Andalusian urban governments at the end of the Middle Ages: chivalric elites, concejo cerrado and mechanisms for common representation

Abstract

This paper will analyse the formation of the leading groups in Andalusian cities between the 13th and 15th centuries during the process of the Castilian conquest of the territory. In the 14th century, the regimiento was created by Alfonso XI. This type of government allowed the consolidation of a leading oligarchy whose social origin was the cavalry. The control of the council by a small group of families linked to military life, the control of extensive agricultural estates and, above all, the favour of the monarchy and the High Nobility. Although some individuals enriched through trade and craftsmanship managed to gain access to the council, most of them tried to occupy certain quotas of power in the city representing the rights of the rest of the social group. This process was particularly remarkable under the Catholic Monarchs (1474-1504).