Governance and practices of resistance in the Hispanic Monarchy: the border towns of Guipuzcoa in the face of the war and the Atlantic plague

Abstract

The war and the economic blockades, imposed by the Hispanic Monarchy on its enemy countries, altered commercial transits in Atlantic Europe. This directly affected the towns of northern Spain, which were dependent on foreign supplies. This article assesses practices of governance and resistance in the towns of the coastal border areas of the Basque Country in the 1590s, taking into consideration the capacity for action of the communities and of local actors, through their territorial representative bodies. The negotiations between the various powers allowed the Province of Guipúzcoa to consolidate a privileged commercial and tariff framework in Castile, which favored free foreign supply, even with the enemy, supported by a discourse in defense of the border.