanish Monarchy in Europe. This paper underlines that the renewal of the Flemish privileges by king Philip V of Spain was a key factor of the regeneration project of the Spanish nobility during the Spanish War of Succession, in order to favour the most faithful families to the Bourbon party. Focusing on the XVIIIth century’s reforms against these privileges, it demonstrates that the enlightened military reformism also tried to tear down the Fillip V’s political heritage.